Patiwangi: Renunciation1
this is my new land
a spring guarantees its existence
fish embark on new love affairs
branches bearing budding leaves
fashion a burial ceremonyI can smell all kinds of flowers
and ritual offerings curse the feet I sink into soil
the tinkling of bells arrests the compass
powerless to guide the gods homeIn the temples I make a map
to carry my colors to the sun’s family tree
the earth broods, the soil buries its wrath
no fragment of sound remains
to set my colors freethe men who are present challenge the sun
awaiting their chosen woman’s hue
no temple rites exist for them to performthe officiants can only inhale the incense
required to recognize too many gods
and still the men press their suits for my handbecause of my name
I need to possess a ritual historyof this selection
I will bathe posterity’s children clean
Patiwangi2
inilah tanah baruku
mata air menentukan hidupnya
ikan-ikan memulai percintaan baru
batang-batang yang menopang daun-daun muda
membuat upacara penguburantelah kucium beragarn bunga
dan sesajen mengutuk kaki yang kubenamkan di tanah
suara genta menyumbat mata angin
tak mampu mengantar dewa pulangkubuat peta di Pura-Pura
mengantar warnaku pada silsilah matahari
bumi mengeram, tanah memendam amarah
tak ada pecahan suara
menyelamatkan warnakupara lelaki menantang matahari
menunggu warna perempuan pilihannya
tak ada upacara untuknya di setiap sudut Purapara pemangku hanya mencium bangkai dupa
terlalu banyak dewa yang hams diingat
dan para lelaki terus meminangkarena namaku
kuharus punya sejarah upacaraanak-anak
kelak kumandikan dari pilihan ini1995
English translation by Deborah Cole
- ‘Patiwangi’ (pati=death; wangi=fragrant) is a Balinese-Hindu rite an upper-caste
women is obliged to perform when she marries a man of a lower caste. In so
doing, she renounces her caste and becomes that of her husband.- Patiwangi: Pati, mati. Wangi, keharuman. Pariwangi adalah upacara yang dilakukan
terhadap perempuan bangsawan di Pura Desa untuk menghilangkan
kebangsawanannya, karena menikahi laki-laki yang berkasta lebih rendah.
Seringkali upacara ini berdampak psikologis bagi para perempuan bangsawan.
- 115: SPACE
with A Sometimes
114: NO THEME 13
with J Toledo & C Tse
113: INVISIBLE WALLS
with A Walker & D Disney
112: TREAT
with T Dearborn
111: BABY
with S Deo & L Ferney
110: POP!
with Z Frost & B Jessen
109: NO THEME 12
with C Maling & N Rhook
108: DEDICATION
with L Patterson & L Garcia-Dolnik
107: LIMINAL
with B Li
106: OPEN
with C Lowe & J Langdon
105: NO THEME 11
with E Grills & E Stewart
104: KIN
with E Shiosaki
103: AMBLE
with E Gomez and S Gory
102: GAME
with R Green and J Maxwell
101: NO THEME 10
with J Kinsella and J Leanne
100: BROWNFACE
with W S Dunn
99: SINGAPORE
with J Ip and A Pang
97 & 98: PROPAGANDA
with M Breeze and S Groth
96: NO THEME IX
with M Gill and J Thayil
95: EARTH
with M Takolander
94: BAYT
with Z Hashem Beck
93: PEACH
with L Van, G Mouratidis, L Toong
92: NO THEME VIII
with C Gaskin
91: MONSTER
with N Curnow
90: AFRICAN DIASPORA
with S Umar
89: DOMESTIC
with N Harkin
88: TRANSQUEER
with S Barnes and Q Eades
87: DIFFICULT
with O Schwartz & H Isemonger
86: NO THEME VII
with L Gorton
85: PHILIPPINES
with Mookie L and S Lua
84: SUBURBIA
with L Brown and N O'Reilly
83: MATHEMATICS
with F Hile
82: LAND
with J Stuart and J Gibian
81: NEW CARIBBEAN
with V Lucien
80: NO THEME VI
with J Beveridge
57.1: EKPHRASTIC
with C Atherton and P Hetherington
57: CONFESSION
with K Glastonbury
56: EXPLODE
with D Disney
55.1: DALIT / INDIGENOUS
with M Chakraborty and K MacCarter
55: FUTURE MACHINES
with Bella Li
54: NO THEME V
with F Wright and O Sakr
53.0: THE END
with P Brown
52.0: TOIL
with C Jenkins
51.1: UMAMI
with L Davies and Lifted Brow
51.0: TRANSTASMAN
with B Cassidy
50.0: NO THEME IV
with J Tranter
49.1: A BRITISH / IRISH
with M Hall and S Seita
49.0: OBSOLETE
with T Ryan
48.1: CANADA
with K MacCarter and S Rhodes
48.0: CONSTRAINT
with C Wakeling
47.0: COLLABORATION
with L Armand and H Lambert
46.1: MELBOURNE
with M Farrell
46.0: NO THEME III
with F Plunkett
45.0: SILENCE
with J Owen
44.0: GONDWANALAND
with D Motion
43.1: PUMPKIN
with K MacCarter
43.0: MASQUE
with A Vickery
42.0: NO THEME II
with G Ryan
41.1: RATBAGGERY
with D Hose
41.0: TRANSPACIFIC
with J Rowe and M Nardone
40.1: INDONESIA
with K MacCarter
40.0: INTERLOCUTOR
with L Hart
39.1: GIBBERBIRD
with S Gory
39.0: JACKPOT!
with S Wagan Watson
38.0: SYDNEY
with A Lorange
37.1: NEBRASKA
with S Whalen
37.0: NO THEME!
with A Wearne
36.0: ELECTRONICA
with J Jones