|
|
|
|
Children of the Temple: Religion, Art, and Ecology on Bali |
| Section: CULTURE / PEOPLES |
| Author: David Hicks |
| Publication: The world & I online |
| Issue Date: 5/1/1995 |
| Size: 2,929 Words, 18,186 Characters |
|
On the far side of a screen, a Balinese puppet master manipulates dozens of puppets before a light that casts their two-dimensional figures into shadow. The audience, seated on the other side of the screen, knows these reflections as Arjuna (the elegant young romantic all Balinese men aspire to emulate), Prince Rama, Princess Sita, spirits, or hundreds of other stock characters. The shadow figures strut, pose, argue, fight, and lament as they deliver important moral messages or risk themselves in bold adventures. Good versus bad, purity versus impurity are perennial themes. Gods and heroes dominate the right side of the screen, while demons and villains appear on the left. This convention replicates the Hindu association of the right with good and purity and the left with evil and impurity...
. . .
...erial benefit. Without their essential function of bringing spirits and humans together in ritual and art, temples would not be built, water would not be at hand to nourish the rice, and the children of the temple would perish.
Additional Reading:
Miguel Covarrubias, Island of Bali, Alfred A. Knopf, New York, 1937.J. Stephen Lansing, The Three Worlds of Bali, Praeger, New York, 1983.
(800 of 18,186 characters)
Do you want to read
the whole article? You can
purchase it here.
Subscriber Login |
|
|
Publication Details
(The World & I Online) |
|
The World & I Online is a
comprehensive academic resource that encompasses a broad range of
articles by scholars and experts in the areas of Global Studies,
Liberal Arts, Fine & Applied Arts, General Science, and Spanish.
Originally published monthly in print as The World & I, our site
includes the complete contents since 1986 and continues to publish
a new issue online each month. |
|
Individual Subscription
|
 |
|
|
|
College Orders (based
on full-time enrollment) |
|
-
2 to 5 Computers |
|
-
Up to 1,000 Students |
|
-
1,001 to 2,500 Students |
|
-
2,501 to 5,000 Students |
|
-
5,001 to 10,000 Students |
|
-
10,001 or More Students |
|
|
|
Public Library Orders |
|
-
2 to 5 Computers |
|
-
6 to 50 Computers |
|
-
51 to 100 Computers |
|
For over 100
computers, call 866-211-6040. |
|
|
