RELIGION

Balinese religion is called “Agama Hindu Dhama” or “Agama Tirtha”, very different from the Indian version of Hinduism.Balinese worship the Hindu trinity Brahma, Shiva and Vishnu, who are seen as manifestations of the Supreme God Sanghyang Widhi. Other Indian gods, such as Ganesha (elephant-headed god) are also worshipped. Bali is the only island in Indonesia, the world’s largest Islamic country, where Hinduism is the predominant religion.The Hindu religion and culture was brought to indonesia about two thousand years ago, by India traders who were attracted by gold, spices and sandalwood. Bali became very much “Indianised”, in the 8th century, during the golden age of the Sumatra-based Hindu-Buddhist kingdom of “Sriwijaya” without any direct colonisation, Balinese rulers assumed the Indian political and religious systems, out of their own will, to strengthen their power.Animism and ancestor worship are a strong undercurrent in Balinese life. The Balinese term, “sekala niskala” (the seen and unseen), sums up the idea of the physical world being breached by a spiritual world. Spirits gods and demons are honoured everywhere on the island with offerings madeof flowers and bits of food. The Balinese recognise the duality of nature, male and female, good and evil, life and death. Colourful religious ceremonies are held regulary. In bad times, villagers gather advice from priests or balian (spiritual healer) instead of calling on a doctor or lawyer.They believe that most wordly (sekala) problems reflect some imbalance in the netherworld (niskala), and can be restored by appropriate rituals. Order and harmony are personified by deities who live on mountain tops and bestow their blessings on humans. Demons symbolise disorder and dwell, beneath the sea, seeking chaos and destruction.

ART & CULTURE

Artistically, Bali is a mixture of culture and tradition. Balinese have the natural ability of absobing different cultural elements and blending them with their own For centuries, artists and craftsmen in Bali worked under the patronage of priests and ruling classes, decorating palaces and temples. As their designs followed stric aesthetic and religious guidelines, the artists generally did not have much room for personal expression. With the arrival of European artists in the beginning of the 20th century, this soon began to change. Local artist started to develop their own individual styles.

PAINTING

The eldest known Balinese paintings, kept at Pura Besakih today, are of a lotus flower and the Hindu-deity Ganesha on two wooden boards. The work dates back to the 15th century. Until the beginning form of painting was the portrayal of Hindu epics by painters and illustrators called ‘Sangging’. Aside from making large representational paintings, the Sangging were expected to decorate everything from gourds, wooden altars, bamboo vessels, headboards for princely beds, and in particular, required to illustrate astrological wall hangings on bark paper or cloth. It wasn’t until the early 1900s that western influences reached Bali. The use of Asia symbols in the works of , Paul Gauguin, Toulouse Lautrec, Camille Pissaro and others created a new trend for Asian-influenced art and European painters, such as the German Walter Spies and Dutch Rudolph Bonnet Bali.

STONE & WOODCARVING

Carving goes back many centuries, when temples and courts needed symbolic decorations and beautifications. During the 1930s carvers started moving away from stylised religious figures and created new forms from mythology and everyday life. Some highly imaginative sculptures became lengthened and deformed. The natural shapes of branches and roots also provided inspirations to many artists. Stone carvings were mainly used to decorate temples and palaces. An industry has now developed producing items for general decorations. Bali’s modern day centre of stone carving is in the village of Batubulan, situated halfway between the towns of Denpasar and Ubud.

TEXTILE

Bali’s cllaim to fabric fame is a weft “ikat” cloth, called “endek”. Some “endek” are made of silk, but the cheaper cotton and rayon are more widely used. Semimechanised looms produce great quantities in Denpasar and Gianyar, but some of the finest “endeks” comes from Sidemen in Karangasem and Gelgel in Klungkung. The Balinese are the only weavers in Southeast Asia to master double “ikat” weaving in the form of ‘geringsing’ made in the ancient village of Tenganan. A masterpiece of Balinese craftsmanship, both the hand-spun cotton warp and weft threads are tied and dyed with the same patterns before the cloth is woven. Special skills and a great eye for detail are therefore required. ‘Songket is a brocade cloth with gold, silver, or coloured weft threads forming intricate designs on the surface of the cloth. They tend to be heavy and thick textiles due to the weaving technique that is done from the back of the cloth. In the old days, ‘songket’ could only be worn by aristocrats, but today these expensive fabrics are available to anyone who can afford them. The main centres for ‘songket’ weaving are Gelgel in Klungkung, Sidemen in Karangasem, Singaraja in Buleleng, and Negara in Jembarana. ‘kain prada’ textiles are decorated with gold desings of flowers or birds. The patterns are outlined on plain coloured cloth, and the area spread with glue to hold fast gold-leaf. Today, cheaper gold paint is used, glue is often silk-screened onto the fabric, and artificial gold-leaf is applied. ‘Kain Prada’ is mostly worn by dancers and participants in religious ceremonies. The cloth is also used for making ceremonial parasols and dance fans, and used for decorating shrines. Now, most ‘Kain Prada’ is silk-screened on polyester in Sukawati, Gianyar, and in Satris, Klungkung.

DANCE & DRAMA

Dance and drama have played an important role in Balinese society. Through this medium, people learned about the tales of the ‘Ramayana’, ‘Mahabarata’ and other epic stories of Balinese history. In Bali, traditional mucis is performed by ‘gamelan orchestra’ with its typically piercing and shimmering sounds. This percussion ensemble consists of bronze instruments with tuned metal keys, led by drums. There are a few wind and stringed instruments. The music is based on rhythmic and melodic cycles punctuated by gongs. Most villages in Bali own at least one set of ‘gamelan instruments for ritual occasions. Some sets are considered sacred and are played only during religious ceremonies. The following are brief descriptions of some of the more well-known dance/dramas that can be seen at regular performances throughout Bali.

-Oleg Tambililingan

This dance was created in the 1950s and is performed in the accompaniment of the ‘Gong kebyar Gamelan Orchestra’.

-Baris Gede

This is an old ritual dance performed by a regiment of soldiers/warriors to protect the deities.

-Kecak

The most famous of the Balinese dance. The dance is based on a ‘sanghyang’ (trance) chorus formerly used in times of epidemic.

-Barong & Rangda A story of the struggle between good and evil. Good is personified by the the ‘barong keket’, a semi-lion evil is represented by ‘Rangda’, a witch.

-Topeng Dancers

These dancers recount genealogica histories of dynasties through a series of masks. Players may be a troupe of three or more, or may perform solo.

-Wayang Kulit (Shaddow Puppet)

This shadow puppet theatre uses flat leather puppets that cast shadows on ascreen. The puppet master manipulatse the puppets with sticks. The characters are distinguished by their headdress and manner of speech.