Nadi - The Taking Over of Bodily Control by Spirit

NADI : THE TAKING OVER OF BODILY CONTROL BY

SPIRIT

Source : NADI – Trance in the Balinese Art

Let’s look at the phenomenon from a scientific point of view. According to Psychologist Prof. Dr. LK. Suryani Sp.J., nadi is a process of transforming a normal person into an abnormal person, either using his own power or a source of power that is beyond him. For example, in the Rangda or Barong dance a dancer doesn’t represent himself, rather he is controlled by another power so that he can produce magical nuances in his movement. Any onlooker will say that he has performed excellently.

Nadi will depend very much on how close someone is to the culture, because if he is not close enough he will not feel anything no matter how frightening the Rangda or Barong is. However, if he is close, he will hypnotize himself or focus his mind automatically. Then he will soon be under the control of a spirit. People who are not close to this culture will consider nadi to be an illogical process and refer instead to common sense.

According to Suryani, Head of the Psychology Laboratory of Sanglah Public Hospital, dancing and nadi depend very much on one’s childhood experience and even one’s experience in the womb. Suryani quotes pacalangs (Balinese security officers) as an example. For outsiders, the pacalangs are considered nothing special, but Balinese people see them as something very


special indeed. So, too, a dancer who wants to be nadi must believe that dance has magical power. Besides this, there are supporting factors such as floral aromas, the smoke of incense and incense derived from gum benzoin, and also gamelan music. If modern music is played, there will certainly be no nadi at all.

A nadi begins with a stimulus. The stimulus makes the dancer focus his mind and when his focus is narrowed on a single thing only, the dancer is in the nadi state. At this stage there will be a taking ever of bodily control by other powers, both from within and from without the dancer’s body Soon after this he will dance beautifully and amazingly.

Everybody has the potential to nadi, and to dance very well. If a dancer can record in his memory a nadi state, he will move his body automatically and his movement will be almost precisely what he had seen. Suryani quotes as an example the Sanghyang Dedari dancers. Based on her observation, the dancers have generally never undergone training, and are only asked to observe the dancing several times. “Because in the quiet condition, it will be easy and quick to record the movement in her memory,” explained this meditation expert who has been very popular both at home and overseas. However, Suryani also says that


childhood experience is also very important After observing the dancing very carefully several times, a dancer will and dance very well, even with eyes covered, Meanwhile, the normal process to learn this dancing takes about at least a year to learn.

Actually the processing that goes on in the mind, says Suryani, is almost the same as nadi, meditation or otherwise activating inner power The difference is with regard to the learning process. In nadi a dancer does not learn consciously, but rather subconsciously and automatically Meanwhile in meditation and the like, training results in the ability to enter a state and to control movement as its aim. Take Sanghyang Dedari dancing. Not everybody can do it and not everybody is allowed to do it. There is a strict selection procedure, and selected dancers are made ready mentally. Inheritance also plays an important role in dancing ability and in the process of receiving the transfer of skills.

According to Suryani, nadi will enable people to be more creative and fully concentrated in their dancing movement. Unfortunately, this practice is not recognized


in the teaching approach at the Indonesian Fine Art Institute (STSI) Denpasar. “The students in the institute learn with the Western method and I haven’t seen them being taught about nadi, nor how to apply the nadi process. If its were taught, they would be better dancers because they would be able to learn to dance automatically,” says Suryani, who has spent considerable time observing the Sanghyang dance.In traditional dancing, the basics of dancing are taught automatically because dancers can dance in a nadi state. The gamelan players who learn based on tradition will be self hypnotized, they hypnotize themselves unconsciously and it becomes a therapy, “Based on my research, they don’t feel tired because they don’t play gamelan with a lot of energy, but they do it in a relaxed condition, enabling them to perform the whole night long. They said that what they had was happiness because they could ngayah (serve altruistically). Meanwhile, when they play in a hotel, the happiness can only be felt during


their performance after which they soon return to a normal attitude. “Besides this, nadi can also happen in the process of creation both when dreaming and when seeing movements in a conscious state. However, it is not uncommon if there is somebody who can see dancing movements (imagination) and move his body and record the movement. Later it can become a standard dance step. Suryani also adds that the dancer is generally serving Sanghyang Widhi or God. This also happens to the Rangda and Barony dancers.” Meanwhile, contemporary dancers are taught to dance in order to achieve popularity and success.

The most powerful and invulnerable dancers’ weapon is nadi, and that’s why they are not hurt by the keris or burnt, basically because the dancers’ minds have been programmed with a belief that nothing will happen since their bodies have been entered by god’s or by a Bhatara’s spirit. Suryani cites another example when someone hypnotized is given a cube of ice and told the ice burns his hand. Automatically the person will feel that the ice is really burning his hand and he will respond the same as if his hand was burnt by embers. It is because his body produces a certain substance that makes him feel burnt.


Bateson and Mead argued that nadi in Bali is a form of schizophrenia because Balinese people can not reach a climax. As a result, there is no satisfaction. According to Suryani, who is also a collector of Rangda masks, nadi and kerauhan are different from psychoses even though the symptoms are similar. If a person is nadi or kerauhan, he can still control what he is doing. Meanwhile, those suffering psychotic problem have no control over what they are doing at all. On the contrary, this person knows exactly what he is doing but cannot control himself.

Suryani once observed Calonarang performances in three different locations — the Klungkung Regency Gianyar Regency and Denpasar


Municipality. Based on her study, each village or sub-village takes different themes for a Calonarang performance, according to the whim of community members. From the two regencies and one municipality observed, 30 people were interviewed after they had performed Calonarang dance for between 2-7 days and the survey showed that there are similarities in what happens to women and men who are often entered by spirits. Some of them have managed to make friends with outsiders (non-Balinese people), but most of them hardly ever make friends with others. They do not attribute this to stress, all said that there was no burden on their minds for at least a month prior to the performing. Their aim is to perform prayers and service as a temple panyungsung, or a person praying at a temple.

Stimuli are the holy water sprinkled by a priest, the aromas of the canang, champac, and frangipani flowers, and the smell of incense derived from gum benzoin. In addition they are stimulated by the story, by the challenge from Rangda’s voice, and by the sounds of game/an orchestra music, all of which add to the temple atmosphere. When asked about what had taken place, the dancers who had been entered by spirits said that they did not know anything of what had happened because they could not pay attention consciously Others said that they could


not control themselves. In the beginning, the symptoms of being entered by a spirit include feeling heavy-headed, as when receiving an electrical shock or when something presses against us. There is a feeling of powerlessness in the feet, one’s eyes dim, and soon the whole body then becomes powerless and all sensation is lost.


After being nadi or entered by a spirit, people claim to feel as normal. Some say they feel fresh, calm, and happy because they were chosen by the gods. Meanwhile, others say they are happy because they had a chance to perform ngaturang ayah — serving God and the community altruistically.


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Nadi - The Taking Over of Bodily Control by Spirit