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Gianyar
 The
district of Gianyar covers
nearly 36,500 hectares, a narrow strip of land with the
southern border just a few kilometers from the outskirts
of Denpasar, and the northern-most point high on the
slopes that lead to the caldera of Mount Batur.
Gianyar
city, the centre of regional administration, is the
capital of a former kingdom, which covered an equivalent
area of land a thousand, or more years ago.
Nearly half of the district is
covered in lush sawah rice fields, fed by the springs
that filter down from the base of the dormant volcano,
filling the streams that run through gorges and meander
through valleys and fields, distributing life-giving
water to a magnificent series of paddy terraces
throughout the territory before into the sea along the
30 kilometer stretch of sandy coastline.
The River Ayung
form a natural border along the western side of the
territory with the district of Badung in the west. The
eastern border with Bangli and Klungkung districts is a
line drawn by the Pakrisan river to the north and the
Melangit river to the south.
Seat
of Historic Dynasties
 Steeped in history and culture,
the district of Gianyar is full of archeological relics
of the past. Folk tales have grown up around the
discovery of a solid bronze drum resembling those of the
Vietnamese Dong Son bronze age around 1000 BC, supposed to
have been a bright moon which fell to the ground, fondly
called the "Moon of Pejeng" by all Balinese.
Other bronze-age statues, rock inscriptions and folk
tales testify to a highly developed culture in the past.
Further legends are told about the
Javanese priest, Resi Markendeya, who came as an
emissary of Hinduism from the great Kingdoms of Java to
Bali during the 8th Century, and initiated
the building of the Gunung Lebah temple in Ubud, Pura
Gunung Raung in Taro, and Pura Besakih on the slopes of
Mt. Agung.
During the 9th Century
the Warmadewa Dynasty was in power in Bali, a dynasty of
twins, brother married to sister, who ruled in the
manner of God-Kings from the Singha Mandawa Kingdom on
the banks of the Pakrisan River. This was a golden age
of development for Bali, with the coming of Hinduism, a
flowering of religion, architecture and art.
 Udayana, fourth generation ruler
of the Warmadewa Dynasty, ruled over Bali in 1011, at a
time when the Kingdoms of East Java were at their peak.
He married Mahendratta, East Javanese princess, forging
an indelible link with Java.
This queen buried on the
hill of Bukit Dharma in the village of Kutri just 5
kilometers from Denpasar. This queen was supposed to
have been the manifestation of Durga, the Goddess of
death, and at Durga Kutri, her burial place, can be seen
a stone statue of Durga on the back of the bull,
Nandini. She is identified as the witch in the Calon
Arang story, the evil Rangda of Balinese mythology.
The royal tombs of Udayana on the
banks of the Pekrisan River, became the Buddhist
hermitage of Gunung Kawi, and the rock faces of the
George are a massive feat of stone carving. The entire
valley is dotted with tombs, residences and meditation
caves, scattered amongst breath-taking rice terraces
that pave the hillsides’ steep descent.
Anak Wungsu, the younger son of
Udayana, inherited the Kingdom in Bali, and his older
brother Airlangga went on to rule East Java as inheritor
from his mother’s side.
The next three generations saw the
rise and fall of many Kingdoms in Java, but Bali was
little affected till the Majapahit Dynasty began to
develop in power and conquer far flung parts of the
archipelago which for the first time became united under
a common ruler, including Bali.
Prior to the interference of
Majapahit, Bali was ruled by Raja Sri Aji Asura Bumi
Banten and his minister Kebo Iwa, from their palaces in
the village of Bedahulu. The Raja was a tyrant, and folk
tales depict him as an ugly man with a pig’s head. Kebo Iwa was supposed to have possessed supernatural
power with which he built several temples all by
himself, taking only a couple of nights to complete the
feat. Folk tales portray him as a giant with long
fingernails with which he could carve a rock face.
The Majapahit Empire appointed Sri
Kresna Kepakisan to rule over Bali. He built a palace at
Samprangan, near Gianyar, which duly passed on, to his
son, a most ineffective fellow. The younger brother,
Ketut Ngelisir, left the region and established a
separate palace in Gelgel, near Klungkung, from whence
he was able to usurp his brother’s failing powers and
rule Bali independently.
