The Balinese seem unable to tolerate unadorned stone. With fanged, bulging-eyed
statues guarding every gate and shrine, and walls, benches and pedestals
of traffic signs carved in stone, stone-carving is so ubiquitous on Bali,
you may begin to take it for granted. Superbly crafted stonework is also
much in evidence in Bali's hotel properties—from humble homestays to luxurious
five-star resorts.
An art patronized almost exclusively by the
Balinese themselves, the carvings on Bali's communal public buildings—temple
walls, drum towers, gateways, public baths, hotels, courthouses—are exuberantly
ornamental, a riot of swirling spirals, arabesques, intricate volutes,
swastikas, leaves, rivers, tendrils, flowers, and trees.
Balinese temples are never really finished,
guaranteeing that stonecarving will continue as a living art. Stonecarving
has been unaffected by tourist consumerism because stone is too dear to
ship home. This doesn't mean you can't slip a 10 kg stone statue in your
flight bag, but be careful as the stone used, though unexpectedly light,
is also fragile and easily crumbles.
Temple stonecarving reflects the creative
assimilation which has been at work on Bali for 2,000 years. Elements of
Chinese and Dutch decorative art, such as winged lions and floral patterns,
have crept into stonecarvings, and on their temples and in many of the
interior altars lightbulbs have been embedded into the intricate stone
masonry, even though there's no electricity in these buildings!
The stonecarving style of southern Bali,
typified by the temple architecture found in Denpasar, Tabanan, Gianyar,
Bangli, and Klungkung, is more subdued than that of the north. The baroque,
flame-like entranceways of northern temples stand tall and slender; their
reliefs are more lavish and depict more lighthearted and comic scenes than
those of the south. Since the north was occupied by the Dutch a full 60
years before the south, you'll find in Buleleng Regency's stone art more
images from European magazines and movies. This is where the Balinese sense
of humor and ribaldry really shows. Panels are filled with buzzing airplanes,
bobbing sailing ships, car holdups by two-gunned masked bandits, bicycles
made of flowers, grinning monkeys, Dutchmen drinking beer, long-bearded
Arabs, and automobile breakdowns. New influences taken in without destroying
the integrity of the old is a trademark of Balinese history.
Carving Material
The material for stonecarving is a soft, ashy, light gray volcanic
sandstone (paras) quarried from the banks of rivers. When freshly
dug from the river and still soft, it's roughly cut and shaped with adzes,
then transported to the temple site. At first as malleable as plastic,
the stone grows harder, more durable and darker with time.
The extreme softness of "new" paras,
which feels almost like dried mud, accounts for the over-lavish adornment
of Balinese art in stone. These flaming motifs combined with the Balinese
love of loud colors, gives some of their temples the appearance of a carnival
ride. The most outrageously painted temples in northern Bali are in the
villages of Jagaraga, Bebetin, and Ringdikit. In the north, sandstone is
more durable than in the south, and thus temple sculpture is considerably
more flamboyant. Eaten away by rain and weathering, the soft volcanic tuff
of southern Bali requires carvings be replaced or refurbished at least
every five years. Statues only a decade old may appear to date from the
Majapahit invasion.
To see a paras quarry, where rock
is cut from cliffs with long knives, visit Blayu and Kukuh on the way to
Marga. Climb down the hill from the stacks of paras water filters,
cornerstones, and blocks on the road.
Motifs and Themes
There are as many carving styles as there are carvers. Because the
Balinese believe constant maintenance of their stone temples is a moral
obligation, stone sculpture survives today as the only Balinese art with
a religious function.
Stone statuary were never intended as holy
objects of worship, but rather were looked upon as pure embellishment or
dwelling-places for invisible spirits invited down from heaven.
Stone figures (pratimas) often portray
religious personages—best described as "pictures in stone." One
seldom sees stone representations of such deities as Vishnu, Shiva, or
Sanghyang Widhi. Demons, raksasa, giants, and evil spirits are the
preferred subject matter. In the pura dalem (Temple of Death), the
witch-queen Rangda is often enshrined, immobile and threatening, in her
own niche.
Numerous steadfast rules must be followed
when carving the final decoration for a temple. Over the entrance must
always hang the face of a coarse, leering monster (Kala or Bhoma)
with wicked lolling tongue, splayed hands, tusklike teeth, the lower jaws
missing. It prevents evil characters from slipping into the sacred grounds.
Two guardian demons almost always flank the steps to the gateway or stand
guard to either side (as they do at both ends of Balinese bridges) as well.
Esoteric religious symbols and grotesque mythological creatures such as
one-eyed birds and heads of elephants glare out from temple friezes or
adorn temple corners in mass profusion.
All around the base run carved borders (patra),
frame panels portraying in stone scenes from Balinese literature: animal
heroes from the Tantri tales, episodes from Arjuna Wiwaha
in which heavenly nymphs attempt to seduce Arjuna while he's meditating,
battle scenes from the Hindu epic poems, a pop-eye above upper canine teeth,
magic birds, snorting devils, twisting serpents, and a host of other supernatural,
fanciful creatures.
Besides the profusion of carved vines, leaves,
and tendrils which entwine the temple, many other symbols and mythical
characters populate the confines, peering out from moss-covered walls.
The padmasana (lotus seat) is a small stone pillar resting on an
image of a turtle and crowned with an empty stone throne. Found in temples
all over Bali, the padmasana represents the entire cosmos. Swastikas
adorn walls, and the lotus—the symbolic flower of the Hindu cosmos—is seen
in the most common motifs. You will also spy, if you look closely enough,
erotic, pornographic scenes of earthly, sensual pleasures. The master sculptors
know all the themes and variations of these stone designs by heart, or
as the Balinese say, "in the belly."
Where to Buy
The shops lining the main street of Batubulan, a small village
northeast of Denpasar on the way to Gianyar, sell most of their carvings
to locals. Bargain vigorously. These workshops will carefully pack stone
sculpture in wooden frames with shredded paper so it's ready for shipping.
The height of the figures vary from 20 cm to two meters. The average height
of a small figure is one meter, weight around 10 kg, and cost around Rp40,000
(after bargaining).
Another stonecarving center is Karang,
north of Batubulan. Open dawn to dusk, visitors are welcome to visit the
workshop of the master carver where you'll see long rows of young apprentices
working in small groups chiseling and chipping away at demons, turtles,
orgres, nudes, frogs, and all the characters from the Balinese scriptures.
For something different, Wayan Cemul, who lives just up the lane
from Han Snel in Ubud, makes nontraditional, wild and wonderful paras
sculptures.