A LITTLE-KNOWN ISLAND.

Shannon News, 10 August 1928, Page 4

A LITTLE-KNOWN ISLAND.

CUSTOMS OF .THE NATIVES OF BALI.

The island of Bali, about which Mr H. E. Anderson spoke in the course tff ~ his travel lecture in Levin on Friday evening, is a comparatively small coun-' try, but it lies not far away from Java and has become famed for the colourful life of its natives. Mr Anderson said that this island was the most picturesque he had seen in all his travels, in the course of which he visited Af-_ rica, India, Burma, . Singapore and Java. The beauty of the scenery and the splendour of the native costumes and ceremonials were indicated by the lantern views with which the lecture was. lillus'trated. Among pther subjects, they showed the native cattle used as draught. animals, with great wooden bells suspended from their necks to drive "away live .spirits; the natives engaged in their favourite pastime of cock-fighting; the little dancing girls in their elaborate costumes and graceful poses; and the strange funeral and Cremation ceremonies, which, as seen ' through native eyes, are impressive in the extreme. The Bali cattle, said Mr Anderson, cannot tolerate'the smell of white people, but they are very docile in the hands of the natives/and work in the fields all day long. The sport of eockfighting is carried on in contravention of an;ordinance of the Javanese .Government; and Mr Anderson was not welcomed by a group of men engaged in it, who probably mistook him for an inspector. He won their confidence with'a' gift of money, but when he took a photo an old man in the crowd said something which caused the "spdrts" to look on him with renewed suspicion, and his privilege as a spectator came to an end. It is decidedly a cruel'sport, as razor-sliarp knives are fitted to the rooster's spurs, and in nearly every contest one of the birds kills the other.

The dancing girls were- very natural and charming. A couple of. them danced for an hour, with only one rest of five, minutes. The dance .was described as being of a quiet, slow type, the movements of which, however, were admirably synchronised, ' while the native musie was very melodious. The dresses worn by the dancers were of % gorgeous colours and patterns, and they shimmered with beaten gold.

A Balinese" hearse, shown on the s.creen, was a pogoda-like" tower, about 60 feet high. It is constructed l)iincipally of bamboo, but is much ornamented with coloured silks, dyed raw cotton and beaten gold. The coffin in a skilfully constructed model of an animal, and it is placed on a platform in the tower, with a stairway leading up to it. -The whole structure is carried by a large party of men, and the funeral party wends its way to the cremating ground, where Mr Anderson saw an immense burning take place, 150 bodies being disposed of. . These massed ceremonies are held once or twice a year. The relatives of a deceased person keep his corpse until they have sufficient money to provide" him with a fitting funeral, and thus some of .the bodies are four years awaiting burial.

The Balinese who have developed their own curious customs, are descendants of ancient Hindus who settled on tile island and whose traditions have undergone the transformations inevitable in a comparatively isolated locality. . ,