I’m often asked, “Do you speak Indonesian?”and I answer, “Yup, both Indonesian and Balinese.” More often than not, the reaction is: “Ooooh, they’re two different languages?” They are indeed. And the word ‘siap’ is an example of just how different the languages can be. In Indonesian siap literally means ‘ready’, but it can also be […]
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Baaacot Lo!
You may have heard (or seen in the printed word, particularly social media) the word ‘bacot’ around the place. A slang word or expression, bacot is derived from the same word but in the form of a noun meaning the derogatory word for ‘mouth’, mostly referring to animals. When bacot is used as a noun […]
Read moreThe Handsome God of Selonding
As an ethnomusicologist and self-confessed gamelan geek, it’s fascinating to learn about villages in Bali that deify their ancient gamelan instruments called selonding. (Now that’s the sort of entity I could see myself worshipping!) These instruments are so sanctified that one must not refer profanely to them simply as ‘selonding’ (their particular genre of orchestra) […]
Read moreRebirthing the ‘Golden Oldies’ – Repatriation of Lost Balinese Music Part II
Last month I had the opportunity to repatriate some rare court gamelan style recordings in Ketewel Village which were recorded by longtime Bali resident and painter Theo Meier in 1962. Beforehand, I consulted with Putu Surya: the leader of the youth group that had been learning their current repertoire for the past few years and […]
Read moreRebirthing the ‘Golden Oldies’ – Repatriation of Lost Balinese Music Part I
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, […]
Read moreDemocracy and Equality in Balinese Gamelan Part II
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 […]
Read moreDemocracy and Equality in Balinese Gamelan Part I
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 […]
Read moreCommunication Conundrum
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 […]
Read moreThe Balinese Addiction to Water Wrapped in Plastic Part III
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 […]
Read moreThe Balinese Addiction to Water Wrapped in Plastic Part II
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 […]
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