The history of the city and
kingdom of Gianyar, as with most history in Bali, is
based upon legend and the genealogical "babad"
stories recorded in the Balinese lontar manuscripts. The
name Gianyar is thought to have derived from the words
Griya meaning "priest’s house" and Anyar
meaning "new", possibly referring to the site
upon which the original palace of Gianyar was built.
The
Raja of Gianyar was known as Dewa Manggis, and his
Kingdom emerged as a distinct power in the 18th
century, prior to which his realm belonged to neighboring
kingdoms. By the beginning of the 19th
Century the Dewa Agung of Klungkung had lost most of his
power through warring with neighboring Karangasem and
Lombok.
The subsidence of the powers of Klungkung
afforded an opportunity to the ambitious local Panggawa
of the village of Gianyar, who by means of deceit,
poisonings and war was able to overpower his neighboring
lords and gain control over a large area. This was the
first Dewa Manggis.
He was unpopular, and considered an
upstart by the other Rajas. His ambitions led to a
period of confused warring between the other southern
kingdoms, which gave the Dutch, who had for some time
been trying to gain control, increasing opportunity to
become involved.
The warring reached a peak in the 1890’s
when Dewa Manggis VII, deeply in trouble, decided to
submit to the ruling Dewa Agung. He was imprisoned, and
the Kingdom of Gianyar was shared out between Klungkung
and Mengwi.
It was not long, however, before
Tabanan and Badung conquered Mengwi and redivided the
defeated kingdom amongst themselves. Two sons of Dewa
Manggis VII managed to escape from Klungkung in 1889 and
enlisted the help of Cokorda Sukawati of Ubud to
reestablish their kingdom of Gianyar.
Fearing further opposition, the
new Dewa Manggis allied himself with the Dutch, and in
1900 Gianyar was accepted as a Dutch Protectorate. Under
this arrangement Gianyar prospered, as the Dutch
continued their efforts to subdue the rest of southern
Bali.
The palace of Puri Gianyar became an elite centre
of social life, with the effect that the arts of the
area received more attention and royal patronage than
ever before, and a great blossoming of artistic
activities took place within the region. During this
time western artists Walter Spies and Rudolf Bonnet came
to live in the area and also greatly influenced the
development of the arts.
The Javanese occupation in Bali in
1942 brought a temporary halt to this. Close on the
heels of Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings, Soekarno and
Hatta proclaimed the Independence of the republic of
Indonesia. The Dutch powers tried to return to enlist
the help of their old allies in Gianyar, but to little
avail.
Archeological
Treasures
 The Regency of Gianyar is full of
archeological reminders of its spectacular history. Goa
Gajah, the "Elephant Cave" is one of the most
visited historic sites of Bali.
Rediscovered in 1923,
this T-shaped cave houses three lingga stones symbolic
of Siva, and is thought to have been for meditation. The
cliff face out of which it has been hewn is carved into
a representation of the guardian Bhoma, the mouth of
which is the entrance to the inner passage.
In 1954
adjacent baths were discovered and excavated, disclosing
a row of beautifully sculpted female figures, each
pouring water from an urn.
 The stone relief’s of Yeh Pulu,
another ancient work of art of mysterious origins, can
be found between Goa Gajah and Bedulu.
These are thought to date back to
a 14th century monastery. Yeh Pulu is now a
small temple, entirely walled on one side by a carved
stone frieze 25 meters in length representing an episode
from the story of Krishna.
The Gedong Arca Museum, an
archeological museum with a collection of Stone Age
heads, bone ornaments, weapons, earthenware and ceramic
pots, bronze artifacts, stone sarcophagi and fossils, is
situated just north of Bedulu on the Tampaksiring road.
A branch of the Department of Archeology here can supply
information on current archeological activities in Bali.
The famous pre-Hindu bronze
kettledrum is housed at Pura Penataran Sasih, which was
once the state temple of Pejeng. This relic is the lone
survivor of its type from the Bronze Age, dated around
300 BC, and is thought to be the largest drum in the
world to be cast in a single piece. The drum is of a
rare type, shaped like an hourglass and several meters
in length, with stylized faces and ornaments carved on
its surface.
