Batuan, Bali
Encyclopedia
Batuan is a village in Bali
, Indonesia
. It is noted for its artwork and style of painting which originated in the village in the 1930s and has since emerged into a major Balinese artistic style, known as a Batuan painting. It is a major painting center and contains a number of art galleries and cooperative art societies which have played a key role in promoting the art of Batuan. The village is also known for its performance of the ancient Gambuh dance, performed every Full Moon
day.
There are two temples on the western part of the village which are known as Pura Puseh and Pura Dasar. These temples are built in classical Balinese temple architecture style with elaborate carvings. Visitors are given vermilion sarong
s to wear during visit to the temples. The town is also popular for carved teak wood furnishings. The village also has a "fat Buddha statue" (called the "Fat Baby Statue") at the cross road from Salah to Blahatu facing east.
and about 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) northeast of Denpasar
contiguous to northern Sukhawathi village, another well-known art center. The land in this part of Bali is very flat. The area covered by the town excluding agricultural lands is 6 square kilometres (2.3 sq mi). The town is bounded by streams flowing through chasms or gorges, which provide water supply to the town. Apart from the streams that flow through the town, there are also irrigation canals sourced from upstream dams which provide irrigation facilities to large tract of paddy fields that surround the village, which was the back bone of the sustenance economy in the past; economy is now largely dependent on tourist influx and the town is now part of “World Economy.” By 1995, the village had paved roads.
The town has a number of temples hidden in the labyrinth lanes and by lanes of the town but two temples are prominent on the main road. In addition, there are now concrete paved performance pavilions in the town with high roofs where dance performances are held by many dance groups, which have got established now to cater to the tourism in the town; one such pavilion is in front of the Pura Desa Batuan temple.
and India
n influence in the region in the village is evident from the carvings and temples. In the 17th century, Batuan and southern Bali were controlled by the royal family until a priest's curse led to their losing their control; eventually they dispersed to various parts of the country. During the period of 1947–1949, most of the Batuan people remained loyal to the Gianyar Regency
and opposed nationalism.
forms are primarily classified under three major categories of which Batuan Style (distinct from the Ubud Style) which originated in Batuan is one style which has absorbed the traditional art form to the present dynamic art styles; the other two Bali art
styles are the Ubud style of Ubed and the Sanur style which have been further supplemented by an "Young Artists" style of 1960s of Penestanan
(the artists village) origin influenced by the Dutch
artists. In the Batuan style of painting, the emphasis is adoption of sombre colour, generally in black and white with preponderance of mystic Balinese religious ethos related to sorcery and witchcraft. They are also famous for the miniature painting with great attention paid to detailing. The artists have an eye for detail as they paint with great patience. Vegetation is drawn in a stylised format, but each leaf is painted and shaded. The patterns, even in batik
sarong
s, have the minor figures drawn very carefully. Even the open space is filled with pulsating marks. Scenes emerge from the canvas and retreat into the vegetation such as a dog fight, a love affair, a group of gamblers, all shown in a corner of the canvas.
Batuan village gave its name to a style of painting which evolved in the 1930s after a group of local villagers, Ida Bagus Made Togog and Ida Bagus Made Wija began experimenting with ink-washed paintings on black backgrounds. These are popular to this day.
The black and white background was said to evoke the supernatural
. Artists in Batuan later changed to gouache
and acrylic
s. In the early years of the Batuan genre art, Batuan artists explored subjects that concerned themselves rather than creating tourist art. While anthropologists Margaret Mead
and Gregory Bateson
had a special relationship with Batuan artists, they avoided influencing them and were careful in what Western pictures they were to show to the Batuans. Batuan artists depicted only a traditional world in their pictures, avoiding objects such as automobiles, until at least the late 1980s. Anthropologists also interpret that the paintings made by artists of Batuan are visual texts which represent the “Balinese Character”.
