Bali, Island home of the gods.

After the long flight across Australia and the Indian Ocean I finally arrived in Bali at 10.30pm on a warm, balmy, late July night, to find myself in a place that seemed like another world. Bali means ‘offering’ and the significance of this was to be reinforced over and over again during my week’s stay, on this island paradise of the Indonesian archipelago.

 

93% of Bali’s population is Hindu and I was quickly to learn and witness that religion is an inherent part of daily life, seen in material form in the making of offerings three times a day to deities, at the temples and shrines that appear in profusion all over the island. The Balinese are a deeply spiritual people and the family home has its own temple and shrines, as does every village; hotels have temples, as do schools and workplaces; shrines can be found on hazardous road interchanges and roadsides, in restaurants and shops, in the fields and granaries; and important holy places have spectacular historic temples that inspire pilgrims to travel great distances from their homes, especially on major festival days, to pay homage to the Hindu trinity of Brahma, Shiva and Vishnu -all manifestations of one and the same supreme spirit Sanghyang Widhi. (More of this later!)

Any hint of jet lag quickly evaporated with the thrilling drive from the airport to my hotel, and this first encounter with the frenetic and pulsating roads of Bali also quickly dispensed with my ideas of hiring a car to explore the island! Having driven cars and mopeds in many foreign parts, I had never seen traffic quite like this before, for the moped is king of the road here….Mopeds, carrying the young and fashionable, wizened white-haired old ladies nonchalantly riding pillion (side-saddle!), whole families sandwiched together, farmers with their goats and baskets of chickens and other crazy, precariously balanced loads of the most unlikely objects; mopeds that navigated the potholes and twisting roads, and unfalteringly wove in and out of the cars without a hint of road rage or impatience being dished out in response to their high-risk driving habits.

So, the next day I arranged two excursions with a driver and English speaking guide, to take me to sites that were potentially of the greatest interest, with the intention of learning as much about this new world culture as possible. And what remarkable experiences were in store for me ……

First full-day excursion: Bali, extraordinary home to the arts and crafts

This epic 9-hour trip took me to some exhilarating places and experiences, beginning in the Ubud region and an extraordinary Barong performance in a local village theatre, that I watched with the audience from tiered steps seating. The stars of the show were Barong and the demon Queen, Rangda, whose masks I have in my display of Asian artefacts in the Understanding Art Studio. My masks were brought to life as originally intended, in an ancient story that told of the fight between the good and evil spirits, in a spectacular mix of traditional music, dance, acting, costume and scenery.

Here is a short film clip showing the charismatic Barong, king of the good spirits who is meant to resemble a lion. This entrancing performance was one of the most memorable experiences of my trip, that has given me a better understanding of the context of my two masks.

I had requested in my schedule that I be taken to see some of the workshops where traditional Balinese crafts were practised. The main area for crafts is around the Ubud region, and all along the roadsides were dizzying rows of statues of numerous deities such as Buddha, Brahma , Shiva, Vishnu, Ganesh, demon guards, Garuda and Barong – some of gigantic size ...how I would love to get some home for the Understanding Art Studio or my garden!

Behind the displayed sculptures for sale were the simple sheds where the craftsmen could be glimpsed  carving or casting their sculptures. As my car sped along, I got tantalizing glimpses of beautifully carved doors and hand-made furniture, huge circular relief sculptures fashioned out of tree roots, and enormous ceramic pots. Firstly, I went to a Batik studio and saw the craft for which Bali is most famous, from design through to final product, and bought some authentic samples in the beautiful shop where batik sarongs, shirts, scarves and pictures were displayed for sale. (Lots of photos to show you on my return).

Then I went to a silver-smithing business and was shown by the women artisans, how the silver is fashioned into intricate jewellery of delicate design and workmanship. My next stop was a wood carving studio where men sat around on the floor fashioning logs of wood into highly detailed sculptures of deities using images passed down for generations. The demonstration was clearly set up for the tourists, as in reality most carvers work from home, but it was fascinating to see the various stages in the transformation from tree to final product illustrated so clearly. The sculptures the men are working on in my photos below take a month to complete and sell for a bartered price of around £100. Some local timbers are used, such as crocodile wood, but others such as ebony are imported from Borneo. An impressive showroom displayed hundreds of wood carvings for sale and shipping abroad, produced by the local artisans.

Later that day I was taken to a famous Balinese painter's studio, and then the legendary village of Tenganan to see its world famous double ikat weaving (more of Tenganan later!) But there was so much more to see, and I was left with the feeling that creating things is like breathing to the Balinese, and is closely tied to the spiritual. The exquisite hand made offerings to their gods, the traditional theatrical performance and craft studios I visited that day, left me in no doubt that Bali is home to diverse and sophisticated art forms of the highest quality I have ever seen.