Many people have wondered over the recent decades how traditional
Balinese culture
has been able to maintain its integrity, even the flourish
in the last century, while so many other cultures
have lost their particular qualities, becoming absorbed in
an increasingly homogenous mainstream. We think the answer
can be found in the temple ceremonies which enliven and give
definition to Balinese life.
The temples themselves are marvelous examples
of religious architecture, richly adorned with carving and beautifully
situated within their various landscapes. The specific architectural
styles change around the island, from the simple isolated shrines
at the tops of mountains, to the massive complexes of glittering,
carved shrines and pavilions in the heartland, to the mysterious
and sometimes frightening temples near the beaches.
 As
interesting as they are for pure architecture, a closer look
shows how they differ from the majority of the world’s
religious architecture. Balinese temples mainly serve to create
and define space. They are predominantly made up of walls, steps
and gateways
which enclose courtyards of differing levels where the various
shrines and pavilions are located. The temples create spaces
and make these spaces sacred, places where people and their
gods can meet.
Rarely do the temples call attention to themselves.
They are more clearly seen as grand stages where the people
invite their gods to descend to be entertained and worshiped.
The gods, in turn, speak through spirit mediums to give advice
or criticism and to correct what has gone askew within the village
or family clan.
To understand Balinese religion
by studying the temples would be like trying to understand a
play by Shakespeare by studying the stage where it was performed.
The temples are surely elegant in themselves, but their real
beauty lies in how they are able to facilitate the activities
of the ceremonies where the Balinese people reenact their own
stories and remind themselves who they are. |
