Gamelan Galak Tika Bali Tour 2005 Photos

Ubud

Nestled in the eastern-central hills, Ubud is the cultural center of Bali.

I stayed in Ubud for two summers because I was studying gender wayang (pronounced gehn-dehr why-ang) with Pak Loceng in Sukawati. Sukawati is about a 20 minute drive from Ubud. Every day I went to Sukawati around noon and stayed until three of four in the afternoon, playing gender the whole time. Then I would go back to Ubud to have a drumming or dance lesson or go to a show of some sort in the evening. My second year, I ended up teaching gender to Balinese neighbors in the evenings.

The monkeys in the Monkey Forest in Ubud were very friendly. They lived in three tribes, and generally when a monkey from one tribe went into another tribe's land, it would cause a fight. The males were generally more protective of land than the females. There were lots of children also, and they were very friendly and playful, loved getting their hands on anything they could. A trip into the monkey forest would involve paying admission of about 5,000 rupiah (less than a dollar) and buying a bunch of bananas for about 10,000, walking through the stone gates and immediately being attacked by two or three monkeys who wanted your bananas, and then once they were gone walking around in peace for a while. At the top of the monkey forest was a great bamboo cafe overlooking a rice field. The hot ginger tea there was amazing. Cremations were also done in the monkey forest, and I saw two there. To the right is a photo of a cremation tower burning. The body is inside of the paper bull statue.

Tenganan

Tenganan it located in the eastern hills of Bali, very close to the ocean. It is one of two remaining villages of the Bali Aga people, who were the original Balinese before Hinduism came to Bali from India, between the 8th and 16th centuries. Tenganan's population is approximately 300 now. Bali Aga people are only allowed to marry other Bali Aga people if they want to stay in the village.

Tenganan is famous for Selonding music, played on a small gamelan of various seven-toned instruments, and for making a double-ikat woven fabric called Geringsing, in which the warp and weft are both dyed before woven together. This fabric is very rare, only made in Tenganan, and is very difficult to make. It is also extremely beautiful, so it is quite expensive and sought-after. My friend Ketut, who owns a fabric shop there, gave me a piece (a small scarf) and also an entire costume for a young woman (not married).

Selonding is beautiful, enchanting music played on sacred instruments, which are not even allowed to be touched by foreigners (non Bali-Aga). If a foreigner touches one of the instruments, the people must have a huge complicated ceremony to cleanse the gamelan. There are, however, newly built Selonding gamelans for foreigners to play and learn on, and Pak Gunawan teaches and sells them. The people of Tenganan are extremely friendly and wonderful to hang out with. I met many friends there.

The girls below (left) are dressed in traditional Bali Aga young-girl ceremony attire. The taller girl is wearing a Geringsing scarf down her front. The middle picture is of Bali Aga women carrying offerings into a temple. The photo on the right is an older Bali-Aga woman in trance during a ceremony, dancing to Gong Kebyar music, probably remembering a dance that she learned as a child.

Amed

On the eastern-central coast of Bali, Amed is a fishing village. The beaches are always full of beautiful painted boats and children.