A Consecrated Area
Compared with the consecrated spots mentioned so far, whose extraordinary quality is indicated by very simple altars, the Balinese temple ‘( pura ) is usually an open area enclosed by walls. This …

We are now familiar with the three most important kinds of temples for territorial groups of worshippers. They are by far outnumbered by temples for genealogical groups, rang-ing from the individual household temples of single …

Topeng is the historical ‘mask play and deals with the old kings, princes and ministers of Majapahit and gelgel. It is above all a ritual dance drama ;
ancestral worship that takes place in its purest …

Pura Taman Ayun is the great royal temple is located about 10 kilometres from Denpasar on the road to Singaraja via Bedugul. The name itself means beautiful garden.
the royal temple of Taman Ayun was a psychic map of the power points of the kingdom. Each power point was represented by a multiple roofed tower called a meru. The main one was for Mt Agung, the highest mountain in Bali.

This may be the most famous of Balinese dances but it is not a traditional dance. It was developed in the 1930’s in the village of Bona specifically to cater to Western tastes. With no …

The tradition of writing on lontar leaf is at least a thousand years old in Bali. Lontar resembles copper plates because the leaf produces a writing material of long, thin strips that contain typically four lines of writing. Sometimes the text consists of two lines of writing and drawings illustrating the contents.The production of writing material from the palmyra palm was, until the twentieth century, a cottage industry. Mature leaves were harvested during the dry season, which occurs in Bali between May and October. A long process of washing, drying, pressing, smoothing, trimming, and polishing produces a medium for incising with an iron stylus.

Kakawin are long narrative poems composed in Old Javanese. Writers used a literary language, rather than the way it was spoken daily.The poems are in verse form with rhythms and meters derived from Sanskrit literature. …