Rain Stoppers, Traditional Knowledge in A Modern Age

Text by Darma Putra

Photographs by Widnyana Sudibya

 

Imagine a three-month well planned garden party all of a sudden dissolved by heavy rain. Invited guests scattered around, food soaking wet, and all the fine decorations destroyed by water. Imagine an open-aired professionally prepared musical concert cannot proceed because of water pouring unexpectedly from the dark sky overhead. Assume a special outdoor party for an incentive tour group failed to continue because of rain. All of these situations would cause great pain and disappointment.

In order to avoid such disappointment and pain, inviting a rain stopper or diverter might be a good idea. It might sound senseless, but attempts in stopping unexpected rainfall is one of the oldest traditions in Balinese cultural practices, which can also be found in most societies in Java.

To Change Bali, Essays In Honour of I Gusti Ngurah Bagus

                  

Edited by Adrian Vickers and I Nyoman Darma Putra with Michele Ford

Denpasar: Bali Post and Institute of Social Change and Critical Inquiry, University of Wollongong, 2000 

In honour of the often outspoken anthropologist of Bali, Professor I Gusti Ngurah Bagus, nine leading scholars of Bali from around the world have produced this series of essays on social and cultural changes. Taking Professor Bagus’s path-breaking essays as their starting point, these scholars examine the media, history and society in this rapidly changing part of Indonesia. Together these essays demonstrate that the transformation of the island is as much as the workings of the island’s famous tourism industry.

Contents:

      Adat and the Discourse of Modernity in Bali (Carol Warren)

      In Search of Majapahit: The Transformation of Balinese Identities (Helen Creese)

      The Introduction of Western-Style Education to Bali: Domination by Consent? (Lynette Parker)

      From Wangsa to Bangsa: Subaltern Voices and Personal Ambivalences in 1930s Colonial Bali (Henk Shculte Nordholt)

      I Nengah Metra 1902-1946: Thoughts on the Biography of a Modern Balinese (Adrian Vickers)

      1950s Lifestyles in Denpasar through the Eyes of Short Story Writers (I Nyoman Wijaya)

      Bali and Modern Indonesian Literature: The 1950s (I Nyoman Darma Putra)

      Nyoman Rastha Sindhu: Humanity in Balineseness (Maya Sutedja-Liem)

      Live or Dead? How Dialogic is Theatre in Bali? (Mark Hobart)

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The attached obituary which was published in Kompas (Minggu, 19 Oktober 2003) provides a glimpse of Ngurah Bagus’s important achievements.

Stories about the Mystical Island of Bali

Menagerie 4 : Indonesian Fiction • Poetry • Photographs • Essays
Edited By JOHN H. McGLYNN and I NYOMAN DARMA PUTRA

 ABOUT THE BOOK
This volume of the Menagerie series features stories about the mystical island of Bali by Bre Redana I Nyoman Darma Putra Faisal Baraas Gde Aryantha Soethama Gde Winnyana Kipandjikkusmin Mas Ruscitadewi Oka Rusmini Putu Arya Tirtawirya Putu Oka Sukanta Putu Wijaya Wayan Dani.

Dikecam, Tak Laksanakan Pesta Seni

Pemerintah Kabupaten Tabanan dikritik keras berbagai kalangan karena tidak melaksanakan Pesta Kesenian Bali (PKB) tahun 2008. Seniman, intelektual, dan anggota dewan melontarkan bahwa Pemkab Tabanan tidak memiliki komitmen pada kesenian Bali. Mereka bertanya-tanya mengapa Pemkab yang pernah menggebu-gebu menggelar kejuaraan Sarung Tinju Emas (STE), kini justru mengabaikan PKB.

PKB adalah kegiatan tahunan tingkat provinsi Bali yang dilaksanakan sejak 30 tahun untuk selama sebulan dalam masa liburan, Juni-Juli. Tiap kabupaten menggelar PKB sebelum PKB provinsi. Selain sebagai pemanasan, PKB kabupaten juga untuk menggali dan seleksi kontingen daerah yang akan tampil mewakilinya di provinsi. Menyediakan hiburan bagi masyarakat juga menjadi tujuan penting pelaksanaan PKB kabupaten.