Last night we went to the Uluwatu Temple. It is a famous Hindu temple high on a mountain facing the west and Indian Ocean. The temple is used for worship so Dick and I had to don Balinese ikat sarongs and tie them with a yellow silk sash. Very nice. Our guide took us up the back stairs to the temple. The steps were old, steep and crumbly. And the naughty monkeys deviled us. But Dick fought them off and we were none the worse for wear. The views from the crags at the various levels on the trek up the mountain were spectacular. The Indian Ocean crashing into the cliffs just before sunset.
We reached the top of the temple and made our offerings. It was so crowded with people. Dick and I were in the minute minority in terms of culture, religion, race, language and age.
At the dance site we were given the history and story of this famous cultural dance. The story was available in about a dozen languages. English by far not the most popular. The dance is unique in that about 70 men provide the music. Much like a chorus but thier vocalizations were chants, and various noises that helped tell the story. The story is very famous here in Indonesia and the school children are taught to perform it starting at age five. The body language, facial features and eye movements tell the story. It is a very typical story of two brothers, one evil and one good. The good brother has a beautiful wife. The evil brother decieves the good brother and steals his wife and throne. A white monkey comes to the rescue and destroys the chaos and returns the the wife and throne to the good king. Fire, water, earth and air all used in the telling of the story.
I finally captured a sunset. But was packed into the arena with hundreds of other folks so could not get the postcard quality I was hoping for. Enjoy the photos.
We reached the top of the temple and made our offerings. It was so crowded with people. Dick and I were in the minute minority in terms of culture, religion, race, language and age.
At the dance site we were given the history and story of this famous cultural dance. The story was available in about a dozen languages. English by far not the most popular. The dance is unique in that about 70 men provide the music. Much like a chorus but thier vocalizations were chants, and various noises that helped tell the story. The story is very famous here in Indonesia and the school children are taught to perform it starting at age five. The body language, facial features and eye movements tell the story. It is a very typical story of two brothers, one evil and one good. The good brother has a beautiful wife. The evil brother decieves the good brother and steals his wife and throne. A white monkey comes to the rescue and destroys the chaos and returns the the wife and throne to the good king. Fire, water, earth and air all used in the telling of the story.
I finally captured a sunset. But was packed into the arena with hundreds of other folks so could not get the postcard quality I was hoping for. Enjoy the photos.
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