Fifty years ago this year, ethnomusicologist Allan Thomas brought New Zealand's first gamelan set back from a village in Cirebon, West Java. Today, Wellington is home to two active ensembles — Padhang Moncar and the Balinese-style Taniwha Jaya — and this feature sat down with both directors ahead of their joint anniversary concert.
整整五十年前，民族音乐学家艾伦·托马斯从印尼西爪哇芝雷本的一个村庄，带回了新西兰第一套甘美兰乐器。如今惠灵顿已拥有两支活跃乐团——Padhang Moncar 与巴厘岛风格的 Taniwha Jaya——本次专访在两团筹备联合周年音乐会之际，与两位团长进行了对谈。
"We didn't just import an instrument — we imported a way of listening."
"我们带回的不只是一件乐器，而是一整套聆听方式。"Q: What does the name "Padhang Moncar" mean to the ensemble today?
It was given in 1992 — it plays on the idea that, sitting near the international date line, we're among the first gamelan players anywhere to greet the new day. Fifty years on, it still frames how we think about the music: not a replica of Java, but a New Zealand-grown practice in conversation with it.
问："Padhang Moncar"这个名字对乐团今天意味着什么？
这个名字是1992年定下的——取意新西兰地处国际日期变更线附近，是全球最早"迎接晨光"的甘美兰乐团之一。五十年过去，这个意象依然框定着我们对这门音乐的理解：不是对爪哇的复刻，而是一种在新西兰土壤里生长、并与其保持对话的实践。
Q: "Taniwha Jaya" fuses a Māori word with an Indonesian one — was that deliberate?
Completely. "Taniwha" is a guardian water-spirit in Māori tradition; "Jaya" means triumphant or radiant in Indonesian. Neither word explains the other — they sit side by side, which is exactly the kind of coexistence we want the ensemble's sound to embody.
问："Taniwha Jaya"把一个毛利语词和一个印尼语词拼在一起，是刻意为之吗？
完全是刻意的。"Taniwha"是毛利传统中的守护水神；"Jaya"在印尼语里意为"辉煌、胜利"。两个词谁也不解释谁，就是并置在一起——这正是我们希望乐团声音所体现的那种共存状态。
The joint anniversary concert will feature both ensembles performing together for the first time in a decade, alongside archival recordings from the 1975 founding season.
这场联合周年音乐会将是两支乐团十年来首次同台演出，届时还将播放1975年建团之初的档案录音。
Pavilion Ⅺ · Gamelan: Fifty Years of Indonesian Music
Read the full history behind this feature — from Allan Thomas's 1975 purchase to today's six active ensembles nationwide.
阅读这篇专访背后的完整历史——从1975年艾伦·托马斯购入乐器，到今天全国六支活跃乐团。