Another notable feature is, unlike the Ubud style, the Batuan style also imbued daily life scenes in its depictions, deviating from the traditional. The depiction is of factual scenes but camouflaged in the form of masks. The colours used by the famous artists of Batuan were more bold than those used in Ubud paintings, with green and maroon being the dominant shades used for depicting human beings. Daily life with a complex variety of activities is depicted in great details. However, the painting canvases still adopted the three space formula with the bottom part devoted to daily human activities, with ritual activities in the middle section and with the upper section devoted to the realms of gods.
The Batuan painters belonging to the Pita Maha Painters group also created aesthetically elegant paintings combining Buddhist mythology
with vivacious and inventive Wayan-style images. These paintings have also been described as “naïve style works –almost caricatures – that depict daily life with humour.”
The village is now dominated by galleries of various artists. Of major note is I Wayan Bendi Gallery, which is named after a notable contemporary artist in the style and sells expensive paintings, mostly over $200. Many paintings of the artist I Made Buli are located here. I Wayan Bendi of Batuan created the paintings as “craft for tourist painting” with himself as the central figure surrounded by tourists in various modes of life and this format has now become a flourishing art form.
. It is a theatrical dancing art form which reportedly evolved in the 15th century which is a fusion of singing, drama and visual art forms. It is performed during the festivals of Full Moon
day and also on occasions of marriages and other ceremonies, locally known as the Odalan, Manusa Yadnya and Pitra Yadnya (Ngaben). However, this dance form is stated to be on the decline.
Ethnography studies indicate that tourism has become integral to the economy of Batuan, particularly since the 1930s. So much so, that in the 1970s a frog dance was devised for the tourists which became a part of Balanese social life, as such dances were performed as part of wedding receptions.
The most popular festival that is observed in Batuan and other places in Bali is the Galungan
(meaning "When the Dharma
is winning), which is a national festival that occurs over a cycle of every 210 days. It is the religious belief that Gods descend to the earth on this day. During this festival a long bamboo pole called locally as penjor is made to decorate the entrance to the family compound. The festival is observed starting with the day of arrival of gods and ends on the 10th day known as Kuningan. During this temple celebrations are held every 210 days. It is known as the Odlan festival and is held in the village when child artists also give music performances. During this festival, dancing, music and elaborate decorations and food offerings are a common feature.
Pura Puseh
The most notable landmark is the village temple, known as Pura Puseh, an ancient structure dated to the 11th century, embellished with intricate stone carvings. It is located in the northern part of the village, 200 metres (656.2 ft) off the main road. The temple also has an inscription that testifies to the date of founding of Batuan in 1022 AD. The temple underwent restoration in 1992. It is a five-tiered gateway tower, clearly influenced by Indian religious architecture. Its icons and decorations, however, are typically Balinese in style. Notable depictions include a Bhoma head overlooking the main gateway, the god Wisnu astride a bull, great elephants on the central stairway balustrade, and Siwa
standing amongst skulls. The roof of the temple is made of the fibre of chromatic black palm tree. The maintenance of the temple is done by the residents of the village. The temple is situated on the main road from Denpasar to Ubud.
The entry gate to the temple appears as a split gate as if it was formed once as one gate that was split in to two parts. This gate leads into a courtyard which has a garden and a galaxy of statues fixed at various locations. From the courtyard, there is another gateway spanned by a intricately carved arch with bass relief on the inset and intertwined with vines and a closed door. The entry to the sanctum is again through two gates. The sanctum is where the gods are enthroned during festival time through a special invitation to “come down into this world.” The gods invited during the festivals are venerated with deep devotion and offerings. A sign post at the temple says:
Pr Puse Pr Desa
Des Adat Basua
Saka 944
The first line makes mention of two temples – The Pura Puse and the Pura Desa – the second line defines the organization responsible for the temple and the last line 'saka 944' is in Indic and is equivalent to 1022 CE
On the 1st and 15th of each month, the Gambuh
, an ancient court dance performance, is staged at the temple. Owing to the success of tourism in Bali, a plot has been built next to the temple to put on a daily morning barong
dance for tourists, enacting a fight between the good, a shaggy haired lion-like creature, and an evil widow-witch named Rangda. In the evenings, the dance troupe puts on a Kecak
dance and a fire dance.
