dance into the light
COK RATIH CONNECTS BALI’S REGAL PAST WITH ITS GLOBAL FUTURE
I find Puri Tresna deep within the leafy suburb of Renon in Denpasar; I close the gates, leaving the chaos of the city behind and am ushered into a palatial Balinese compound, home to Cokorda Istri Ratih Iryani, also known as Cok Ratih. All is silent, except for the soft tinkle of chimes, as a gentle breeze ripples through the gardens. A magnificent statue of Ganesh rises from a pond of lotus flowers, casting a protective eye over the property. Tropical gardens fringe elaborate, stone-carved buildings. Cok Ratih makes her way along the garden path, her movements serene and graceful; I would expect nothing less from a royal princess, famed Legong dancer and former beauty queen.
We drink tea from delicate china cups, her eyes dancing merrily as she talks, and Ratih’s conversation is peppered with the neat, sensual hand movements of a classical dancer. Her name means “spirit of the moon” and at 48 she still has the spritely enthusiasm of a small girl. Below the surface though I detect a will of iron. “I had to fight to dance,” she tells me.
This beautiful diminutive woman fits perfectly with the gilded backdrop; however I am a little confused by the gleaming row of Harley Davidsons. Is this princess also a bike fanatic? She scoffs at my suggestion and confides that they belong to her husband, a doctor. He allowed her to continue dancing – a rarity for a married woman in Bali and she allowed him to collect customised motorbikes. It’s all about balance.
Cok Ratih hails from the royal family of Peliatan, one of Bali’s eight former kingdoms and long famous for its dancers and musicians. Her grandfather, the last king of Bali before the island became a part of Indonesia, was also a dancer and in 1931 became one of the island’s first cultural ambassadors to the outside world. Following an invitation from the Queen of Holland, his group of 75 performers walked from Ubud to Singaraja and then sailed to Europe. The King left 45 wives at home and would eventually return months later to find that four of them had borne his children. “We went to paradise,” he said, and told tales of cities with electricity and women who wore lipstick and brassieres.
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