Author: jp

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Dukun Jawa – a Balinese photographer

I’m proud to present my friend  Dukun Jawa, one of the best masters of classic photography on the island.  There are photographer legends like Rio Helmi and David Metcalf working in Bali since decades, but let’s bring much more local artists to the headlines!  My friend Kan Kulak introduced me to Dukun Jawa, who lives east of Ubud in a truly Santai village.

You will spot Dukun Jawa on major traditional events, deeply rooted in and dedicated to traditional Bali culture.

Dukun Jawa runs also photography courses, contact datas below.

Dukun Jawa ( I Nyoman Pujawan )

Photographer, tour photography guide, Ubud, Bali. WA: +6282145025800
email: alassangker@yahoo.co.id www.jawanphotography.com

 

There are also a lot of young photographer artists on Bali with great potential like Epong, who is also a gifted carving artist.

Below Epong is working on a Ogoh-Ogoh head designed by Kan Kulak.

See also my photo reportage on Ogoh Ogoh on Maptia here

 

 

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Bamboo Architect Nau Schlosser

20 minutes North of Ubud Nau Schlosser and Sacha Stone made their dream come true: Akasha. Hidden in the rice fields, artists are experimenting with new bamboo architecture and interior design.

Nau Schlosser is a Spanish architect working an bio architecture with all his passion, leading the art to a new level with computer aided design and collaborating with many like-minded artists.

I met Nau Schlosser contemplating there on his new projects on my first visit there. Akasha was completed 3 years ago.

Like Green School architecture, a new technique helps to make bamboo a lasting material, resistant to insects. Nau Schlosser uses silica to petrify bamboo instead of boric acid, which is used by Green school. More on the techniques at the end of this article.

 

Part of the experimental playground is the elaborate light design by Sacha Stone, who created the interior design.

Building close to nature is essential for Nau Schlossers architecture.

All design is inspired by nature, like in this new project below

After a computer-aided design process, construction is done fundamentally based on century-old Asian knowledge in Bamboo construction.

Check out Nau Schlossers website here: http://bioarc.co

See also my story and documentary film on Green School

(c) all photos by Joo Peter, architecture plans by (c) bioarc.co

About techniques to preserve bamboo

silica for petrfication here

traditional methods (water, fire) boric acid and lime water:

http://www.kitilfarm.com/bamboo_preserving.php

Film on a mobile version of  treatment with boric acid here

 

 

 

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Toraja Land – Sulawesi

Living in a small region of the mountains of Sulawesi, the Toraja people are a proud, independent and smart. They keep a unique heritage alive and are famous for their Tau Tau figures, effigies of the deceased family members buried in caves in rocks. Major events are funerals in the village with sacrifices of buffalos.

White buffalos are the most sacred to the Toraja people, and a lifetime of savings can be spent on it for a funeral ceremony.

After exploring the jungle for hidden graveyards in caves with their famous, boat-like shaped coffins, I bumped into a rice farmer living close by.

He told me he was learning Spanish by himself and had visited Europe some time ago, travelling from Amsterdam to Vienna during the winter time. Then he returned Sulawesi, continued his work in the rice fields and built a new traditional house. That’s the way Sulawesi people are. There might be a SUV parked outside, and the mummy of their grandma in the back of the house   — they know how to balance tradition and modern life.

A ritual rice storage building in a small forest mountain village

Rock tombs for the spirits of the ancestors, with Tau Tau effigies.

Men singing and dancing on a funeral ceremony. Buffalos and pigs are sacrificed to ensure wealth in afterlife.

Wooden, carved coffins in a holy cave in Toraja land. The old coffins are shaped like boats. Researchers and local people believe, that the ancestors of the Torajas came by boat to Sulawesi, shaping their houses and coffins like boats in memory of their origin.

family member in traditional costume at a traditional funeral in a village

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Ancient Fire – Tribes in Flores

he Ngada people in Flores are still living in an ancient matriarchal society, where women are the head of the clans. When a couple marries, the man moves to live with the woman’s family and works for them. Houses are symbols of female power and the process of building a new house is followed by a ceremony, where men sacrifice animals (a treasure in archaic society), cooking and sharing all in a big feast.

