Author: Michael Tenzer, 1998, 143pgs. (English), Softcover
Publisher: Periplus Editions, Singapore
This volume, Balinese Music, constitutes a concise yet visually compelling introduction to the island’s acoustic traditions, offering accessible ethnomusicological insights for visitors, students, and cultural enthusiasts. The text is complemented by finely executed illustrations and photographs that situate both traditional and contemporary ensembles within their social and performative contexts. Despite its brevity, the work achieves a judicious balance between general historical overview and technical exposition, elucidating the construction, timbral qualities, and performance mechanics of gamelan instruments. It guides readers through specific repertoires—such as the foundational structures of Baris dance music—rendering abstract theoretical concepts into tangible musical examples. Crucially, the book underscores the ritual significance of gamelan as more than an aesthetic art form. In Balinese Hindu cosmology, gamelan ensembles are integral to temple ceremonies, life‑cycle rituals, and communal festivals. Their sonic textures are believed to mediate between the human and divine realms, sustaining cosmic harmony (sekala–niskala). The cyclical rhythms of gamelan mirror cosmological cycles, while specific repertoires accompany offerings (banten), processions, and dances that dramatize mythic narratives. Music thus functions as a ritual technology, reinforcing collective identity and spiritual balance. For advanced ethnomusicologists or those seeking exhaustive transcriptional analysis, the volume may appear succinct when compared to Michael Tenzer’s later magnum opus, Gamelan Gong Kebyar: The Art of Twentieth‑Century Balinese Music. Nevertheless, its primary function lies in serving as an engaging point of entry into Balinese musical culture—particularly its ritual embeddedness—rather than as a comprehensive reference manual for professional practitioners.
Author: Brigitta Hauser-Schāublin, Marie-Louise Nabholz-Kartaschoff & Urs Ramseyer,1991. 143pg. (English). Softcover.
Publisher: Periplus Editions, Singapore
The authors commence their work with a comprehensive introduction to the cultural universe of the Balinese people, subsequently presenting the island’s diverse corpus of textile traditions. These include the intricately patterned weft-ikat Endek; the opulently adorned Songket, distinguished by its supplementary weft decoration; the gilded Perada, embellished with gold leaf; the ritualistic Bebali, integral to ceremonial practice; the archaic Keling, associated with Nusa Penida; the dualistic Poleng, embodying the symbolic interplay of black and white; the sacred Cepuk, venerated in both Bali and Nusa Penida; and the protective Geringsing, renowned for its apotropaic qualities. As one of the earliest and most authoritative reference works on Balinese textiles, the book continues to serve as a seminal resource in the field to this day.
Author: Maria Wronska-Friend. 2015. 135 pg. (in English and Polish)
Publisher: Central Museum of Textiles, Lodz, Poland.
The book is associated with a Balinese textile exhibition taking place in Łódź, sharing the same title.
Author: A. A, Gede Putra Agung,2010. 81pgs. (English). Softcover
Publisher: Saritaksu, Denpasar, Bali
This booklet constitutes a discerning compendium of essays that illuminates the often-overlooked realities of pre-colonial and early colonial Bali. Synthesized from three distinct research papers, it interrogates the island’s social and political structures both prior to and during the initial phases of Dutch colonial intervention. The volume scrutinizes historical royal prerogatives, including the archaic practices of widow sacrifice (satia) and slavery, situating them within the broader framework of Balinese statecraft. Equally significant is its examination of how early Dutch incursions and commercial transformations reoriented the island toward external trade, particularly through the intertwined economies of slavery and the opium traffic. What distinguishes this work is its methodological rigor. Rather than relying on romanticized Western travel accounts, the essays are anchored in ethnographic methodology—a mode of inquiry attentive to lived experience, ritual practice, and the socio-cultural fabric of Balinese society. The authors employ close textual analysis of indigenous chronicles, oral traditions, and archival records, thereby foregrounding Balinese voices and perspectives. This ethnographic lens allows for a nuanced reconstruction of historical realities, revealing how local actors negotiated power, ritual, and commerce in ways that resist reductive colonial binaries. Readers commend the text for its concise yet accessible academic style, noting its value as an essential resource for those seeking to move beyond the superficial narratives of modern tourism. Instead, it foregrounds the raw political, social, and economic dynamics that shaped Bali’s historical trajectory, rendering it indispensable for a deeper understanding of the island’s past.
Author: Michael C. Howard, editor. 2006. 309pgs. English. Softcover. Studies in the Material Cultures of Southeast Asia Series no.10
Publisher: White Lotus, Bangkok
The volume presents the first comprehensive survey of Southeast Asian bark-cloth traditions. It opens with chapters that examine the archaeological evidence for bark-cloth production and use across the region, with particular attention to the holdings of the Rijksmuseum voor Volkenkunde in Leiden, the Netherlands. Subsequent chapters provide detailed analyses of bark-cloth practices in Vietnam, southern Thailand, peninsular Malaysia, Taiwan, the Philippines, Kalimantan, and Papua, thereby situating these diverse traditions within a broader comparative framework.
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