Important relics of the past are
found in there other nearby temples. In Pura Kebo Edan
(the temple of the crazy buffalo) there are a number of
ancient stone statues, the most spectacular of the
warrior Bima wearing a mask, with snakes coiling around
his legs, a rare relic of the Bhairawa Tantric Buddhist
sect which existed in Bali prior to the 11th
Century.
The Pura Pusering Jagat (the temple of the
Navel of the World) houses a carved stone vessel that
tells the story of the churning of the ocean by the gods
and demons searching for the elixir of life. Another
ancient monastery known as Goa Garba can be found in the
ricefields just two kilometers east of Pejeng.
The village of Bedulu, named after
the ancient tyrant who had the head of a pig, has an
ancient temple complex, Pura Samuan Tiga that was built
in the 11th century.
A steep descent via hundreds
descent via hundreds of steps into the George of the
Pakrisan river leads to the royal tombs and hermitage of
Gunung Kawi, carved out of the rock face around the same
period.
 A little further up the valley,
just past the village of Tampaksiring, the road winds
down to the head of the valley whence gushes the holy
springs of Tirta Empul.
The legend of this spring is
centered around the evil Maya Danawa, a demon king who
refused to allow his people to worship God because he
believed he was the most Supreme Being of all.
A mission
from the gods was sent to put matters right, but Maya
Denawa poisoned the drinking water of the heavenly
troops. In order to save them the God Indra shot a magic
arrow into the ground from which appeared a healing
spring, the Tirta Empul.
A temple surrounds the holy
springs, with a large shrine to the God Indra, and there
are bathing pools which are supposed to have strong
curative powers. On the hill behind this temple is a
presidential guesthouse built by the late President
Soekarno.
A
Legacy of Creativity
The path through the region of
Gianyar runs a regular gamut of art studios, art shops
and cottage industries. Most village have their own
specialty, as creative pursuits are generally community
activities that have been passed down from generation to
generation.
Batubulan
 This village is the first on the
route from Denpasar, and its name "moon stone"
is indicative of the predominant craft in the village,
that of stone carving.
The art of Batubulan can be seen
all over the island in temples, shrines, at bridges,
houses, and even in hotels, in soft stone sculptures and
carvings, images of gods and demons, warrior-guards and
even animals.
The main road through the village itself
is lined with workshops and stone creatures of all sizes
and shapes peep from the sidelines.
The famous Barong
and Kris Dance is also performed here there are several
different groups performing daily, each at a different
temple pavilion or banjar, from 9.0 to 10.0 a.m.
Celuk
 The silver and goldsmiths of
Celuk, long famed for their delicate work, are in the
mid of a great bustle of production, as orders for
export of contemporary jewellery have more than
quadrupled in the past few years.
The skills of the
Celuk artisans are such that they can move effortlessly
from their traditional art of highly decorative filigree
ornamentation to the streamlined geometrical shapes of
today, creating contemporary pieces that are popular the
world over.
The cottage industry has spread through the
entire village, far beyond the rows of ornate art shop
buildings that front the main road, to the family
compounds, where children work beside their elders,
learning the skills of the art from a very young age.
Sukawati
 The sprawling village of Sukawati
is famous for its "Dalangs " the shadow Puppet
masters of the Wayang Kulit shadow theatre.
There is a
large art market here, the Sukawati Pasar Seni, where
all kinds of handicrafts can be purchased at reasonably
cheap prices.
A wide range of souvenirs of Bali are
available both in finished and semi- finished state, and
a lot of art dealers purchase their stocks wholesale
here.
Batuan
Known for is dancing, and the
originality of its painters and wood-panel carvers.
Batuan has long been a famous centre of the arts. There
are active Topeng, Legong and Gambuh.
Dance troupes here, and many young
foreigners come to Bali to study dance in this village.
The carved wooden friezes are replicas of the detail
found in stone temple walls, depicting scenes from the
ancient Mahabharata and Ramayana epics in exquisite
detail.
