Otonan: Birthday Celebrations The Balinese Way
The majority of the world celebrates a typical birthday in accordance with the Roman Calendar where a year consists 12 months and a month consists of 30 or 31 days, the Balinese Hindu have their own distinctive reference of time, which in turn changes when they celebrate a birthday. First of all, a Balinese Hindu
The Nandir Dance is All About Love
The Nandir Dance originates from Taro Village, just north of Ubud. I hadn’t heard of it until someone mentioned that it was performed as a reconstructed ancient dance at the Bali Arts Festival 2016. It wasn’t until I was working in Taro, documenting an event, when I stumbled upon a group of dancers wearing bright costumes
The Muda Mudi Youth Association
Outside the building, two young girls are giggling. Above the entrance hangs a big board with the word “Bar” written in awkward letters. Shadows dance as red lights flash on and off to the beat of hard-rock music. Boys are sitting, drinking, surrounded by pretty girls. Is it a go-go bar? Have the Bangkok lights
Sanghyang Deling: The Possession of Puppets
The audience were sitting silently when the congregation, who sat on the stage of Kalangan Angsoka amphitheatre started singing a hymn, verses of a sacred song known as Gending Sanghyang. Gending Pangembak filled the atmosphere as the ritual began. The song is believed to have the power to summons deities and noble spirits, key to
The Sacred Gandrung Trance Dance
Bali is an island with numerous traditional dances, these are categorised into the sacred, classic and contemporary. Classic and contemporary style dances can be found throughout the island, performed on the commercial stage they are truly beautiful spectacles to enjoy. However, sacred dances are rarely for the general public and are reserved for religious ceremonies,
The Living Legend Of Bali’s Classic Dances
Bali’s dance scene wouldn’t be alive without constant regeneration as well as those who are superbly creative in creating new choreography based on classic Balinese Dances or reconstructing classic dances that are almost forgotten. The flourishing dance scene in Bali also has strong relations to the efforts made in introducing dances of the island to
Balinese Men and Western Females
Love and sex have always been one of the most interesting fields of encounter between cultures, if not always between people. In this matter there is little which is not already known about the Balinese women and Western men relationship, the Balinese women being subjected to the luscious desire of the latter – originally as
Magoak-goakan: Chasing the Tail
In this modern world, traditional games seem to be forgotten. But this is not the case in the Buleleng Regency of north Bali, once the gateway of the island. Magoak-goakan is a traditional game that originated in the regency’s Panji Village. The game has deep connections to the historical moment when the Kingdom of Buleleng
The Origin of Uluwatu and Why Fishermen Cannot Become Rich
Historian and art critic Jean Couteau brings us stories depicting the life on Bali, sometimes real, sometimes myth, always meaningful.
Ngulapin: The Art of Settling Souls
You may have seen, while driving, a white-dressed priest busy uttering some mantra on the side of the road, impervious to traffic. “Crazy,” you might have thought. And you were wrong, because the priest was there with a precise function: to bring meaning and balance to the “order of things”. What you saw was a
Arja: Beauty in Complexity
There may be many destinations with nature and sights more exquisite than Bali has to offer, but this little island of the ‘Lesser Sundas’ has things that cannot be found elsewhere, one of them being its distinctive and rich culture. In Bali, dances, music and other performances and artworks are part of the culture, tradition
Oleg Tambulilingan: The Buzz of Bees
Every thing, tiny or big, on Earth or even in outer space, can be a great inspiration for human beings to create something beautiful, meaningful and useful. Mrs. Arini Alit, a Balinese dance maestro, once told me that every pose and routine of a Balinese dance is inspired by nature. Agem, the stationary pose, should
Pagerwesi Day : Fortifying Against Evil
This is a special day on the Balinese Calendar; on Pagerwesi, the Balinese protect themselves from evil forces. Learn More: Pagerwesi Day has a close association with Saraswati Day. It falls four days after Saraswati, the day of knowledge and wisdom, tying in the two special holy days on the Balinese calendar. Pagerwesi commemorates the day upon which
