With its Gambuh dances, carried out during Full Moons, the Balinese temples with their intricate wood carvings, local craftsmanship and the artistic style born in the 1930s which evolved into the typical Batuan painting, this vil-lage in the heart of Bali is a kingdom of art and dance. This fascinating centre of art surrounded by rivers, temples wrapped by mazes of tiny streets and, on the main street, the pavilions that host dance performances, is a destination not to be missed by anybody visiting the island. Batuan is, above all, home to the painting style of the same name - one of the three categories that differentiate the forms of Balinese art - known for the use of somber colours, generally black and white, this painting in miniature with immense attention to detail, stylised vegetation and the use, in its figurative elements, of scenes of daily life. It is different from Ubud in this latter aspect for instance. Today, the artisans of Batuan are dancers, sculptors and painters who crowd their works with spectres, monsters and bizarre animals fluttering about a gloomy atmosphere. This very style originated right in this village, evolving in the ‘30s after a group of inhabitants began experimenting with ink paintings on black backgrounds, then moving on to tempera and acrylics.
The purity of the offering to the gods in the Rejang Dance
Only very young dancers, a symbol of purity and sacredness, can perform the Rejang Dance in the internal area of the temple as an offering to the Gods.
Man and nature in perfect balance: the subak system
The fertile soil and the particularly humid climate have made Bali one of the most suitable places for rice production. But what makes Balinese rice unique is the way it is grown: steep terraces fed by an irrigation system devised in the 9th century and known as subak.
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