The
main artistic activity of the women goes into the making of beautiful
offerings for. the gods. These are intricate structures of cut-out
palm leaf, or pyramids of fruit, flowers, cakes, and cat even roast
chickens, arranged with splendid taste, masterpieces of composition
in which the relative form of the elements: employed, their -texture
and color are taken into consideration. I have seen monuments, seven
feet in height, made ~ entirely, of roasted pig's meat on skewers,
decorated into shapes cut out, of the waxy fat of the pig and surmounted
with banners and little umbrellas of the lacy stomach tissues, the
whole relieved by the vivid vermilion of chili peppers. Although
women of all ages have always taken part in the ritual offering
dances, in olden times only little girls became dancers and actresses-,
but today beautiful girls take part in theatrical performances,
playing the parts of princesses formerly performed exclusively by
female impersonators.
The
effervescence of, artistic activity and the highly developed aesthetic
sense of the population can perhaps be explained by a natural urge
to express themselves, combined with the important factor of leisure'
resulting from well-organized agricultural cooperatism. However,
the most important element for the development of a popular culture,
with primitive as well as refined characteristics, was perhaps the
fact that the Balinese did not permit the centralization of the
artistic knowledge in a special intellectual class. In old Balinese
books on ethics, like the Niti Sastra, it is stated that a man who
is ignorant of the writings is like a man who has lost his speech,
because he shall have to remain silent during the conversation of
other men. Furthermore, it was a requirement for the education of
every prince that he should know mythology, history, and poetry
well enough; should learn painting, woodcarving, music, and the
making of musical instruments; should be able to dance and tosing
in Kawi, the classic language of literature. There is hardly a prince
who does not possess a good number of these attributes, and those
deprived of talent themselves support artists, musicians, and actors
as part of their retinue. Ordinary people look upon their feudal
lords as models of conduct and do not' hesitate to imitate them,learning
their poetry, dancing, painting, and carving in order to be like
them.
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Thus,
not only the aristocracy can create informal beauty, but a commoner
may be as finished an artist as the educated nobleman, although
he may be an agriculturist, a tradesman, or even a coolie. Our host
in Bali was a prince and a musician, but there were others of the
common class who were among the finest musicians of the neighbourhood.
Of the leaders of the famous orchestras of our district, one was
a coolie, another a goldsmith, and a third a chauffeur.
Until
a few years ago the Balinese did not paint pictures or' make statues
without some definite purpose. It has often been stated that there
are no words in the Balinese language for 919 art " and "
artist." This is true and logical; making a beautiful offering,
and carving a stone temple gate, and making a set of masks are tasks
of equal aesthetic importance, and although the artist is regarded
as a preferred member of the community, there is no separate class
of artists, and a sculptor is simply a " carver " or a
figure-maker, and the painter is a picture-maker. A dancer is a
legong, a dancer, and so forth - the names of the dances they perform.
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