The Symbolic Meaning of The Sacred Nampyog Dance at Samuan Tiga Temple

Abstract

The Sacred Nampyog Dance performed during the piodalan ceremony at Samuan Tiga Temple, Bedulu Traditional Village, Gianyar, Bali, represents a distinctive form of Balinese ritual art that integrates aesthetic, religious, social, and cultural dimensions. Although previous research has documented its ritual function and performance characteristics, studies interpreting its diverse elements as an interconnected symbolic system remain limited. This study aims to analyze and interpret the symbolic meanings and religious functions of the Nampyog Dance through its movements, facial expressions, costumes, musical accompaniment, sacred space, and ritual context. Employing a qualitative descriptive-interpretive approach, data were collected through observation, interviews with permas dancers, pemangku, traditional leaders, and community members, as well as documentation, and were analyzed through data reduction, data presentation, and conclusion drawing. Clifford Geertz’s symbolic anthropology and Victor Turner’s ritual and liminality theories were used as interpretive frameworks. The findings indicate that the Nampyog Dance constitutes an integrated symbolic system in which abah, tangkis, and tangkep movements, ritual sequences, costumes, music, sacred space, and performer configuration convey meanings of devotion, purification, tranquility, togetherness, harmony, and the relationship between humans and transcendent forces. The dance also functions as a medium of religious experience, social solidarity, cultural transmission, and preservation of community identity. From a Geertzian perspective, Nampyog operates as a living cultural text and a model for reality that guides community members in maintaining ritual order, practicing ngayah, respecting sacred spaces, and reproducing religious and cultural values across generations.