"Fat Buddha" statue
In the northern part of the village can be found a stone Buddha statue of considerable girth which marks the Sakah road to Blahbatuh, pointing east.
Nearby tourist attractions include the Santi Mandala and Spa, Balifunworld, and the Bali Zoo.
Bali
Bali is an Indonesian island located in the westernmost end of the Lesser Sunda Islands, lying between Java to the west and Lombok to the east...
, Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
. It is noted for its artwork and style of painting which originated in the village in the 1930s and has since emerged into a major Balinese artistic style, known as a Batuan painting. It is a major painting center and contains a number of art galleries and cooperative art societies which have played a key role in promoting the art of Batuan. The village is also known for its performance of the ancient Gambuh dance, performed every Full Moon
Full Moon
Full moon is a lunar phase.Full Moon may also refer to:- Literature :* Full Moon , a novel by P. G. Wodehouse* Full Moon o Sagashite or Full Moon, a manga* Full Moon Press, an American small-press publisher...
day.
There are two temples on the western part of the village which are known as Pura Puseh and Pura Dasar. These temples are built in classical Balinese temple architecture style with elaborate carvings. Visitors are given vermilion sarong
Sarong
A sarong or sarung is a large tube or length of fabric, often wrapped around the waist and worn as a kilt by men and as a skirt by women throughout much of South Asia, Southeast Asia, the Arabian Peninsula, the Horn of Africa, and on many Pacific islands. The fabric most often has woven plaid or...
s to wear during visit to the temples. The town is also popular for carved teak wood furnishings. The village also has a "fat Buddha statue" (called the "Fat Baby Statue") at the cross road from Salah to Blahatu facing east.
Geography
Batuan is located in central Bali about 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) south of UbudUbud
Ubud is a town on the Indonesian island of Bali in Ubud District, located amongst rice paddies and steep ravines in the central foothills of the Gianyar regency...
and about 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) northeast of Denpasar
Denpasar
Denpasar is the capital city of the province of Bali, Indonesia. It has a rapidly expanding population of 788,445 in 2010, up from 533,252 in the previous decade. It is located at .-History:...
contiguous to northern Sukhawathi village, another well-known art center. The land in this part of Bali is very flat. The area covered by the town excluding agricultural lands is 6 square kilometres (2.3 sq mi). The town is bounded by streams flowing through chasms or gorges, which provide water supply to the town. Apart from the streams that flow through the town, there are also irrigation canals sourced from upstream dams which provide irrigation facilities to large tract of paddy fields that surround the village, which was the back bone of the sustenance economy in the past; economy is now largely dependent on tourist influx and the town is now part of “World Economy.” By 1995, the village had paved roads.
The town has a number of temples hidden in the labyrinth lanes and by lanes of the town but two temples are prominent on the main road. In addition, there are now concrete paved performance pavilions in the town with high roofs where dance performances are held by many dance groups, which have got established now to cater to the tourism in the town; one such pavilion is in front of the Pura Desa Batuan temple.
History
Batuan is mentioned in historical records as far back as 1000 years. The HinduHindu
Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...
and India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n influence in the region in the village is evident from the carvings and temples. In the 17th century, Batuan and southern Bali were controlled by the royal family until a priest's curse led to their losing their control; eventually they dispersed to various parts of the country. During the period of 1947–1949, most of the Batuan people remained loyal to the Gianyar Regency
Gianyar Regency
Gianyar is a regency in the Indonesian province and island of Bali, Indonesia. It has an area of 368 km2 and population of 416,728 , making it the second most densely populated district in Bali...
and opposed nationalism.
