Culture

It seems as if every Balinese has artistic blood running through their veins, expressed through painting, sculpting or performance. Whether its its origins are nature or nurture – likely the latter – it has resulted in a society that thrives within the creative realm. Yet, art is forever evolving. Even on an island where tradition […]

It starts suddenly in the middle of the night, while people are sound asleep. It sounds like the wailing of a milk-lusting baby. But the wailing soon dies out into a whine of despair and a last shriek of death. And, as the first light of dawn is rising on the horizon, other similar squealling […]

Bali’s identity as a beautiful, tolerant and welcoming island is renowned across the globe, an island that is rich in culture and history where diversity is celebrated. Each year, the island attracts millions of visitors from all corners of the world looking to experience a taste of paradise, this includes many LGBTQ+ travellers. So, in […]

When one thinks of Bali – its culture, its identity and its very image – there is little doubt that many will picture stone temples, canang offerings and colourful ceremonies. BUT, this isn’t everyone’s Bali, there are other communities who very much identify with their island, but instead worship at pews and not at shrines, […]

Planning a romantic holiday normally entails the thrill of chasing idyllic destinations and intimate activities. Thanks to a folktale circulating online, the Bali ‘breakup curse’ is digested as more than just a myth. It has seen couples discarding travel plans, dismissing the true beauty of the island. Have you come across stories about the couple’s […]

Balancing a bucket on her head and another in hand, she carries the first load of water back from the public well. It takes her seven more trips to fill the gebeh for her family to bathe and the terracotta vessels to begin her duties in the kitchen. All by the break of dawn. With […]

In Bali there remains a caste system, an import of sorts from India. Whilst this caste system once ruled social strata on the island, modernity has changed and moulded the way it is handled and approached today. Michael’s Predicament Michael has a problem. He is an idealist and, at his little diving business in Tanjung […]

Journalist Eric Buvelot and socio-ethnologist Jean Couteau have recorded 20 hours of discussion about changes that have happened in Bali since the 70’s. The conversation was structured and segmented according to many different aspects of Balinese life, mostly from a socio-historical perspective, to trace all the overturning in Balinese mores since 50 years, when modernity […]

When cows provide beef and dairy elsewhere in the world, this Balinese village worships white bovines and uses their urine as medicine. What’s so sacred about them? There is a Balinese term ‘mule keto’ that loosely translates to the familiar saying ‘it is what it is.’ If one questions a local as to why things […]

Did you know, it’s possible for one to ‘lose their soul’ in Bali. From unfinished death rites to falling unconscious, souls can lose their connection and wander among us. In Bali, Hinduism takes a different form from its Indian counterpart. One of the clearest distinctions is their interpretation of reincarnation. In India, depending on one’s […]