Is this the strangest village in Bali?
Fri Feb 25 2022 17:15:00 GMT+0800 (Malaysia Time)
Greetings from the rice fields of Ubud.
The only actual tourists in Bali are Russians, today (I feel) keeping a low profile.
Last week I was telling you about our big problem in Bali, if you missed it you can read it here.
Tomas is in our Slovakian distribution centre.. we are moving warehouse and he tells me they can feel the tension in the air - Ukraine is a next door country. There are plenty of Ukrainians in the area anyway, now many more crossing the border into Slovakia. We can only hope and pray this thing works out with the minimum of bloodshed.
The way I see it playing out economically is in tit-for-tat sanctions that will impact the whole world. For example if Russia cuts the gas supply (after we cut access to the banking system) then power prices will spiral upward driving already excessive inflation.
How this affects the gift trade is anybody's guess, but I do know.. when times are tough then affordable gifts are an essential comfort.
If hyper-inflation sweeps the world like a financial pandemic.. then who knows how this will unwind, I'm still trying to get my mind around that.
Meanwhile as the deadly drama unfolds in Eastern Europe, I'm buzzing around the villages of Bali doing deals and developing projects and products. It's giftware heaven..
There are many beautiful exotic and strange places on Bali. The other day we went to a village famous for carving "hand shaped things". We had this idea to get the molten glass bowls poured over a lifesize carved wooden hand. And Ringo said "I know the place to find that" so off we went.. the village is known locally as "Kampon Burung" or Bird Village. Its only a small place, you enter through an arch and a few hundred meters exit through another arch. There is a temple in the middle, a couple of rice terraces and lots of small workshops with folk all busy carving hands.
A hand carving village is strange enough, but here lives a small heron-like bird called the Kokokan Bird.
Thousands of them perched in trees on power lines, posing in the rice terrace. A bit like a tropical version of that old Alfred Hitchcock film "The Birds". They are everywhere, they are considered sacred by the villagers and treated like holy guests. But here's the really weird thing.. all the bird's nests live only in the village, pass beyond the arch and not a single bird is to be seen.
But it gets stranger than this.. I did a bit of research and discovered something amazing..
Up until 1965 the villages used to eat the birds that came to the village, they were considered a delicacy. Then one night the village had a collective nightmare, everyone dreamed of a big monster visiting them and warning them that the birds were sacred. The shocked locals consulted the local priest who performed a ritual of apology in the village temple. He then fell into a trance and told the village that the Kokokan bird is actually the guardian of the village
After that the villagers made a monument in the temple and as an offering cared for the birds rather than eating them. From that day they say.. village became prosperous and peaceful.
Up until 1965 the villages used to eat the birds that came to the village, they were considered a delicacy. Then one night the village had a collective nightmare, everyone dreamed of a big monster visiting them and warning them that the birds were sacred. The shocked locals consulted the local priest who performed a ritual of apology in the village temple. He then fell into a trance and told the village that the Kokokan bird is actually the guardian of the village
After that the villagers made a monument in the temple and as an offering cared for the birds rather than eating them. From that day they say.. village became prosperous and peaceful.
Certainly the locals were really friendly and happy, even singing as they worked. Everyone seemed busy, Ringo asked one guy if they had plenty of business.. his answer was no, not much business but they keep making for stock one day they will sell everything they made. And here are the locals and the hands..
So many more adventures in Bali I could tell you about.. every day is a new experience. And we have a long list of projects underway.
Next week will be very exciting.. it's Bali new year known as Nyepi where huge evil statues (know as Ogoh Ogoh) parade through the street into the night. This is followed by a day of utter silence strictly policed by an army of polite but firm temple guards known as Pecalang - even the airport is closed for this, no music, no talking, no going outside. The Pecalang of Ubud is famously the strictest in all Bali. Hope I don't get in trouble..
Plus very excited to be invited to the wedding of Ringo's niece in his remote hometown village in Bangli regency. It's rare for outsiders to get an invite, so a great honor.. and I will have to wear Balinese traditional clothes. It's next Friday so hopefully, I can report.
Next week a full update.
Take care.
David
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