Art
Balinese artBalinese art
Balinese art is art of Hindu-Javanese origin that grew from the work of artisans of the Majapahit Kingdom, with their expansion to Bali in the late 13th century. From the sixteenth until the twentieth centuries, the village of Kamasan, Klungkung , was the centre of classical Balinese art. During...
forms are primarily classified under three major categories of which Batuan Style (distinct from the Ubud Style) which originated in Batuan is one style which has absorbed the traditional art form to the present dynamic art styles; the other two Bali art
Balinese art
Balinese art is art of Hindu-Javanese origin that grew from the work of artisans of the Majapahit Kingdom, with their expansion to Bali in the late 13th century. From the sixteenth until the twentieth centuries, the village of Kamasan, Klungkung , was the centre of classical Balinese art. During...
styles are the Ubud style of Ubed and the Sanur style which have been further supplemented by an "Young Artists" style of 1960s of Penestanan
Penestanan
Penestanan is village just outside of the town of Ubud, in Bali, Indonesia. It has been known as an artist's village since the 1930s when Walter Spies lived there. Another notable resident is Arie Smit....
(the artists village) origin influenced by the Dutch
Dutch people
The Dutch people are an ethnic group native to the Netherlands. They share a common culture and speak the Dutch language. Dutch people and their descendants are found in migrant communities worldwide, notably in Suriname, Chile, Brazil, Canada, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, and the United...
artists. In the Batuan style of painting, the emphasis is adoption of sombre colour, generally in black and white with preponderance of mystic Balinese religious ethos related to sorcery and witchcraft. They are also famous for the miniature painting with great attention paid to detailing. The artists have an eye for detail as they paint with great patience. Vegetation is drawn in a stylised format, but each leaf is painted and shaded. The patterns, even in batik
Batik
Batik is a cloth that traditionally uses a manual wax-resist dyeing technique. Batik or fabrics with the traditional batik patterns are found in Indonesia, Malaysia, Japan, China, Azerbaijan, India, Sri Lanka, Egypt, Nigeria, Senegal, and Singapore.Javanese traditional batik, especially from...
sarong
Sarong
A sarong or sarung is a large tube or length of fabric, often wrapped around the waist and worn as a kilt by men and as a skirt by women throughout much of South Asia, Southeast Asia, the Arabian Peninsula, the Horn of Africa, and on many Pacific islands. The fabric most often has woven plaid or...
s, have the minor figures drawn very carefully. Even the open space is filled with pulsating marks. Scenes emerge from the canvas and retreat into the vegetation such as a dog fight, a love affair, a group of gamblers, all shown in a corner of the canvas.
Batuan village gave its name to a style of painting which evolved in the 1930s after a group of local villagers, Ida Bagus Made Togog and Ida Bagus Made Wija began experimenting with ink-washed paintings on black backgrounds. These are popular to this day.
The black and white background was said to evoke the supernatural
Supernatural
The supernatural or is that which is not subject to the laws of nature, or more figuratively, that which is said to exist above and beyond nature...
. Artists in Batuan later changed to gouache
Gouache
Gouache[p], also spelled guache, the name of which derives from the Italian guazzo, water paint, splash or bodycolor is a type of paint consisting of pigment suspended in water. A binding agent, usually gum arabic, is also present, just as in watercolor...
and acrylic
Acrylic paint
Acrylic paint is fast drying paint containing pigment suspension in acrylic polymer emulsion. Acrylic paints can be diluted with water, but become water-resistant when dry...
s. In the early years of the Batuan genre art, Batuan artists explored subjects that concerned themselves rather than creating tourist art. While anthropologists Margaret Mead
Margaret Mead
Margaret Mead was an American cultural anthropologist, who was frequently a featured writer and speaker in the mass media throughout the 1960s and 1970s....
and Gregory Bateson
Gregory Bateson
Gregory Bateson was an English anthropologist, social scientist, linguist, visual anthropologist, semiotician and cyberneticist whose work intersected that of many other fields. He had a natural ability to recognize order and pattern in the universe...
had a special relationship with Batuan artists, they avoided influencing them and were careful in what Western pictures they were to show to the Batuans. Batuan artists depicted only a traditional world in their pictures, avoiding objects such as automobiles, until at least the late 1980s. Anthropologists also interpret that the paintings made by artists of Batuan are visual texts which represent the “Balinese Character”.
