Cultural Observer

Most traditional Balinese cooking knowledge is not written down. It moves through practice, carried from elders to younger generations within families and banjar.  Measurements are not recorded in grams but felt through texture, temperature, and resistance under the blade. Balance is recognised through aroma and memory. Technique is learned through repetition rather than formal instruction.

Of course, you’ve heard about reincarnation, right? But my guess is that you have heard about the formal, reformed-Hindu version of it: “You will reincarnate as a dog if you behave like one!” In other words, your future incarnations will be a consequence of your current deeds. Yet, whilst there are some modern Balinese that

In Bali, life is marked by ceremony. From birth to death, a Balinese Hindu passes through a series of manusa yadnya, rites of passage, that guide the individual through the stages of existence. The first of which are the many rites that take a newborn baby through childhood, ending with a tooth filing ceremony (metatah).

BY BRUCE W. CARPENTER In this, the final part in a four-part series, the slow and simmering process finally ends with an agreement on what to name the Balinese religion reaching a conclusion. While orientalist scholars had long before decided that the island was Hindu, the Balinese themselves would only enter the debate with the

BY BRUCE W. CARPENTER In the 1920s, Bali would experience a new phenomenon, the rise of a western-style intelligentsia who would lay the foundation of a long, contentious debate about Balinese identity and religion. It was a direct result of the Dutch opening government schools with western curriculums in Buleleng Regency, a once proud independent kingdom

The beautiful Ani, who rented the room next to Kadek, was a beautiful Madurese woman, but more urgently, she was also the victim of Kadek’s frequent peeping. A reputed scoundrel in Bali, but now a migrant in Jakarta, Kadek had few friends and fewer options of a suitor, but beautiful Ani had captured his imagination.

Asta Kosala Kosali is the traditional Balinese system of spatial and architectural rules that governs how buildings and compounds are planned, oriented, and proportioned. Though its details vary from village to village, the system provides a coherent grammar for organising the environment—defining not only where structures stand, but how they are approached, used, and understood.

The Balinese only began to take steps to define their collective identity (Kebalian) in Singaraja, North Bali during the first decades of the 20th century. The indirect catalyst of this phenomenon was the incorporation of North Bali into the Netherlands East Indies after a series of violent confrontations that took place between 1846 and 1849. Although

Bali has a strong visual language, seen across the island through its vernacular architecture and iconography found in temple complexes, traditional homes and other heritage-inspired buildings. Here are some of the most recognisable architectural elements that together build the cohesive aesthetic identity of Bali. Candi Bentar The towering split gateway that marks the entrance to

Is Bali Hindu? What an absurd question! As the sole heir of the glorious legacy of the ancient Hindu kingdoms, especially the Majapahit Empire (1293-1520), which ruled supreme for two centuries, why would Bali be anything but Hindu? It is here that the story becomes fuzzy. In this, the first in a series of four

To fully understand the life cycle rites in Bali, one must first recognise the unique character of Balinese religion–a local system rooted in ancestor worship and the veneration of natural forces, onto which a Hindu belief structure has, since independence, been layered in a largely syncretic manner. While formal Hinduism is increasingly visible in ritual

A great Indian chef once remarked to me that in India, the flavour of curry blends changes every 50 km. To me, this applies not only to India, but also to Indonesia and other parts of the world. It seems to me that the closer a region is to the equator, the more spices are