Maurizio Rosenberg Colorni has been searching for old Balinese photographs in museums, archives and private collections throughout Europe and Indonesia. His collection clearly reveals to us the evolution of photography in Bali. This evolution is inseparable from the development of its tool: the camera. In fact, in the wake of the 20th century, the mobility of the camera and its technical progress (celluloid’s negative replaced the glass ones) allowed photographers to capture moments of real life. Previous this era, objects or persons posed for hours in the studio.

The contribution of photography in making Bali renowned in the world was immense.

Thephotographs taken by the German Doctor Gregor Krause, published in 1920, portraying young Balinese women whose chest was customary unclothed, or the one showcased at the Paris Colonial Exhibition in 1931, considered by the Dutch Government as the most evocative image of its outpost, played a great role in the arising of tourism. These images stimulated influx of visitors and tourists seeking for the untamed, from all around the world, to Bali. In 1924, weekly cruises on Dutch ships from the major ports of Indonesia began to transport tourists to the northern shores of Bali. In 1928, the Dutch opened the Bali Hotel (now called the Inna Bali on Jl. Veteran, Denpasar), a decade later almost three flights a week landed near Denpasar.

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A cremation ceremony is a joyful moment, full of happiness and festivity, with tons of offerings, lavishly decorated cremation tower, energetic sound of Gamelan Balaganjur, elegant procession, and flocks of family, relatives, and Banjar members.

Theoretically, a cremation ceremony can be held in a simple way, without so much fuss with simple offering and simple preparation but as a matter of fact, a simple cremation ceremony is a rare event. Many Balinese consider that a simple cremation ceremony is a disgrace to the deceased and his/her family. Fred B. Eiseman, Jr gives a better explanation on this account.

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There are many articles or essays in the net which explains cockfighting in Bali in remarkable detail but they are all in the past. So I will give information in relation with cockfighting in Bali after the 1981 ban up to present days.

In 1981 the government of Indonesia banned the cockfighting but the practice has merely moved away from prying eyes so that it is less obvious but still very real. Cockfighting runs in the blood Balinese men especially the older generation, Fred B. Eiseman, Jr author of Sekala & Niskala wrote “So popular has cockfighting been in Bali for so many decades, that it is about as realistic to tell a Balinese man that he cannot participate in his favorite sport as it is to tell the sun not to rise”.

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