Another notable feature is, unlike the Ubud style, the Batuan style also imbued daily life scenes in its depictions, deviating from the traditional. The depiction is of factual scenes but camouflaged in the form of masks. The colours used by the famous artists of Batuan were more bold than those used in Ubud paintings, with green and maroon being the dominant shades used for depicting human beings. Daily life with a complex variety of activities is depicted in great details. However, the painting canvases still adopted the three space formula with the bottom part devoted to daily human activities, with ritual activities in the middle section and with the upper section devoted to the realms of gods.
Buddhist mythology
Buddhist mythology operates within the Buddhist belief system. It is a relatively broad mythology, as it was adopted and influenced by several diverse cultures such as Gandhara which was the capital of Bactria. Later on, it also came to incorporate aspects from countries such as China and Japan...
with vivacious and inventive Wayan-style images. These paintings have also been described as “naïve style works –almost caricatures – that depict daily life with humour.”
The village is now dominated by galleries of various artists. Of major note is I Wayan Bendi Gallery, which is named after a notable contemporary artist in the style and sells expensive paintings, mostly over $200. Many paintings of the artist I Made Buli are located here. I Wayan Bendi of Batuan created the paintings as “craft for tourist painting” with himself as the central figure surrounded by tourists in various modes of life and this format has now become a flourishing art form.
Dance form
One of the popular and ancient dance forms, which is performed in Batuan and many other villages, frequently, is known as the GambuhGambuh
Gambuh is an ancient form of Balinese dance-drama. It is accompanied by musicians in a gamelan gambuh ensemble.-History:Gambuh is one of the oldest surviving forms in Balinese performing arts, dating to the late Majapahit era with very little known change since this time...
. It is a theatrical dancing art form which reportedly evolved in the 15th century which is a fusion of singing, drama and visual art forms. It is performed during the festivals of Full Moon
Full Moon
Full moon is a lunar phase.Full Moon may also refer to:- Literature :* Full Moon , a novel by P. G. Wodehouse* Full Moon o Sagashite or Full Moon, a manga* Full Moon Press, an American small-press publisher...
day and also on occasions of marriages and other ceremonies, locally known as the Odalan, Manusa Yadnya and Pitra Yadnya (Ngaben). However, this dance form is stated to be on the decline.
Ethnography studies indicate that tourism has become integral to the economy of Batuan, particularly since the 1930s. So much so, that in the 1970s a frog dance was devised for the tourists which became a part of Balanese social life, as such dances were performed as part of wedding receptions.
Rituals
While certain villages in Bali are known for violence during trance state, violence rituals are not performed in Batuan, nor do Batuans commonly engage in the trance state at all.Festivals
Galungan
Galungan is a Balinese holiday that occurs every 210 days and lasts for 10 days. Kuningan is the last day of the holiday. Galungan means "When the Dharma is winning." During this holiday the Balinese gods visit the Earth and leave on Kuningan....
(meaning "When the Dharma
Dharma
Dharma means Law or Natural Law and is a concept of central importance in Indian philosophy and religion. In the context of Hinduism, it refers to one's personal obligations, calling and duties, and a Hindu's dharma is affected by the person's age, caste, class, occupation, and gender...
is winning), which is a national festival that occurs over a cycle of every 210 days. It is the religious belief that Gods descend to the earth on this day. During this festival a long bamboo pole called locally as penjor is made to decorate the entrance to the family compound. The festival is observed starting with the day of arrival of gods and ends on the 10th day known as Kuningan. During this temple celebrations are held every 210 days. It is known as the Odlan festival and is held in the village when child artists also give music performances. During this festival, dancing, music and elaborate decorations and food offerings are a common feature.
