Indonesia: Java, Bali, and Komodo Islands - September 10 - October 2, 2017
Part Two - Bali, Indonesia
Bali is an island and province of Indonesia. The province includes the island of Bali
and a few smaller nearby islands. Its capital, Denpasar, is located in the southern part
of
the island.With a population of about 4 million, the island is home to most of
Indonesia's Hindu minority. About 84% of Bali's population adheres to Balinese
Hinduism, followed by 13.4% Muslim, 2.5% Christian, .5% Buddhism. Bali is a popular
tourist destination.Tourism-related business makes up 80% of its economy.
It is renowned for its highly developed arts, including traditional and modern dance,
sculpture, painting, leather, metalworking, and music.
Balinese Hinduism is a unique blend
of different cultural influences, including traditional Hinduism, brought to the island
in the 16th century; Buddhism, the island's state religion in the 7th century,
and indigenous animist
and ancestor deifying religions.
Spirituality enters into almost every aspect of Balinese life.
Page One - On the way to Candidasa; Traditional Dance School
Leaving Yogyakarta in Java, we passed a parade celebrating the founding
of Yogyakarta
Mt. Agung, an active volcano on Bali, from the air. It
has not erupted since 1963. Several days later, as we were
leaving the area of Bali close to Mt. Agung, our trip leader
told us that a wide area around the mountain was being
evacuated due to high levels of seismic activity. We were leaving
the danger zone, but we were concerned that the Denpasar Airport
in Bali would be closed if the volcano erupted, and we would not make
the portion of the trip to the Komodo Islands. After we did make it to the Komodo
Islands, we were concerned that the volcano would erupt and close the airport,
making it difficult to get back home, since we had to fly back to Denpasar. As
of this posting (11/13/17), it still has not erupted.
Some people have been allowed
to return home, but there are many that are still in shelters and tents, almost
two months since the area was put on high alert.
After landing in Denpasar Airport in Bali after taking off from Yogyakarta,
Java, we headed to the Bali coastal town of Candidasa. The unusual spider
seen in this photo was in a web hanging from a tree at the restaurant where
we stopped for lunch.
At a school of Balinese traditional dance. The headmaster was concerned
traditional dance would be lost, so founded this school to teach interested
children. This young girl (11 years old) has both hands touching, the way
people greet you. She also happens to be the headmaster's daughter, and she
has won a national traditional dance competition.
The school teaches the
dance movements and the makeup.
Balinese dance is a very ancient dance tradition that is part of the religious
and artistic expression among the Balinese people of Bali island.
Balinese dance is dynamic, angular and intensely expressive. Balinese dancers
express the stories of dance-drama through body gestures including
gestures of fingers, hands, head and eyes.
Balinese dance is precise and jerky. Like the accompanying gamelan music,
it has abrupt shifts of tempo. Each dancer moves independently, but every
movement of
wrist, hand, fingers, and facial expressions (especially eyes) is
carefully
choreographed to convey the nature of the dance.
Some of the dance school's students dancing for us.
The adult woman is the wife of the headmaster.
The headmaster, wearing traditional Balinese male
attire, is in the middle.
The kids and their instructors tried vainly to show us
how to do some of the dance movements. The hands are
put into positions that one just cannot do unless you started
a long time ago. Fortunately, I do not have photos of my
pathetic attempts
to figure out the movements.
Headmaster introducing a young boy who performed a
warrior dance for us. Watch, in particular, his eye, hand,
and foot movements in the following photos.
Note the gamelan band that accompanies the traditional dancers.
Gamelan is the traditional ensemble music of Java and Bali in Indonesia,
made up predominantly of percussive instruments. The most common
instruments used are metallophones played by mallets and a set of hand-
played drums called kendhang which register the beat. Other instruments
include xylophones, bamboo flutes, a bowed instrument called a rebab.
Two female students who danced for us, doing the same movements
independently. The one on the left is the daughter of the couple
that founded the school, the 11 year old.
Gamelan band
Some of our group received very basic instruction in using the instruments.
Our tour group with some of the kids at the school. There were also
a group of boy students watching who did not perform for us. We were
told a lot of the kids train for a few years, then drop out, just like kids
in the U.S. who do try something for a while but do not continue.
Pat & Berdi with a couple of the students. It was amusing to see the girl in the
middle looking at her smart phone off stage after she performed.
Link to Part Two, Page Two - Balinese Villages & a Royal Residence
Pat's Home Page