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The culture of Bali is unique. People say that the
Balinese people have reached self-content. It is not an exaggeration
that when the Balinese is asked what heaven is like, they would
say, just like Bali, without the worries of mundane life. They want
to live in Bali, to be cremated in Bali when they die, and to reincarnate
in Bali.
It does not mean that the Balinese resist changes. Instead, they
adapt it to their own system. This goes back far in history. Before
the arrival of Hinduism in Bali and in other parts of Indonesia,
people practice animism. When Hinduism arrives, the practice of
Hinduism is adapted to local practices. The brand of Hinduism practiced
in Bali is different from that in India. Other aspects of life flow
this way.
Traditional paintings, faithfully depicting religious, and mythological
symbolisms, met the Western and mod ern
paintings, giving birth to contemporary paintings,free in its creative
topics yet strongly and distinctively Balinese. Its dance, music,
and wayang theaters, while have been continually enriched by contemporary
and external artistry, are still laden with religious connotations,
performed mostly to appease and to please the gods and the goddesses.
Wood and stone carvings, gold and silver crafts parallel the development
of paintings, gracefully evolving with external forces to enhance
their characters. The batik of Bali owes its origin to Java, and
inspired the development of ikat and double ikat.
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