Ubud ceremonies and carving

A master carver helped us create wood art at Ubud's Pondok Pekak Library. The boys carved turtles, Aaron carved a lizard and Susanna carved a Balinese-style detailed flower. Our teacher was incredibly patient, joyful and talented. One of his works of art was the door in this photo, which took him three months. Amazing.

We witnessed some Ubud ceremonies for the every-thirty years Pedudusan Karya Agung which included Gamelan music, piles of Balinese offerings, gorgeous clothing and intricate decorations.

The Dutch colonizers encouraged the Balinese to retain their culture, while suppressing the ancestral cultures of other neighbouring islands. Maybe this dynamic plays into the Bali tradition of ceremonial dance performances for visitors. We really enjoyed the chanting and dancing performance we witnessed - it was a section of the Ramayana. The finale was a fire dance, where a man in a trance walked through fire as though on a horse - in order to keep the community safe from epidemics.Les mer