Bena village is seated below volcano Inerie, close to the sea. Ngada people are traditionally animistic and worship their ancestors — today their old beliefs peacefully coexist with their Christianization by the Portuguese centuries ago.

I visited Bena village for a major event, the ritual renewal of a clan house, owned by the matriarch mother. The final part, setting up the roof, is celebrated with music, sacrifices and a feast for the entire community.

Proud mother of a clan in Ngada, watching her men rebuilding her house. Her teeth are black from chewing betel nut, as was common almost everywhere in Asia in the early days. Women in Bali used to do it, even Geishas in Japan.

While the celebration goes on, the black fibers of sugar palms are turned into strings and ropes in a few minutes, used to bind thatch for the roof. It is stunning to see how the old men quickly process natural materials into construction parts of the house, all in a playful manner.

Shaped like an umbrella and covered with thatch, shrines for male ancestors called ngadhu are placed in the center of a village (here behind Moses working on thatch for the roof). Their female counterparts are called bhaga and are shaped like a little house , symbolizing the sanctuary of the family home and the female body. Each clan has such a shrine.

In its matriarchal society, the chief mother of a clan is called Ine. There are also wise old men called Masolaki, who are respected for their experience and living memory of the culture, keeping the village and clan history alive through oral traditions.

The people believe that these megaliths connect them to the supernatural world and help them to communicate with their ancestors.

 

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Diving deep into Bali culture: Fred B. Eiseman Jr.

His bestseller Sekala & Niskala introduced generations of travelers to the fundamentals of Balinese culture. However, many of his other writings remain little known. It seems that no expatriate delved deeper into Balinese culture than Fred B. Eiseman Jr. (1926–2013), who even published the first dictionary of the Balinese language.

When I reached out in 2014 to request an interview with him, I was saddened to learn he had passed away just the year before.

Eiseman published over 30 books on Bali and was a remarkable ambassador for Balinese culture. Today, only one of his books is still being reprinted—his bestseller Sekala and Niskala (The Seen and the Unseen), which refers to the Balinese concepts of the visible (sekala) and invisible (niskala) worlds that coexist. Another of his titles, Fruits of Bali, remains available as an e-book.

Most of his books were self-published in small editions, often photocopied by hand and sold in a few local outlets such as Ganesha Bookstore in Ubud.

A wonderful open-source project is now helping preserve the Balinese language, which began with 10,000 words from Eiseman’s dictionary: basabali.org. This inspiring initiative continues to add content from Eiseman’s work and is expanding its reach.

Back in 2015, I attempted to compile a chronological list of Eiseman’s works (see below), using my private archive and international library search tools,  identifying 24 titles in total. I also found additional works—mostly collaborations, such as with Patrick de Panthou—through online bookstores.

In 2014/2015, I encouraged his longtime assistant, Linud, who had cared for Eiseman’s original manuscripts after his death in 2013, to help to preserve the legacy of Eiseman by collaboration with the open source project BasaBali inspired by his dictionary. In 2016, Linud entrusted all of Eiseman’s materials to Alissa Stern, founder of basabali.org. Now, Eiseman’s manuscripts, books, and photo archive are housed at Cornell University, USA, and are expected to be digitalized and included in the BasaBali Wiki Project.

Eiseman Jr. spent many decades in his second home, Bali, but his remarkable biography reveals a curious explorer with interests far beyond the island.

Born in Missouri—Mark Twain’s home state—in 1926, Eiseman developed an early passion for nature and indigenous cultures. At age 11, he visited the Grand Canyon for the first time in 1937. By 12, he was already joining Prairie Trek Expeditions in the American Southwest during his school holidays.

During wartime, he completed his studies and became a highly respected science teacher in the 1950s, teaching earth science, chemistry, and physics. He also published on these subjects and received a national teaching award in 1959. During his school breaks, he continued exploring the Grand Canyon, eventually becoming a skilled river guide and a close friend of both Hopi and Navajo communities.

