Myth Number 2 About Bali

Want to find peace and happiness? Go to Bali.

Blood was everywhere in the losmen mandi (the homestay bathroom). Puddled on the tile. The Australian girl slumped over the squat toilet, where she’d slit her wrists. This was in 1976 or so.
She’d come to Bali to find paradise.
Instead, she killed herself. 

The family who owned the losmen had to pay for expensive cleansing ceremonies, but without a murmur of complaint, and pity for the girl.
This wasn’t an isolated incident. Over the years, I’ve observed many people arriving in Bali to live, or deciding to stay, thinking that at last they’ve found peace, a place for their soul.
What they really found was a cheap place to live, with warm weather, a bit of distance from problems back home, and no real peace at all. 

Because the biggest problems of all are the ones you carry with you.
Louise (Garrett) Koke observed this as far back as 1936, when she and her companion Bob opened a hotel on Kuta. In her fascinating memoir, “Our Hotel in Bali,” she notes:
“European visitors have been inclined to romanticize Bali, and to say that the Balinese have the secret of harmony and contentment. They claim that a complete escape from the problems of civilization and the inner conflict worrying most of us can be achieved by settling down in Bali, as if some soothing spirit would enter the distressed soul or as if happiness were catching….”

Kebyar Dance

Kebyar Dance 

Kebyar Dance  is a male solo dance like the Baris, there are various forms of Kebyar including the Kebyar Duduk and Kebyar Trompong. In Kebyar Dance, the accent is upon the dancer himself, who interprets every nuance of the music in powerful facial expressions and movement. The most popular form of Kebyar in South Bali is Kebyar Duduk, the “seated” Kebyar, where the dancer sits cross-legged throughout most of the dance.

By de-empasizing the legs and decreasing the Kebyar Dance 1space to a small sphere, the relation between dancer and gamelan is intensified. The dance is concentrated in the flexibility of the wrist and elbow, the magnetic power of the face, and the suppleness of the torso. The music seems infused in the dancer’s body. The fingers bend with singular beauty to catch the light melodies, while the body sways back and forth to the resounding beat of the gong.

As the dance progresses, the dancer crosses the floor on the outer edges of his feet and approaches a member of the orchestra, usually the lead drummer. He woos the musician with side glances and smiles, but the drummer is too absorbed in the music to respond. Insulted, the Kebyar dancer leaves him and sets out for a new conquest. The Kebyar is the most strenuous and subtle of Balinese dances. It is said that no one can become a great Kebyar dancer unless he can play every instrument of the orchestra.

In Kebyar Trompong, in fact, the dancer actually joins the orchestra by playing a long instrument called the trompong while he continues to dance.

Sanghyang Dance

Sanghyang Dance 
 

The Sanghyang dance is included in trance dance genre. This dance is believed to have the power to invite the gods or sacred spirits to enter the body of the dancers and put them in a state of trance. It dates back to the ancient Pre-Hindu culture, a time when the Balinese people strongly believed that by the help of Holy Spirit through a medium of dancer sickness and disease could be eliminated. The is dance is usually performed in the fifth or sixth month of the Balinese traditional calendar as it is believe that during these particular months, the Balinese are vulnerable to all kinds of illnesses, or in the time of plague, failed crops or disaster.
There are 6 kinds of sanghyang dance widely known by the people: Sangyang Dedari, Sanghyang Deling, Sanghyang Jaran, Sanghyang Bojog, Sanghyang Celeng and Sanghyang Grobogan.