Category: Kulture Kid

If you’re not “in the scene”, few people who live in Bali would know that a lot of Balinese gamelan music is either endangered or extinct. Depending on the village or tradition, this could be as much as 90% of a repertoire and there are more than 70 different types of gamelan ensembles. In addition, […]

In a Balinese gamelan group, equality and democracy are paramount. To avoid the sticky issues with caste, musicians used to always sit on the ground at the same level due to the possibility that a musician of low or non-caste could be at an instrument which may require an elevated seat or platform (think a […]

Bali still has a very traditional society and the late Made Wijaya went so far as to say a ‘medieval’one, albeit existing and functioning in the modern world. In this sense, the way Balinese society operates is still far from democratic or equal in the Western “free world” sense of the word. Men still make […]

It’s no secret that many people in Bali are poor communicators. This is only exemplified in a world where many cultures expect instant reactions and instant results. These differences lead to a clash of cultures between foreigners and locals in Bali because a lack of clear communication leads to misunderstandings, frustration and both sides taking […]

In the last two issues I’ve been talking about the environmental disaster in Bali that has been caused by single-use plastic, particularly single-use cups and bottles. As I mentioned at the end of my last article, there are, and always have been, alternatives available. Did you know, for example, that the Balinese have their own […]

According to a representative from one massive brand of mineral water wrapped in single-use plastic, the idea behind producing packaged water in Indonesia was   two-fold: 1. To provide safe drinking water for foreign visitors to Indonesia who were more susceptible to stomach complaints caused by contaminated water and 2. To save the under privileged from […]

    Perhaps the hottest topic in the media in Bali today is plastic waste: the beaches, rivers, rice fields, forests, mountains, parks, roadsides, soil, temples, banjar, public spaces, universities, schools, households, ceremonies, festivals, events, government offices – they’re all overflowing with it. This non-biodegrable, un-recycled, often unrecyclable toxic waste is mostly single-use plastic. “Toxic???” […]

If a gamelan orchestra has a hanging gong in it (not all do), it is almost always the most important instrument. It is considered the heart of the ensemble, therefore is also the instrument that can never been left out when an ensemble is reduced in size for some reason. A gong’s sonority is much […]

 A week ago, Bali’s new governor Wayan Koster issued a governor’s decree stipulating what I have translated as “Traditional Thursday”. He has declared that every Thursday all Hindus at government offices and schools must wear customary dress and speak Balinese (not quite sure how that is enforced). It so happened that on this day, Trash […]

  What is characteristic about Balinese gongs? The two common types of materials for gong making are bronze and iron, with the former being more prestigious and therefore a lot more expensive. Although there are a number of iron gong makers in Bali, since the early 1980s, no bronze gongs larger than around 40 cm […]