AMNH 70.2/1137 Brayut: Odalan (temple anniversary)

Brayut. Showing an odalan or temple anniversary. The top row of scenes is less broad than the bottom. In the top left-hand scene, women are shown making preparations. In the long scene next to that, men prepare meat dishes, they kill cows, chop meat up into small pieces (lawar) and are shown with a huge tub of minced meat. The man next to the tub may be Pan Brayut. In the scene on the top right-hand side is a procession, with a deity being borne on a chair and an orchestra in front (consisting of two large gongs, cymbals and two drums, as well as a smaller gong). The bottom scene is one large scene. On the left is a wayang puppet play performance (without screen, as is usual in wayang held during the day time for ceremonies), where the puppeteer holds two demonic female puppets. Behind him are four players of the gender (metallophones with suspended keys), and above them is a padanda with long hair (again probably a padanda boda) performing his ritual. In the centre of this scene are the Brayut family worshipping. Immediately in front of (i.e. to the right of, since that is the direction in which they face) them is a woman throwing Chinese coins as children scramble for them. This is reminiscent of the sidakaria performance at the end of a topeng masked dance, except that here there is no Sidakaria dancer figure. On the right are shrines, and in front of those shrines are four gender players (the same or different gender players from those on the left?), this time resting and being brought food and drink. Above them a man with pince-nez glasses (!) participates in a peposan session, where traditional literature written on palm leaves is read. This is a good work, with much interesting detail, probably dating to the late 19th century (the glasses), and still with some shine from the polishing process used for making the paintings.