Introduction The Prince of Nusa Penida redeems his vow A Prèmbon Pura Duur Bingin, Tengahpadang 12-13 th . March 1989 ©Mark Hobart March 2008 On the night of 12-13 th . March 1989, a theatre performance took place as part of the temple festival (piodalan) held every Javanese-Balinese year of 210 days in Pura Duur Bingin, Br. Tegal, Tengahpadang, Gianyar, South Bali. The performance was of particular interest because, although it had a small cast, three of the four actors were recognized island-wide as the leaders in the genre at the time. Also, when I asked a number of Balinese who were knowledgeable about theatre which play they would choose out of some fifty that we had watched as the best representative of Balinese theatre, almost unanimously they chose this one. The range they had available included shadow theatre (Wayang Kulit), popular drama (Derama Gong), dance opera (Arja), dance opera with masks (Prèmbon – literally ‘mixed styles’), masked theatre (Topèng Pajegan and Topèng Panca). 1 Each night during temple festivals, some kind of performance should be held. On the evening in question, the main play was preceded by a number of virtuoso dances (tari lepas) by local children. This was in imitation of the trend in the larger towns for amateur dances had become popular with parents who could photograph their children. Only after 11 pm, and to the great irritation of the professional actors who had been dressed up since early evening, did the play begin. It had been commissioned by a princeling and head of a small court in Pisangkaja, Tengahpadang. He had vowed to the deities in Pura Duur Bingin, famous island- wide for blessing supplicants with children, that if he and his wife had a male heir, he would pay for a Prèmbon performance. 2 The theme chosen by the actors therefore was the story of Sri Aji Palaka, who ruled over the small and arid island of Nusa Penida off South Bali, redeeming a similar vow. Language and roles Theatrical language in many societies is among the most difficult to translate because theatre is a medium in which people comment on their and others’ speech and actions. It is reflective and evaluative; and it presupposes an intimate acquaintance with how people engage with and talk about the society and world about them. Balinese theatre is complicated further by the plethora of registers, language levels or indeed languages. High castes must be addressed and spoken to in elevated (singgih) or refined (alus) registers comprising a quite different vocabulary and even syntax compared to the ordinary (biasa) low language used in much daily life. Granted the intricate hierarchies that constitute Balinese life, the scope for 1 Quite independently I had decided that this performance was my favourite, in part because of the sustained virtuoso performance of I Midep cross-dressing as the mad princess. For photographs of what the various characters look like, see http://www.balinesedance.org/All%20about%20Arja.htm . The Panasar and Wijil here were masked, but otherwise the costumes are similar. 2 The princeling had in fact had a son who died in a motorcycle crash. He was requesting another son.