Landmarks
Although the village is known primarily for its artistic genre, it also contains some notable architectural landmarks and carvings.Pura Puseh
The most notable landmark is the village temple, known as Pura Puseh, an ancient structure dated to the 11th century, embellished with intricate stone carvings. It is located in the northern part of the village, 200 metres (656.2 ft) off the main road. The temple also has an inscription that testifies to the date of founding of Batuan in 1022 AD. The temple underwent restoration in 1992. It is a five-tiered gateway tower, clearly influenced by Indian religious architecture. Its icons and decorations, however, are typically Balinese in style. Notable depictions include a Bhoma head overlooking the main gateway, the god Wisnu astride a bull, great elephants on the central stairway balustrade, and Siwa
Siwa
Siwa may refer to:* 140 Siwa, an asteroid* Siwa, Indonesian pronunciation of the Hindu god Shiva* Siwa , spider genus in the Araneidae family* Siwa Oasis, an oasis in Egypt* Siwa, Panchthar, a Village Development Committee in Nepal...
standing amongst skulls. The roof of the temple is made of the fibre of chromatic black palm tree. The maintenance of the temple is done by the residents of the village. The temple is situated on the main road from Denpasar to Ubud.
The entry gate to the temple appears as a split gate as if it was formed once as one gate that was split in to two parts. This gate leads into a courtyard which has a garden and a galaxy of statues fixed at various locations. From the courtyard, there is another gateway spanned by a intricately carved arch with bass relief on the inset and intertwined with vines and a closed door. The entry to the sanctum is again through two gates. The sanctum is where the gods are enthroned during festival time through a special invitation to “come down into this world.” The gods invited during the festivals are venerated with deep devotion and offerings. A sign post at the temple says:
Pr Puse Pr Desa
Des Adat Basua
Saka 944
The first line makes mention of two temples – The Pura Puse and the Pura Desa – the second line defines the organization responsible for the temple and the last line 'saka 944' is in Indic and is equivalent to 1022 CE
On the 1st and 15th of each month, the Gambuh
Gambuh
Gambuh is an ancient form of Balinese dance-drama. It is accompanied by musicians in a gamelan gambuh ensemble.-History:Gambuh is one of the oldest surviving forms in Balinese performing arts, dating to the late Majapahit era with very little known change since this time...
, an ancient court dance performance, is staged at the temple. Owing to the success of tourism in Bali, a plot has been built next to the temple to put on a daily morning barong
Barong
Barong can refer to any of the following things:* Barong Tagalog is an embroidered formal garment of the Philippines.* Barong , name of the king of the spirits, leader of the hosts of good, and enemy of Rangda in the mythological traditions of Bali....
dance for tourists, enacting a fight between the good, a shaggy haired lion-like creature, and an evil widow-witch named Rangda. In the evenings, the dance troupe puts on a Kecak
Kecak
Kecak is a form of Balinese dance and music drama, originated in the 1930s Bali and is performed primarily by men, although a few women's kecak groups exist as of 2006....
dance and a fire dance.
"Fat Buddha" statue
In the northern part of the village can be found a stone Buddha statue of considerable girth which marks the Sakah road to Blahbatuh, pointing east.
Nearby tourist attractions include the Santi Mandala and Spa, Balifunworld, and the Bali Zoo.
Notable people
- I Nyoman Kakul (1905–1985), dancer and teacher. He was one of the first to teach women martial dances such as barisBaris (dance)Baris is a traditional war dance of Bali, accompanied by gamelan, in which a solo dancer depicts the feelings of a young warrior prior to battle, glorifying the man hood of the triumphant Balinese warrior and displaying the sublimity of his commanding presence. Originally it was performed as a...
in the 1950s. He was a noted performer of topengTopengTopeng is a dramatic form of Indonesian dance in which one or more mask-wearing, ornately-costumed performers interpret traditional narratives concerning fabled kings, heroes and myths, accompanied by gamelan music...
. Ida Bagau Togog, the foremost artist of Bali also hailed from Batuan.