Paradise Island of Bali holds much unique ritual in its cultural inventory one of them is “perang api” or “war of fire”. This ritual can be found in Jasi and Saren village in Karangasem regency and in Buduk village in Badung regency. The “war of fire” is usually held on Pangrupukan day, the day before the silent day (nyepi). In Buduk village this ritual is held annually on Pangrupukan day, in Jasi it is also held on Pangrupukan day but only once every two year while in Saren village it is held annually on the waxing moon in accordance with temple festival (ngusaba dalem).

One of the priests from Jasi village, Jero Mangku Wayan Laga stated that the ritual symbolizes the purification of universe and human body trough fire; fire can burn all the negative and restore the dharma (righteousness). Some say that it symbolizes the war within ourselves, the war against Sad Ripu or six enemies within our self, they are: kama (lust), loba (greed), krodha (anger), mada (drunkeness), moha (confusion) and Matsarya (envy)

The War of Fire ritual is proceeded by the purification of all implements that is going to be used in the ritual. After the purification, the coir is lit, then the participants are divided into two groups, each group grabs the burning coir and throws it to the opposing group. Sometimes some participants chase the others with burning coir in the hand ready to slam it to the targets when they catch their targets. During this ritual no lamp or light are allowed to switch on so the participants will never know the one who attack them to avoid vengeance after the ritual. Many participants got some burns on their bodies but they said tat they did not feel any pain and they believe that the fire has burned their negative energy.

CONFERENCE AND FESTIVAL ‘NORTH BALINESE CULTURE’

July 30^th – August 2^nd

Singaraja, Bali

www.northbali.org

Henrice Vonck 081 236 713 448

The town of Singaraja, sitting on the north coast of Bali, will host the conference and festival ‘North Balinese Culture’, to be held from July 30^th to August 2^nd, 2009. Its projected goal is to study the cultural heritage and artistic identity of the Buleleng regency, as well as to stimulate the revitalization of its artistic activity, particularly its performing arts.

It is obvious that the culture of Bali is far more complex than what can be seen in tourist guides. What’s more, the many researches that have been conducted on the island, somehow also fail to portray Balinese arts and culture in a way that could be qualified as  ‘complete’ One of the main factors lies in the fact that the vast majority of studies have been conducted in the south central region of the island. Consequently, southern Balinese cultural phenomena came to represent (at least for foreigners) Bali as a whole, therefore hiding from view many shades of this complex cultural continuum.

The conference and festival ‘North Balinese Culture’ aims to correct the situation by drawing attention on a rather neglected, but nonetheless culturally rich area of Bali: the northern regency of Buleleng, where the dynamic kebyar musical style was born around 1915. Initiated by Dutch ethnomusicologist Henrice Vonck, and headed by I Gusti Bagus Sudhyatmaka Sugriwa (president of the Foundation for the Preservation of North Balinese Culture), this multidimensional event is organised by an international committee further consisting of I Gede Yudi Gautama (leader of Tri Bhuana Giri), I Wayan Dibia (former director of ISI Denpasar), Hedi I.R Hinzler (Leiden University, Netherlands) and Éric Vandal (Gong Giri Kedaton, Montréal, Canada) and held under the auspices of UNDIKSHA (Universitas Pendidikan Ganesha Singaraja).

The conference part will feature a roster of (inter)national scholars who will deal, through presentations and lecture/demonstrations, with a broad range of topics relating to North Balinese arts and culture. Keynote speakers will be author and playwright I Gede Dharna and master dancer/musician I Wayan Dibia. Sessions will deal with North Balinese music, dance and drama, regional literature, wayang and vocal music, language, literature, tourism and more.

The festival part will include performances of North Balinese music and dance during lunch and after dinner, featuring a gong kebyar mabarung at the Sasana Budaya stage (Jl Veteran, Singaraja) on Friday 31 July. The event also marks the opening of ‘Roots of North Balinese Culture’, an exhibition of old photographs of parba, drawings and prasi in the Museum Buleleng (curator: Hedi Hinzler), and of a painting exhibition in the Aula Dinas Kebudayaan dan Pariwisata  (curator: Hardiman).

This is a unique chance to discover a ‘different’ Bali, certainly not to be missed. For more information and to subscribe, visit www.northbali.org.

The sheer size of The Sahita lends itself to the concept of private parties, events and weddings. There are several inspiring spaces around the property and its extensive grounds to host a memorable event. Cocktails on the terrace at sunset, a wedding performed in the poolside gazebo or a standing garden party beneath the coconut palms are just some of the alternatives available.

The of grand ceremony Panca Bali Krama which is held once every ten years will be held on March 25, 2009. This grand ceremony will be conducted in Bali’s Mother Temple, Besakih Temple, in Karangasem Regency. The preparation of this grand ceremony has been conducted for months and the series of the ceremonies will last until April 27, 2009.

As any other grand ceremonies, Panca Bali Krama ceremony has to be conducted in a holy environment. During the preparation and the execution of this ceremony the spiritual atmosphere of Bali has to be kept as holy as possible that means no cremation ceremony is allowed in the island since death is believed to pollute the atmosphere.

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Wedding in Bali is not a dream. Discovery Kartika Plaza Hotel, Bali will helps you to deliver the truly romantic of this paradise on earth for your wedding ceremony and reception. With its beachfront location on Kuta beach, feel the tropical breeze while celebrating your personal commitment with the love one.

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The word “Kuta” is not just a name for a beautiful beach in Bali, but also the name for equally beautiful beach in Lombok Island in West Nusa Tenggara province. Kuta beach of Lombok is situated on the south coast of Lombok island. It has 5 km of an unbroken expanse of clean white sand and turquoise sea with rugged hills as background, though this beach open directly to Indian Ocean but it is safe for bathing and swimming here. Further to the west there are surfer’s and windsurfer’s beaches.

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