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A. G. Maisey · 18th November 2020, 08:42 PM

Marius, in Bali the Hindu belief system is not quite the same as in maintream Hindu belief, the Balinese belief system is "Bali-Hindu", and it is a combination of Hindu beliefs, Buddhist beliefs and Balinese indigenous beliefs.

All symbolism needs to be interpreted in accordance with the context, and there are many contexts and many ways in which to interpret most symbols. Probably an easy way to understand this is to think of symbolism as a language, it carries a message, just as does language.

My native tongue is English, specifically English as she is spoke in Oz, that is, Australia. In order to be understood by all people who have a knowledge of English I need to try to write my public English in a form that the linguists tell us is known as "Standard English". My writing does not represent the way in which I speak.

However, in both these variations of the English language (Standard English & the Australian dialect), the same word can have different meanings, dependent upon the context in which it is used. We cannot necessarily understand the meaning of a word if we take that word out of context, and we often cannot understand the context if we read, hear or see only a part of the entire context.

I have greater or lesser knowledge of several other languages, and what I have said of English also applies in those other languages.

If we consider the colour red in the context of Bali, we need to consider it in its dominant role in Bali, and that is as a part of the Balinese mandala. The Balinese Mandala is the Balinese representation of the universe and in order for our little part of the universe to be in harmony with the greater universe we need to put our world into alignment with the greater universe. We do this (in part) by arranging things in accordance with the mandala, which you will find here:-

https://www.murnis.com/culture/balinese-symbolism/

In accordance with the Balinese mandala , red is the colour of Brahma.

But in this picture that Anthony has posted we are looking at a dancer in Bali, and that dancer is wearing red hibiscus flowers, one behind each ear. The hibiscus flower is a symbol, a flower behind an ear is a symbol, there are two ears, so three possibilities, the hibiscus flower is red.

He is dancing a particular dance which is a part of the Calonarang drama that presents the eternal fight between good & evil, with good represented by the Barong, & evil represented by Rangda. Of course when we mention either of these characters we enter a whole new waterfall of symbolism --- so we won't go there right now.

To be able to fully understand Balinese symbolism one needs to be born Balinese and to have been trained in this from childhood. The best we can do as outsiders to the Balinese socio-cultural structure is to skirt around the edges and pick little snippets of understanding as we progress.

So --- Bali > dancer > hibiscus flower > the flower is red > one flower behind each ear > the dancer is performing in the Calonarang > he is male.

How should we interpret this symbol of a red hibiscus flower behind each ear worn by a dancer performing in the Calonarang?

Well, the general understanding in Bali is that a red flower worn by a dancer indicates bravery, so rather than get into all the other interpretations I tried to keep it simple.

I might be wrong.

Any Balinese Brahmins out there?

18th November 2020, 08:42 PM	#7
A. G. Maisey Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 6,697	Marius, in Bali the Hindu belief system is not quite the same as in maintream Hindu belief, the Balinese belief system is "Bali-Hindu", and it is a combination of Hindu beliefs, Buddhist beliefs and Balinese indigenous beliefs. All symbolism needs to be interpreted in accordance with the context, and there are many contexts and many ways in which to interpret most symbols. Probably an easy way to understand this is to think of symbolism as a language, it carries a message, just as does language. My native tongue is English, specifically English as she is spoke in Oz, that is, Australia. In order to be understood by all people who have a knowledge of English I need to try to write my public English in a form that the linguists tell us is known as "Standard English". My writing does not represent the way in which I speak. However, in both these variations of the English language (Standard English & the Australian dialect), the same word can have different meanings, dependent upon the context in which it is used. We cannot necessarily understand the meaning of a word if we take that word out of context, and we often cannot understand the context if we read, hear or see only a part of the entire context. I have greater or lesser knowledge of several other languages, and what I have said of English also applies in those other languages. If we consider the colour red in the context of Bali, we need to consider it in its dominant role in Bali, and that is as a part of the Balinese mandala. The Balinese Mandala is the Balinese representation of the universe and in order for our little part of the universe to be in harmony with the greater universe we need to put our world into alignment with the greater universe. We do this (in part) by arranging things in accordance with the mandala, which you will find here:- https://www.murnis.com/culture/balinese-symbolism/ In accordance with the Balinese mandala , red is the colour of Brahma. But in this picture that Anthony has posted we are looking at a dancer in Bali, and that dancer is wearing red hibiscus flowers, one behind each ear. The hibiscus flower is a symbol, a flower behind an ear is a symbol, there are two ears, so three possibilities, the hibiscus flower is red. He is dancing a particular dance which is a part of the Calonarang drama that presents the eternal fight between good & evil, with good represented by the Barong, & evil represented by Rangda. Of course when we mention either of these characters we enter a whole new waterfall of symbolism --- so we won't go there right now. To be able to fully understand Balinese symbolism one needs to be born Balinese and to have been trained in this from childhood. The best we can do as outsiders to the Balinese socio-cultural structure is to skirt around the edges and pick little snippets of understanding as we progress. So --- Bali > dancer > hibiscus flower > the flower is red > one flower behind each ear > the dancer is performing in the Calonarang > he is male. How should we interpret this symbol of a red hibiscus flower behind each ear worn by a dancer performing in the Calonarang? Well, the general understanding in Bali is that a red flower worn by a dancer indicates bravery, so rather than get into all the other interpretations I tried to keep it simple. I might be wrong. Any Balinese Brahmins out there?