Bali woman with offerings balanced on her head. Women carrying things on their heads
was a common sight in Bali.
We went to the Bali Cultural Museum where we say this painting of dancers and muscians.
Laura admiring Bali painting
Desiree going into museum
Bali painting. Vibrant colors were common throughout Bali.
Bali painting of the Hindu god Humanan and women.
Bali statue of Hindu god Ganesha. Bali was orginally inhabited by a group of people that came from
India thus the connection to Hinduism.
Carving of naked boys crawing on sleeping woman.
Laura with Ganesha
Sculpture of giant phalus.
Painting of bare brested women. Bare brested women were a common theme. Our guide explained that until recent times,
most Bali women did not wear tops which, as she explained, why Balinese men were more attracted to women’s
legs and thighs than breasts since they saw breast all the time. Unlike men of the west who saw legs
and thighs all the time and seldom saw breasts. She explained that it was considered inappropriate for women
to wear shorts or expose their legs in public.
School kids practicing marching
Offerings at temple
Children in traditional dress.
Offering made totally of meat (like some type of spam)
Priest
Offerings at temple
Priest
Desireee with local Balinese woman. One of my most favorite photos.
Gamelan at the Barong and Kris play, which we went to see.
Gamelan musican.
The Barong in full costume.
Hanuman with the Barong
Dancers
Servents of Dewi Kunti
and they continue even though the rain
Sadewa with Rangda representing evil
The Rangda (bad guy) is killed
The witch battles with the Barong
Warriors fight with the Rangda
And they all die
but the priest brings them all back to life
they try to kill themselves but are unharmed.
It was a classic performance.
Laura with large costume
Museum grounds
Museum grounds
Judy entering Suryasa family temple.
Judy's husband's family was very gracious to let us spend an afternoon with them at their traditional Balinese family home.
Such family dwellings housed several generations of the family in a walled in compound with several
living quarters, common kitchen and the always present family temple.
Judy explaines Suryasa family's temple
Suryasa's mother prepared a traditional Balinese lunch for us
Suryasa's family
The Kecak Dance also known as the Ramayana monkey chant,
the dance is performed by a circle of as
many as 150 performers wearing checked cloths around their waists, percussively chanting "chak"
and moving their hands and arms. The performance depicts a battle from the Ramayana, in which the
monkey-like Vanaras, led by Hanuman, help Prince Rama fight the evil King Ravana.
I first time saw the the Kecak Dance on the DVD Baraka in 2002 and was facinated by it. The scene
from the movie Avatar in which they transfer the mind of Sam into the his avatar body is based on the Kecak Dance.
Kecak Dance
Kecak Dance
After the dance, several of the dancers, while in a trance, walk across hot coals
Those feet looked burned to me.
Suryasa giving dance demostration at his and Judy's house.
Suryasa dancing
Judy joining in
Balinese singers
Statue of Ganasha.
Mask over door to keep out evil spirts
Mask that is supposed to keep away evil spirts that bought which hangs over my garage door
Mask carver's car
Masks being made
Mask that I bought from the mask carver. Possibly the character Rawana. Long pointed canine teeth
symbolize the evil traits of a person. There has been a long practice in Bali of filing flat people's canine
teeth. The Balinese Tooth Filing Ceremony
is considered a mandatory ritual of life.
The best masks are carved out of a piece of a living tree in which the tree is left to contiune g
