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Balinese Culture
The culture of Bali is unique.
People say that the Balinese people have reached self-content.
It is not an exaggeration that when a Balinese is asked what
heaven is like, he would say, just like Bali, without the worries
of mundane life. They want to live in Bali, to be cremated in
Bali when they die, and to reincarnate in Bali.
It does not mean that the Balinese resist changes.
Instead, they adapt it to their own system. This goes back far
in history. Prior to the arrival of Hinduism in Bali and in
other parts of Indonesia, people practice animism. When Hinduism
arrives, the practice of Hinduism is adapted to local practices.
The brand of Hinduism practiced in Bali is much different from
that in India. Other aspects of life flow this way.
Traditional paintings, faithfully depicting
religious and mythological symbolisms, met with Western and
modern paintings, giving birth to contemporary paintings, free
in its creative topics yet strongly and distinctively Balinese.
Its dance, its music, and its wayang theaters , while have been
continually enriched by contemporary and external artistry,
are still laden with religious connotations, performed mostly
to appease and to please the gods and the goddesses. Wood and
stone carvings, gold and silver crafts parallel the development
of paintings, gracefully evolving with external forces to enhance
their characters. The batik of Bali owes its origin to Java,
and inspired the development of ikat and double ikat.
Art
:: Dance :: Drama
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