He first came to Bali in the 1970s—and ended up spending nearly the rest of his life there.

Fred B. Eiseman Jr. passed away on April 6, 2013, in Arizona. His ashes were returned to Bali.

Video-interview with Fred B. Eiseman i on vimeo March 20, 1996

 

Works by Fred B. Eiseman Jr.

(compiled 2015 by Joo Peter)

 

Bali : wood carvings and trees

a guide to the wood carvings of Bali with discussions of the types of woods used and the trees from which these woods come

Fred B Eiseman, Margaret H Eiseman

Den Pasar, Bali, Indonesia : Fred B. Eiseman, Jr., 1987

Bali : Sekala,  and Niskala

Fred Eiseman, 1988

Scottsdale, Ariz. (13025 East Mountain View Road, Scottsdale, Ariz. 85259) : F.B. Eiseman

Fruits of Bali

Fred B Eiseman, Jr.; Margaret H Eiseman, Berkeley : Periplus Editions, 1988

Flowers of Bali

Fred B Eiseman, Jr.; Margaret H Eiseman, Berkeley : Periplus Editions, 1988

Woodcarvings of Bali

Fred B Eiseman, Jr.; Margaret H Eiseman, Berkeley : Periplus Editions, 1988

Bali, Sekala and Niskala

Fred B Eiseman; Margaret H Eiseman Berkeley, Calif. : Periplus Editions, 1989-1990

Bali: Sekala and Niskala / 2. Essays on society, tradition, and craft.

Fred B Eiseman; Berkeley, Calif. : Periplus Editions, 1990

Tulisan Bali : a layman’s guide to Balinese script

Fred B Eiseman,  Jimbaran, 1995

2nd Edition Scottsdale, 1999

The Story of Jimbaran

Fred B Eiseman, Jimbaran Bali, 1996

Punyan-punyanan : Plants of the Jimbaran area Bali

Fred B Eiseman,  Jimbaran, Bali, 1997

Dadaaran Bali : foods that Balinese people eat

publisher: Jimbaran, Bali,1998

Ulat-ulatan : traditional basketry in Bali

Bangkok, Thailand : White Lotus Press, 1999

Balinese calendars

Scottsdale, 1999

Jimbaran, Bali, 2000

Usada Bali – A living Drug Store at Kubu Beach

written for Ritz-Carlton Bali, Jimbaran, 2000 (not listed  in worldCat)

Nyledét Jimbaran – Glimpses of everyday Life in a village in South Bali

Jimbaran, Bali, 2001

Usada Bali : traditional medicine in the Jimbaran area, South Bali

Jimbaran, Bali, 2001

Reinventing Bali : the island of peace

Wayan Darsana, I pseud. van Fred B. Eiseman (Jr.); Bali Tourism Authority (Denpasar)

Bali Tourism Authority, Denpasar, 2002

42 p. : ill., krt. ; 21 cm.

Traditional Balinese stories : satua Bali kuna

Jimbaran Bali, 2002

Dugas pidan : the way things were : everyday life in Jimbaran, a village in South Bali, from Dutch times to the present

Jimbaran Bali, 2004

Scottsdale,2004

Babantenan offerings and their role in the daily lives & thoughts of the people of Jimbaran, Bali

(other title: Offerings : and their role in the daily lives & thoughts of the people of Jimbaran, Bali = Babantenan)

Jimbaran Bali, 2005

Kakaputan : wrapping & packaging things in Jimbaran, Bali

Jimbaran Bali, 2006

Paribasa Bali – Playing with words in Bali

Jimbaran 2006 (not listed in worldCat)

Things I wish someone had told me when I first came to Bali

Jimbaran Bali, 2007

Guide to the common fishes of Jimbaran Bay & Bali Strait

Jimbaran, 2007, not listed in worldCat

Dictionary English-Balinese

Jimbaran, Bali, 2008

Traditional Balinese tools in the Jimbaran area, South Bali = Prabot Bali tatamian

Jimbaran, Bali

Palalyan : traditional Balinese games in the Jimbaran area, South Bali

Jimbaran Bali, 2009

How Balinese people express ideas = Nyatuwayang pakeneh anak Bali

Jimbaran Bali, 2010

Bali Niskala : the intangible world of Jimbaran, Bali

Jimbaran Bali, 2010

 

About the publishers

Eiseman published five books with Periplus between 1988-1990, together with his wife Margaret.

