
Art from Bali
Bali is an island in the Indian ocean. Lain between Java and Lombok she belongs since 1949 to Indonesia. As an Indonesian province of the same name it is the most western one of the small Sunda-islands.
About in 1500 B.C. the first immigrants from Südindien presumably came to Bali. Religious parties and rites dominate the life to 92% to the Hinduism turned population. Different myths control the artistic works. The origin of the balinesischen literature lies in the Indian poetry. The old stories were mostly brought by missionaries to Bali and were changed there by the people according to her culture. The old legends are held by dances, dance dramas and the Wayang shadow play also even today alive. The most popular stories are both Sanskrit epics of the Ramayana and the Mahabharata.
The old Indian epic Ramayana is the most important and most popular story in Bali. Their central subject is the eternal fight between gods and demons. Be of legendary hero Rama, an incarnation of the God Wisnu, comes on the earth to save the humanity before the bad person. Rama should show the ideal person, because he is courageous, noble and virtuous. This epic originated between the third prechristian one and the second postchristian century as a summary of ancient legends.
You find information about the most important figures of the balinesischen mythology, Rama, Mahabharata, Garuda, Barong, Hanuman, Dewi Siri, Ganesha and Shiva here