Several of Batuan ‘s best painters exhibit
their work in Ubud’s Puri Lukisan and some have
exhibited overseas. Few artists in Bali are so well
traveled as Batuan’s Made Budi, who sees the world in
is own inimitable expressly Balinese manner.
He is a
wizard at depicting the contrasts of modern Bali in
humorous detail on the canvas: antiquity side by side
with contemporary, visitor and local, prayer and
profanity.
Mas
Just a few kilometers past Batuan
the road turns eastwards to Gianyar, or northwards to
the village of Mas, Peliatan and Ubud. Mas, the home of
some of Bali’s most famous woodcarvers, is a village
well worth visiting.
The studio of Ida Bagus Tilem,
master woodcarver, is a showroom of antique and modern
woodcarving, and he has a permanent exhibition of his
own priceless sculptures that are timeless works of art.
Visit the homes of Ida Bagus Gelodog and Ida Bagus Anom,
two of the most famous mask-carvers in Bali.
There are
many home studios in the village, where one can watch
artisans at work, bringing the specially chosen pieces
of wood to life with skillful strokes of the chisel.
Teges
At Teges the road branches again,
to Ubud on the left, or Goa Gajah to the right. This
village has two communities, Teges Kanginan, famous for
its musicians and dancers, and Teges Kawan, a community
of sculptors.
The Teges Kanginan community have a large
Semar Pegulingan Orchestra, a Kebyar Orchestra, a
children’s gamelan and an Angklung bamboo ensemble,
and their dancers are the primadonnas of the Balinese
stage. The original Kecak dance was choreographed in
this village.
The wood carvers of Teges Kawan specialize
in contemporary ornamental and functional carvings. They
create replicas of trees, plants, flowers, ducks, fish
and fruits that make interesting pieces for interiors.
Each carving is painted in lifelike colors, so realistic
they will confuse the casual observes.
Pengosekan
Just off the main road through
Peliatan, this small village became famous when Queen
Elizabeth visited in 1974.
Pengosekan has an active
Community of Artists, with a studio near the main road,
who work together under the guidance of Dewa Nyoman
Batuan, who is himself an accomplished artist.
The
Pengosekan artists create attractive compositions and
scenes from nature in pastel shades that delight the
eye. They also have a group who carves furniture, trays,
cupboards and other household utensils in shallow
relief, to which the artists apply, a delicate rendering
of colour. Within the village are many smaller home
studios.
Nyuh
Kuning
Past Pengosekan the road meanders
through the rice fields to the sacred Monkey Forest just
south of Ubud, where there is a secluded bathing place
in a deep ravine bridged by the roots of a huge Banyan
tree.
Above the Monkey Forest is a forbidding temple
with striking sculptures of the evil witch Rangda,
devourer of children, guarding the inner temple.
The
village of Nyuh Kuning is close by, yet another
community of farmers who sculpt and paint in their spare
time, creating statues of birds, frogs, fish and
insects, and detailed canvas renderings of nature’s
wonders.
Peliatan
Famed for its fine gamelan players
and legong dancers, Peliatan is the home of Bali’s
first dance troupe to perform abroad.
In the early 1950’s
the original group, led by the late Anak Agung Mandera, visited Paris, London, New York and
Hollywood, where they starred in the Paramount
production "Road to Bali" along with Bing
Crosby, Bob Hope and Dorothy Lamour.
The younger
generations are still active and apart from weekly
performances in the village they also perform frequently
at the International hotels.
Ubud
The peaceful village of Ubud takes
it’s name from the Balinese word "Ubad"
which means "medicine", as the original
pilgrims who founded the village found the nearby forest
to be full of medicinal herbs.
In the last fifty years
this village has developed into a tourist resort. At the centre of the village is a
crossroad, with the Royal Puri Ubud on one corner and
the community hall and theatre opposite. Across the road
from the palace is a new shopping centre and market.
The
Ubud market comes alive every three days when villagers
come from near and far to sell their produce. About one
hundred meters to the west of Ubud’s market is the
tourist information centre run by the Bina Wisata
Foundation, volunteer youths from the village who speak
good English and give free information about events and
places of interest within the surrounding area, as well
as assisting hotel and performance reservations.
