Saturday, February 9, 2008

The Influence of Religion in Balinese Woodcarving



The Buddhist image should show faces of Benevolence and Wisdom;
The Confucian sage must have a manner evincing loyatly, faithfulness and righteousness;
The Hindu image must have the demeanor of immortality and divine deliverance;

Chinese architecture can be seen from the adoption of Imperial Foo Dog which normally An imperial guardian lion, also called a Fu Lion or a Foo Dog, and called Shi in Chinese, is a kind of statue believed to have powerful mythic protective powers that has traditionally stood in front of Chinese Imperial palaces, temples, emperors' tombs, government offices, and the homes of government officials and the wealthy from the Han Dynasty (206 BC-220 AD), until the end of the empire in 1911.

In Bali a similar statue in form of Lion or called Singa with a lion also stood in front of palace, temples. Balinese believe Singa has the power to ward off evil. Admired for its strength, the Balinese believe Singa will protect their household and thus place statuettes at entrance.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

appreciate your effort... will visit bali sometime this year, will go to the galleryies u mention.. thanks again.