Since 1995, Eiseman mainly self-published books as hand-made copies in small numbers.

Besides that, he had a major publication with White Lotus Press in Bangkok 1999 (Ulat-ulatan : traditional basketry in Bali).

For other publishers, also see special collaborations below.

 

Special Collaborations

Eiseman is mentioned as co-author/contributor in other books, especially in a book about Bali by Patrick de Panthou, which seems to have been republished many times by different publishers and a variety of titles. All five titles below seem to be based on the same travel book, which Eiseman developed with partners and had been published in English, French and German.

Bali

Patrick de Panthou, Fred B Eiseman and others

Editions du Pacifique (1978) french version

Times Ed. Singapore(1988)

Hachette (1989)

edition weltkultur (1996)

Bali (Travel Bugs)

Patrick de Panthou, Fred B Eiseman

Hungry Minds Inc (1993)

Bali – the emerald island

Patrick de Panthou, Fred B Eiseman

McGraw-Hill Contemporary (2001)

Bali and Lombok

Fred B Eiseman, Singapore, MPH Pub, Sun Tree Pub, 1992

Suntree Guides, Bali und  Lombok (German language )

Fred Eiseman Jr., contributors Leonard Lueras, Kunang Helmi Picard, Morten Strange, GEO Center, München, 1997

Online

Cockfighting in Bali

https://gtte.wordpress.com/2011/04/08/tajen-taji-rules-and-overview-of-bali-indonesia-cockfighting/

This text might be included in one of the books above.

 

Other works

Eka dasa rudra slides, 1979

Slides taken for a National Geographic magazine article.

ca. 10,000 slides (151 slide boxes)

Cornell University Library, Ithaca, NY 14853 United States

(as listed on worldCat)

Bali Celebrates a Festival of Faith

article for National Geographic, 1980

Music

Kecak : a Balinese music drama.

Fred B Eiseman; David Lewiston; I Gusti Putu Putra; Kecak Ganda Sari.

New York, NY : Bridge Records, 1990, CD-Rom

orchestra Kecak Ganda Sari conducted by I Gusti Putu Putra

 

Other topics than Bali

Eiseman Jr. published also on different topics besides Bali, these publications are not listed here.

Also, Eiseman had a special photo archive on Great Canyon river rafting. Eiseman Jr came from Arizona and was passionate about the Great Canyon. He served as river guide for a while and made many boat tours on the river. See also Fred Eiseman Collection below.

Fred Eiseman Collection

http://library.nau.edu/speccoll/blog/2015/04/announcing-the-acquisition-of-the-fred-b-eiseman-collection/

Short Biography:

http://astro.cornell.edu/research/eiseman/Fred_B_Eiseman_brief_bio..html

more biographical informations:

http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/azcentral/obituary.aspx?n=fred-b-eiseman&pid=165157047

 

 

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Gunung An

Onion legend Mark Kuan created a new peaceful retreat to enjoy with friends & guests. It’s Friday events called “Steam Sauna Friday” are the most inspirational Come-Together I experienced this season so far, master of pleasure Mark Kuan cares about delicious food, while his guests go for rooftop-sunset leisure, pool , nightly fireplace guitar jam session & more.

Mark Kuan celebrates cooking with his guests, as part of philosophy of life: Enjoy, share, care – all close to nature. His cooking classes are a great introduction to Asian & fusion food.
Gunung An is seated next to ricefields, forest and a small waterfall.

Arriving at Gunung An, visitors cross the jungle bridge to receive a welcoming blessing.

Steam sauna and Spa are seated in nature, floating in dragonfly sounds of the forest around.


Below: Friday night  magic with fire show by Aaron

Homepage of Gunung An here –  on Facebook here
Gunung An on Airbnb  –  See also story on  Onion Collective