Story of Bali, Indonesia

In C. Geertz's view (1966), the 'fearful witch and foolish dragon' end combat without climax 'leaving everything precisely as it was' and the observer with the feeling that something decisive was on the verge of happening but never quite did'. In contrast, the authors' observations are similar to Mead's: that both Balinese and foreigners cannot help but sense climax at the conclusion. Similarly, the enduring and popular' Calonarang' play ends in climax with the minister of the king attacking and fighting Rangda who appears dramatically from an elevated platform.

Bateson (1949) stated that 'in general the lack of climax is characteristic for Balinese music, drama, and other art forms'. He further observed that 'it does not have the sort of rising intensity and climax structures characteristic of modern occidental music, but rather a formal progression'. McPhee (1970) also stated that Balinese dance and music lack climax.

According to the people of Bayung Gede in 1989, the temple ceremonies have remained. the same over the past 50 years. They do not wish to change the ceremonies because they want to conform to the custom of ceremonies that their ancestors had performed for the gods. Change would arise only by direction of the gods in the form of instructions through a trance medium. The only change they acknowledged in current memory was in the content of offerings, e.g., cake, fruit, and vegetables.

An example of an elaborate ceremony at Bayupg Gede was the one held on the completion of renovations of the village main temple. The villagers began preparations a week preceding the ceremony, including repairing gamelan instruments, making and painting costumes, constructing special structures for offerings and puppet play, and installing colorful decorations of many types. The ceremonial activities lasted a full week. On the climactic day, ceremonies began in the early afternoon and lasted till 2 a.m. About 100 women and some children brought ornately arranged offerings of fruit, rice, flowers and chicken; food was prepared for the entire village; the gamelan orchestra, consisting of about 40 musicians.

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