Batubulan: The Artsy Village in Bali

There are a lot of things you can enjoy in Bali. Not only about the beaches but also the cultures and arts of Bali. The cultures and arts in Bali are strongly influenced by the religion of Hinduism. You will see many of the cultures and arts in Bali are the representation of the gratitude of Hindu people in Bali. One of the art people has to show the gratitude of Balinese people is dancing.

Balinese dancing becomes more and more famous day by day. Some of the dances are really sacred that only can be showed in ceremonies, some others are included as entertainment dances that can be showed regularly to entertain people and tourist. One of the places that offer you the Balinese dance performance is Batubulan Village. Batubulan is included as part of Sukawati district, Gianyar regency. It only takes around 30 minutes from Denpasar to reach Batubulan Village.

Batubulan Village is famous because it has regular shows of Balinese dancing. You can enjoy some dances in Batubulan Village like Barong Dance Batubulan, Legong Dance, and Kecak Dance. The Barong Dance and Legong Dance in Batubulan Village are performed in the morning around 9.30 in the morning and Kecak Dance in Batubulan Village is showed in the evening. Batubulan Barong dance is performed together with Legong Dance. Legong Dance is the opening dance for Batubulan Barong Dance and Batubulan Barong dance is closed with Keris Dance.

Batubulan Barong dance is unique because it is performed by two people in one costume. So, the dancers have to have good coordination to perform the Batubulan Barong dance perfectly. Batubulan Village usually performs the Barong Ket dance. Barong Ket is the mythical creatures that against the bad things in Bali.

Batubulan Barong dance is the combination of tiger, cow, lion, and dragon in the body. In Batubulan Village you can not only enjoy the dancing performances but also enjoy the engraving arts. The ability of engraving of Batubulan villagers has existed from generation to generation. Most of the villagers in Batubulan learn to engrave informally or only by seeing their family doing so.

Batubulan Village was once a wild forest. It was opened by a son of King in Bali. When the son entered the forest, he saw a stone that shined like a moon, then he named it as Batubulan that literally means “Moon Stone”. Batubulan Village is located in a strategic area, after you finish watching the Batubulan Barong dance in Batubulan Village, you can go to Celuk Village to see the jewelry or to Sukawati art market. You can also go to Kintamani because Batubulan Village is located in the way of Denpasar-Kintamani.