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Published: July 15th 2008
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We arrived in Bali with a little trepidation. After weeks of the modern-world safety net of New Zealand and Australia, we were beginning to hear questions being posed to us: "You're going to Indonesia?" "Oh, you're just going to Bali. But is that safe now?" "You know, they have bombings." "Someone just got sentenced to 20 years for smuggling drugs, and the drugs may have been planted by the airport security."
Fair enough. No place is completely safe. Travel is frought with horror stories. It is much easier to stay at home. Do we change plans?
The Bali we were intent on visiting existed in the book "Eat, Pray, Love," where peaceful balance is found in the lush tropics, calm surf and beautiful, spiritual people of Bali. Which one would greet us?
Fortunately, we were greeted by all of the latter and none of the former.
Balinese people are famously friendly and spiritual, each day smiling and placing little homemade shrines in front of shops, homes and anywhere that they feel needs an extra boost of protection.
The specter of Indonesia as a violent, Islamic place seems to encourage the Balinese to pursue their version of
historically-friendly, community-minded spirituality even more vigorously. In fact, as we were there, the Balinese voted in a governor who was the former police chief, in hopes of finding the safety and peace that they are used to.
The Balinese greet all visitors with a smile and questions like "How are you?" "Where are you going?" "Do you need some help?" but not in a pushy way. If you say 'no thank you' they respect your wishes, and smile as they wish a good day.
The community-mindedness is evident in many aspects of Balinese life. One involves the naming of children. There are only four names in Bali: First, Second, Third and Fourth. This reinforces the fact that it's not about the individual as it is the group. Everyone lives in the same family compound, as many as 20-30 in a home.
The community-spirit is also represented in the style of music and dance they perform. Balinese Gamelan music is played by groups of 20-40 people using metal or bamboo xylophones. Gamelan groups have a drummer or two that lead the group through the changes, and a few gong players to keep a steady beat and the vibrations
constant. It has a msemorizing sound.
The metallic Gamelan music is for traditional courtly and important ceremonies. like weddings and funerals. As we stayed in Ubud, the village was preparing for a mass cremation. Over 80 members of the village who had passed away over the last 3-5 years will be unearthed, placed inside giant dragon sarcophogi and paraded down the street to the sacred monkey forest cemetery. After a legthy ceremony, they will all be set aflame together.
John studied the more rural bamboo Gamelan xylophone instrument with a venerable teacher who runs the Pondok Bamboo music store. Bambo xylophone is very lively music with two-handed, happy melodies. Farmers in the rice paddies would play bamboo stalks after they finished planting and awaited harvesting.
While John studied Gamelan, Ashley studied Balinese dance, which contains some elements of styles we saw in India and Thailand. Head tilted, legs crouched, arms stretched out to the sides, and eyes darting back and forth, it is very challenging to learn. The dances act out stories from Hindu mythology or famous Balinese stories. Ashley's ballet background and West African dance stamina helped out immensely.
In between our Ubud stay, we
visited Ahmed, a tiny fishing village on the east coast. While we heard music from bamboo Gamelan instruments off in the distance, we spent most of our time watching over 200 fishing boats go in and out two times a day and reading our books. We watched the sunrise over the sea on our last day there.
One last art form we must mention is the "Kecak" (pronounced Kee-chack). It is a spoken word rhythmic performance that is sung by 100-120 men and boys. Everyone sits in a circle around a fire and chants the word 'chack' at different symcopated rhythms, creating an eerily-beautiful trance-like sound. Dancers move around the fire as the rhythms speed up and slow down. It made us emotional seeing the young and old making music like this together.
People asked Ashley what the music was like in Bali, and she used the word "haunting." This could probably apply to the whole country. As Indonesia struggles to lose its image as a hauntingly-dangerous place you want to avoid, Bali pushes forward to build it's image as a hauntingly-beautiful tropical place you want to return to again and again.
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Ana
non-member comment
Wow!
You guys, this is amazing. As I'm sitting here in Deerfield not especially looking forward to a mundane day w/ Josh out of town and all the kids...here :), it was really fun to wake up and read this and see your amazing pictures. I particularly enjoyed the info about the Kecak music. A great reminder that all generations can unite through the common notion of music. Super cool. OK, have a fantastic day! I am keeping you both in my prayers...(especially for safe travel!) Ana