Source: Jarkata Post
BALI, INDONESIA, February 22, 2002: A new book on Bali entitled “Bali Living in Two Worlds,” was launched on February 21. The book was written by a group of aspiring Balinese writers, an architect, activists and others who are directly witnessing the rapid changes in Bali. Although 13 people contributed to the book, it would not have come about without the efforts of Swiss anthropologist and scholar Urs Ramseyer. The book is a comprehensive mosaic of current Balinese society, said Ramseyer. Since his first visit to Bali in 1972, Ramseyer has visited Bali almost every year to study and help preserve its music, dance and culture. Ramseyer produced a video on the process of weaving a sacred Penggringsingan cloth used for religious functions. Only a few Tenganan people are still capable of making this cloth which takes between five to eight years to weave. The documentary was made due to concern that the tradition would be forgotten if the younger generation of Tenganan were no longer able to acquire the weaving skill from their parents. One of Ramseyer’s other legacies is the establishment of Sidemen high school in Sidemen village in 1987. Most youth in remote villages went to city centers to find schools and work in tourist centers. The villages were left empty. Unlike public schools in Bali the Sidemen school set up its own curriculum that includes cultural studies such as lontar (palm leaf inscriptions) reading, dancing, singing and gamelan music lessons. The school also gives its students knowledge of traditional medicine and other traditions.