While in Bali, my parents and I went for a sunset performance of the Ramayana at Uluwatu Temple. The temple is by the sea side on a cliff and is quite beautiful at sunset. At one end of the temple, an open-air performance of the Ramayana is held every evening. The performance is special because no music or instruments are used. Instead a group of dancers known as Kecak dancers provide the background score, which is essentially chanting of sounds "chak, chak, chak" with different intensities and tempos, as and when required. The performance is also called the Kecak Fire Dance.
Some of my photographs are below:
Some of my photographs are below:
The Kecak Dancers
Rama
Ravana attempting to kidnap Sita
Garuda trying to stop Ravana
Sita Apharan
Hanuman setting fire to LankaThe entire set is here on Flickr.
It is very interesting to see how the main characters of both Ramayana and Mahabharata, as well as Hindu Gods and Goddesses are depicted in South East Asia. I bought a few paintings for myself and Appu of their depiction of Saraswati and Ganesha. While the main elements look the same, there is something very different about the way the faces are sketched. You can see that difference, with the depiction of Hanuman and Ravana in the pictures above.
Also very interesting, is the Hinduism in Bali. I could go on and on about it, so let me just talk about two or three things I found interesting. First, the caste system. The Balinese are distinctly aware of their caste, and mention it without any hesitation. Our Driver/Guide introduced himself and then immediately proceeded to tell us he was of the Shudra caste. He then of course asked our caste, and my parents who have no clue about any of this, shrugged and said they don't really know and have never bothered to know. But even though the Balinese are aware of their caste, they have no issues with marrying into different castes. I find it funny that although caste does not have much relevance in their daily lives, they are always identified by it.
Second, the offerings and ceremonies. Now I am from a non-religious family. My parents may believe in a higher power, but when it comes to religion, they are pretty indifferent. I am not sure about my sister, but I grew up mainly an atheist, trying to scientifically investigate the matter of "religion and God." We celebrated festivals, even had a few idols at home, and we know the prayer songs and such, but we were never religious. It was all more of a cultural thing. Now, today, I wouldn't call myself an atheist, and I do find solace in many things associated with religion- scriptures, temples, mosques, the Muslim prayer calls etc. but I am definitely not what can be called, religious. My interest in religion and its cultural manifestations (and by religion I mean Religion as a whole, not Hinduism alone) is partly academic, and partly a component of some serious soul searching hunt for spirituality (sounds cliched I know, but its true!). So, as I was growing up and even today, I never really understood the concept of offerings and huge ceremonies, but I saw them around me constantly. Bali is a whole new level of offerings and ceremonies. The Balinese make offerings at several times of the day, they pray several times of the day, they build houses in a way that one-fifth of their house is a temple, and most of their life is in and about the temple. Every birth, every death, every festival- has an expensive ceremony to be done. And yes I know, this is common in India too, but the intensity of it all is simply a lot in Bali. Spend a few days in Bali and just count the number of times your driver/guide/hotel guy mentions the word "ceremony."
The third thing I wanted to talk about is linked to the previous one. Our driver/Guide told us that in most villages in Bali, people were quite poor to afford ceremonies, that each cost a thousand US or two (about 5-10 million Indonesian Rupiah). So they have come up with ways to make them cost effective. Instead of toning down a funeral ceremony- what they do is bizarre. After a person dies, they bury the person the next day. Then they begin to save money. After about two years, when they have saved enough, they remove the body from the ground and hold a cremation ceremony in all its grandeur. (Funerals are occasions of celebration- as now the person can be reincarnated- so there's lots of food, music, and grandeur). Sometimes, the entire village has a joint- funeral ceremony, where they cremate all those who died in the last two years. Sounds a little creepy right? But then cultures where there is a strong emphasis on the after life- reincarnated life, have always seen such rituals. Remember the ancient Egyptians who began building a tomb the minute a new King took the throne?
See- this is why I don't understand why Bali is considered a place to sit by a beach and drink and club. There's so much more to it, from Hinduism to volcanoes, to temples to rice fields, and of course art and handicrafts galore!
Also very interesting, is the Hinduism in Bali. I could go on and on about it, so let me just talk about two or three things I found interesting. First, the caste system. The Balinese are distinctly aware of their caste, and mention it without any hesitation. Our Driver/Guide introduced himself and then immediately proceeded to tell us he was of the Shudra caste. He then of course asked our caste, and my parents who have no clue about any of this, shrugged and said they don't really know and have never bothered to know. But even though the Balinese are aware of their caste, they have no issues with marrying into different castes. I find it funny that although caste does not have much relevance in their daily lives, they are always identified by it.
Second, the offerings and ceremonies. Now I am from a non-religious family. My parents may believe in a higher power, but when it comes to religion, they are pretty indifferent. I am not sure about my sister, but I grew up mainly an atheist, trying to scientifically investigate the matter of "religion and God." We celebrated festivals, even had a few idols at home, and we know the prayer songs and such, but we were never religious. It was all more of a cultural thing. Now, today, I wouldn't call myself an atheist, and I do find solace in many things associated with religion- scriptures, temples, mosques, the Muslim prayer calls etc. but I am definitely not what can be called, religious. My interest in religion and its cultural manifestations (and by religion I mean Religion as a whole, not Hinduism alone) is partly academic, and partly a component of some serious soul searching hunt for spirituality (sounds cliched I know, but its true!). So, as I was growing up and even today, I never really understood the concept of offerings and huge ceremonies, but I saw them around me constantly. Bali is a whole new level of offerings and ceremonies. The Balinese make offerings at several times of the day, they pray several times of the day, they build houses in a way that one-fifth of their house is a temple, and most of their life is in and about the temple. Every birth, every death, every festival- has an expensive ceremony to be done. And yes I know, this is common in India too, but the intensity of it all is simply a lot in Bali. Spend a few days in Bali and just count the number of times your driver/guide/hotel guy mentions the word "ceremony."
The third thing I wanted to talk about is linked to the previous one. Our driver/Guide told us that in most villages in Bali, people were quite poor to afford ceremonies, that each cost a thousand US or two (about 5-10 million Indonesian Rupiah). So they have come up with ways to make them cost effective. Instead of toning down a funeral ceremony- what they do is bizarre. After a person dies, they bury the person the next day. Then they begin to save money. After about two years, when they have saved enough, they remove the body from the ground and hold a cremation ceremony in all its grandeur. (Funerals are occasions of celebration- as now the person can be reincarnated- so there's lots of food, music, and grandeur). Sometimes, the entire village has a joint- funeral ceremony, where they cremate all those who died in the last two years. Sounds a little creepy right? But then cultures where there is a strong emphasis on the after life- reincarnated life, have always seen such rituals. Remember the ancient Egyptians who began building a tomb the minute a new King took the throne?
See- this is why I don't understand why Bali is considered a place to sit by a beach and drink and club. There's so much more to it, from Hinduism to volcanoes, to temples to rice fields, and of course art and handicrafts galore!
1 comments:
incredible - had known of some of these things sketchily but the devil's in the details. the last bit abt the ceremony around death is most fascinating!
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