The
Puri Lukisan Museum of Ubud, another 100 meters down the
road, houses a permanent exhibition of the finest work
of many artists, ranging from the traditional Wayang
style to work from the early thirties and a selection of
the finest work of local artists.
There is another
outstanding collection of art to be found at the Neka
Museum, several kilometers further north, which has an
adjacent showroom with many choice exhibits that are for
sale.
Campuhan
The meeting of two rivers, deep in
the valley forms a narrow platform where the ancient
temple Pura Gunung Lebah was built by the Hindu priest
Resi Markandeya, in the 8th Century.
Penestanan
Just over the hill to the west of
Campuhan, a scenic hike of one kilometer through the
rice fields, is the village of Penestanan with its
school of "naïve painting" in bright colours,
a style fostered by the influence of Arie Smith, a Dutch
artist who has lived most of his life in Bali.
Known as
the "Young Artist" style, this art is highly
decorative and simplistic.
Pujung
and Sebatu
The villages the Pujung and
Sebatu, just a few kilometers past the turnoff into the
village of Ubud, are both communities of wood-carvers.
After the morning’s work in the rice fields the
farmers busy themselves creating expressive carvings and
huge garuda statues that are delicately painted in
bright colors.
There are springs at the temple of
Gunung Kawi and this is popular-bathing place.
Taro
Coffee plantations over the land
around Taro. And the classics Balinese architecture of
the compounds are reminiscent of the Bali of the past.
Sayan
For stunning views the village of
Sayan is unsurpassed. The village backs onto ravine that
drops far down into a deep valley carved by the Ayung
River.
Over the past twenty years a number of foreigners
have built holiday homes along the ridge, looking out
over the spectacular view to the mountains of west Bali
in the distance.
Payangan
The village of Payangan, just
twelve kilometers past Ubud, is famous for its lychees,
durian and pineapples.
Just north of Payangan is a
village called Tihingan, with beautiful bamboo groves.
This is a particularly beautiful part of Bali for
countryside walks.
Kadewatan
Behind the village of Kadewatan
the ridge looks over the curving valley of the Ayung
River, and here are cottages and swimming pools, and
even a small restaurant, perched of the ridge top taking
advantage of the splendid view.
Blahbatuh
At the corner of the main
crossroad in Blahbatuh is the local puri, which has a
great collection of orchids and is open to visitors.
The
only gong-maker in the regency of Gianyar is at nearby
Banjar Babakan. Gamelan instruments of all kinds are
made here.
Belega
And Bona
The road to the east of Blahbatuh
passes through Belega and Bona on a back route to
Gianyar. Belega and Bona both have many bamboo furniture
workshops, and great deal of their work is for export. In Bona women and children of all ages make delicate
basketry cleverly women and dyed in bright colours.
Tampak
Siring
The road to Tampak Siring passes
the archeological monuments of Goa Gajah, Yeh Puluh and
Pejeng mentioned of the previous pages .In the villages
near Gunung Kawi and Tirta Empul can be found bone and
ivory carving of exquisitely fine detail.
Coconut shells
are also carved into pretty lampshades, and hand-painted
wooden jewellery is a prospering handicraft, produced to
order for export.
Many of the women spend their idle
hours, whilst minding their souvenir shops and kiosks,
at crochet, making fine tablecloths, bed covers and
apparel.
The
City of Gianyar
The place of Gianyar, surrounded by towering brick
walls, looks out over the Town Square, dominating the
landscape with its grand architecture.
Gianyar is
bustling market town, famous for its Babi Guling,
roast-suckling pig, which is sold at stalls in a small
enclave at the centre of the Town. Bukit Jati swimming
pool is just three kilometers to the east.
On the
western borders of the town can be found numerous
weaving and tie-dying factories, which are interesting
to visit. Simple techniques are used to produce the
exquisite Balinese sarongs and hand-woven or hand-dyed
cloth can be purchased by the meter.
Gianyar is
criss-crossed with a maze of tiny roads and villages and
the industrious creativity of the people is amazing.
Handicrafts are cleverly adapted to meet the demand for
souvenirs and exports by the skillful artisans of the
area, new ideas appearing every day in response to
popular demand.
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