Tag Archives: Indonesia

Setia Darma House of Masks and Puppets

The Setia Darma House of Masks and Puppets was founded by an Indonesian businessman and collector to preserve and share the culture and tradition. When I found this site online, I assumed the collection was small and housed in one or two buildings. I discovered that it includes approximately 1300 masks and 5700 puppets. There […]

Three Temples in Bali

Bali is unique in Indonesia, with a Hindu population of 86.9%. One of the great pleasures of visiting Bali is touring the temples. Temples represent an important part of daily religious, social and cultural life and are meticulously maintained. On this trip, I visited three in the Ubud area, illustrated in the following photographs.1-3 Pura […]

Galungan and Kuningan Celebrations, Bali 2018

I was pleased to return to Bali again in June/July, especially as my trip coincided with Galungan. Galungan marks the beginning of the one of the most important recurring religious festivals in Bali. It celebrates the victory of dharma over adharma. It is a time when spirits of relatives who have died and been cremated return to Earth […]

Balinese Gamelan Ensemble Rehearsal

While walking in Seminyak, Bali, one evening I heard the strains of a gamelan ensemble. I quickly located them, practising in their temple and stood close to the stage to watch them for a half an hour or so. When they took a break, their leader came over to me and explained that they were preparing […]

A Visit to Lombok, Indonesia, 2015

While holidaying in Bali earlier in the year, we took a few days in the neighbouring island of Lombok. The flight time between the islands is twenty minutes, but with our destination resort in in the north, it was a two hour drive from the airport. The outward journey took us into the mountains, through […]

Tirta Empul: A Holy Spring and Temple in Central Bali

Pura Tirta Empul dates from around CE 960, when a temple was built on the site of the spring. According to legend, the ancient ruler Mayadanawa angered the gods by suppressing Hinduism and the freedom of his subjects to worship freely. An army, led by the god Indra, pursued Mayadanawa, who poisoned a nearby river making the troops […]