The relationship between real power and tricks is more blurred in Indonesia than it is in America where we acknowledge one or the other. I watched a pendekar show a crowd of tourists how a magical stone could protect him from being cut. He showed us his arm shaking as the power entered him, then he chopped his arm with a golok. As he chopped, he kicked the sofa he was sitting on so it made a loud thump. The golok did not cut him, but left a line where it had hit. We would dismiss this as a trick. The shaking arm was showmanship, and kicking the sofa hid the fact that the chop was without power. However, I watched carefully, and while there was a trick, what he showed was quite real. It was a good solid strike to his arm. He new he was putting on a show, but he also believed in his own power. That power was not superhuman, but still took some skill. Later when the tourists left, he used the stone magic to fill his students with their movements. While this could be seen as more trickery, the effect on the students was real. Their movements were good, and unselfconscious bordering on trancelike. Where is the trick? Is it the show that builds the belief, the true belief that filled his students, or the real ability that the students demonstrated? Like many Americans, I tend to think that if I spot a trick, then the whole activity is suspect. In Indonesia, the trick is often beside the point, and expected. People with magical power often combine slight of hand, showmanship, carefully honed skills in reading body language, hypnotism, and faith healing using the placebo effect to accomplish amazing things. We should not forget that what appears to be trickery can involve great skill, and have real effects.
Josh
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