Children in Bali before their first tooth loosing are considered as a representative of god. They are not responsible for their action because as Balinese believes, their mind is still undeveloped. It is the god within them that acts through their body. The parents do not intimidate their child, but rather coax him into obedience as an equal. Balinese father tend to show more affection than mother, it is an usual sight to see a father takes a walk, and play with his child, sometimes talk with his child as if he is a grown up.

In Bali, especially in the rural area, child seldom has a chance to be pampered. No child has more than minimum of adult attention. No sooner is the infant weaned, than it goes into the care of another child. The growing infant find himself immediately part of child society, to which he must adjust himself. The child grows among other children as a children’s republic, with an independent life of its own. Only by independence and lack of pampering can one explain the well-mannered seriousness and the self-sufficiency of Balinese children.

(more…)

Ujung Water Palace, which by the local people is called as Taman Soekasada Ujung, lies at Tumbu village, Karangasem district. It is approximately 85 km from Airport Denpasar and 5 km from Amlapura. The water palace was built in 1919. However, the launching of this complex of water palace was performed in 1912. The water palace was constructed by the late King of Karangasem, I Gusti Bagus Djelantik that reigned in Karangasem from 1909 until 1945. This water Palace was majestically built to welcome and to serve important guests and Kings from neighboring countries, besides for the pleasure of the King and his royal family.

courtesy of A. Bulantrisna Djelantik

The greatness of Ujung Water Palace had been destructed by the World War II when Japanese dismantled iron bars in Taman Ujung for weaponry production then followed by Mount Agung eruption in 1963. Another earthquake in North Bali around 1976 helplessly shattered Taman Ujung into pieces. The government and the royal family of Karangasem reconstructed this water palace and restored its former glory. (more…)

Do images of tranquility, perfection, and romance come through your thoughts? Now, think of a place where your sight is only limited to how far you can see the clear blue sky meeting the ocean. The sound you hear is only of the gentle waves breaking onto white sandy beach, your own private beach. The unmistakable scent of tropical flowers overwhelms your senses of smell.

The sun is beginning to set. All you see are the magical colors of the sky reinventing itself constantly as you look out of the window while soaking your stress away in the warm floral bath.

You realized that you are really here in this moment in time, and you thought to yourself, ‘if this “HEAVEN” I’m living it! It dawns on you that you are really living it! You’re in Heavenly Residence – Bali, a slice of Heaven on Earth.

(more…)

Colossal megibung at Taman Ujung Sukasada Karangasem broke the world record of largest communal eating, 19,768 people participated in this megibung (communal eating) event. The participants came from all over Karangasem regency. The participants of megibung were divided into groups called sela; each group consists of eight people of same gender, sitting cross-legged in circle on the grass. There were 2,452 sela (group of eight people) and 152 wanci (a special table for one person).

Food for megibung was arranged in accordance with the philosophy of Balinese cosmogony. The food consisted of a big portion of nasi (steam rice) completed with the variety of side dishes like pork satay, lawar (mixture of vegetable and pork) and some vegetable. The side dishes were arranged based on the Balinese cosmogony. The gegecok putih (white mixture of vegetable and pork) was placed on the east side of the nasi (steam rice), gegecok kuning (yellow mixture of vegetable and pork) was placed on the west side of the nasi (steam rice), urab barak (red mixture of vegetable and pork) was placed on the south side of the nasi (steam rice), and the star fruit leaves lawar (black mixture of vegetable and pork) was placed on the north side of the nasi (steam rice).

(more…)

The genjek was originated in the regencies of Buleleng and Karangasem, a decade ago. The word “genjek “is derived from the word “gonjak” means joke. It was born as a kill time activity; it started through talking and accompanied by the tuak (sweet wine made from the coconut palm flower) then developed to a kind spontaneous singing performance.

Genjek performance on The 28^th Annual Bali Arts Festival 2006

The genjek soon became popular and many young people formed groups. Nowadays the genjek can be used as an extension of a person’s artistic expression as well as a medium for relaying information. The rapid popularity of genjek is understanable since one is free to create one’s own lyrics. Joy, is the basic characteristic of genjek, the joy of genjek comes from the lyric of its song. Often these lyrics take the form of love, bawdy jokes on everyday activities, criticism of politics, modern times, people’s changing values and so on. The public can easily relate to these messages, due to genjek’s simple and accessible form. Moreover, genjek lyrics always have the local audience in fits of laughter.

(more…)

Apart from its art and culture, the island of Bali is also rich with mystical remains and ancient temples. Many of these sites indicate early traces of civilization and have been preserved for research and as objects of tourism. One site that is worth seeing is Bali’s largest and perhaps oldest Hindu temple monument known as Gunung Kawi.

Gunung Kawi was built in the 11^th century and was only rediscovered during the 1920’s. Throughout the ensuing years the site has undergone several renovations to conserve the overall architectural elements that are a tribute to the island’s artistic heritage. Gunung Kawi consists of two groupings of temples with the first made up of five shrines located close to the river. Here visitors can see an ancient inscription that dates back to when the monument was initially erected.

(more…)