Island of Bali

by Miguel Covarrubias

First published in 1937, Island of Bali has come to be regarded as a classic work on the Balinese people and their civilization. Written with remarkable clarity, Covarrubias describes the geography and nature of the island, along with the history of the people, providing a thorough account of the community, family, and individual in all spheres of Balinese life.


Miguel Covarrubias (1904-1957) was born in Mexico City and was an author, painter, caricaturist, and professor of art history at the National School of Anthropology in Mexico City.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Travel, Anthropology, Cultural, Travelogue, Asia

417 pages, Paperback

First published January 28, 1937

About the author

Miguel Covarrubias also known as José Miguel Covarrubias Duclaud was a Mexican painter, caricaturist, illustrator, ethnologist and art historian. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miguel_...]

Reviews

[Missy J · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent introduction to Bali for those interested in this unique island! Miguel Covarrubias was a Mexican artist, who visited the island for the first time in 1930 with his wife Rosa. They were fascinated by Bali and its rich culture. They wanted to learn everything they could about its culture, beliefs and language. In 1933, they visited the island again for further research. I had to constantly remind myself that the information of Bali that I was reading was based on observations in the 30s. Of course a lot has changed already, but somehow I can still see some part of it alive. I enjoyed learning about all the different gods and the Balinese belief in good and evil, which is present in everything. The myths were well explained, especially Rangda and the story of Erlangga and his evil mother. This book finally gave me the explanation why Bali is the only Hindu dominated island in Indonesia and what makes its culture so rich. When Islam took over Java, a Hindu king refused to convert and committed suicide. His son (the prince) together with all the priests, intellectuals and royal family fled to Bali, where they continued their Hindu traditions. The author also explains well how Bali's Hindu differs a lot of from India's Hindu in that it has a very strong Polynesian/animist undertone. I learned a lot from this book. I wish something like this could have been written for each island in Indonesia.

[Vivienne Kruger · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mexican painter Miguel Covarrubias set sail for Bali in 1931 on an optimistic personal quest to discover, absorb, and chronicle Bali’s traditional living culture. Buy into the romance and seduction of Covarrubias—driven by a feverish imagination-- inexorably pulled towards and teased by the lure of Bali, half a world away. Travel back sixty-four years in time to Bali’s unspoiled natural vistas—a happy, peaceful. pristine retreat standing apart from a West mired in crippling economic depression and poised on the precipice of World War II. As a fellow artist on an island with three million artists-in-residence (creativity is considered both a religious and a natural activity on Bali), Covarrubias penetrated deeply into the spirit of the dance, theatre, music, decorative arts, and pastimes of Bali.
Embellished by 114 half-tone photos and 90 drawings by the author and other Balinese artists, this essential, still-relevant classic consists of twelve chapters on the Balinese people and their civilization in the 1930s. Accompanied by painter Walter Spies, Bali’s most famous expatriate resident, they roamed the countryside together with eyes, ears, and canvasses wide open, observing the local life. Covarrubias’s most notable writing describes the organization of the traditional Balinese village: the markets, social order, etiquette, language, caste system, the banjar, law and justice, the courts, the subak, rice culture, and the distribution of labor. This intimate, insider’s foray into every nook and cranny of his own paradise produced key chapters on everyday family life in Bali: the house, cooking, costume and adornment, childbirth, childhood, adolescence, sexual customs, and marriage.
Covarrubias explored the place of the artist in Balinese life and the development and evolution of Balinese art, crafts, sculpture, and architecture. Drama and dance are important components of Balinese life: they come alive through the village orchestras, musical instruments, classical Legong, and the ancient shadow plays. Island of Bali unveils material on priests and religion, temples and feasts, offerings and exorcisms, the Balinese calendar, and the original Bali Aga people. Written from a day when primary forests reigned supreme and witch doctors wielded terrifying power, Covarrubias delves into the cult of the Barong and Rangda, black and white magic, folk medicine, the sacrifice of widows, and death and cremation. The Balinese still lead a magical, mystical, harmonious life that is difficult for Westerners to understand unless they read a profound work like Covarrubias’s Island of Bali. With an artist’s sensibility and a Bali-lover’s eye, Covarrubias paints a complex nirvana with words and easel in this great literary achievement.

[Nick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Miguel Covarrubias was the least showy of the Mexican muralists. He lacked the bravado of Rivera (who spent the Revolution in France), the militance of Siquieros (who led a machine gun attack on Trotsky's house), the spiritual struggle of Orozco. And, perhaps, he lacked their outsized talent. What he had -- and they lacked -- was a generosity of spirit, an interest in the actual people of his country (as opposed to the shape they made on the canvas) and those of Bali, where he spent his honeymoon and to which he returned. It was a golden age for foreign intellectuals in Bali, where Covarrubias' wife Rose photographed, Walter Spies painted and Colin McPhee composed and preserved the local music. Covarrubias, to judge from this book, had an inexhaustible curiosity about things Balinese, the dances and the dancers, the architecture of the temples, the Balinese take on Hindi gods and castes, the festivals and funeral rites, the stories and histories. Some of this must have felt familiar to Covarrubias, as in the Indian Mexican rites, the wearer of the mask was possessed by them. One also seeks how comfortable he was with Bali in the grace of his painting there, more enticing actually to his work in Mexico. It reads like great anthropology, except for being readable.

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

Essential reading on the very intricate Balinese culture especially as it relates to religion, art and drama. Nominally Hindu, the culture draws as much or more from deep animist and ancestral worship and is a way of living more than an ecclesiastical order. I think I like ancestor worship since it cannot be proselytized as one's ancestors are specific to one's own culture. Although written by the Mexican artist Covarrubias in the 1930s, much of the content is just as relevant today and remains an important reference work despite its lack of an academic pedigree.

[Brendan Koerner · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not quite my cup of tea, as Covarrubias's writing and tone are strictly academic. But "Island of Bali" is nonetheless an impressive feat of anthropological reporting, and Covarrubias's deep affinity for Balinese culture shines through in his attention to detail. A challenging read for those unaccustomed to 1930s ethnographic literature (present company included), but the rewards make this book a worthwhile endeavor.

[Breeana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Omgosh Miguel this is the detail I was after.
This is the book to read if you love Bali, but don't associate yourself with the travellers who wear beer labeled singlet tops and think nasi goreng is the only edible dish and bargain so low it's embarrassing.
Bali is rich and so magical you can actually feel the magic.
Explore it or just explore this book. Either way it's a trip.

[Dianne Lange · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Lonely Planet helps you get around but this guide to the culture helps you understand what you're seeing, hearing, smelling. A must for anyone going to Bali.

[Ivo Nicolay · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must for all who wants to know more about the fascinating Balinese life and culture.

[elena · Rating 4 out of 5]

when this book was published in 1937 it served as a window into bali, for people who had never been, and likely would never be there. now, 80 years later, it's more of a reflection of the world as it was in 1937. not just bali, which must have changed in such a long time, but also of the occidental world where this was printed, a world in which the ideas of "savages" and "sexual anormality" were still part of the common conscience. it's really interesting to look into a world which has by now vanished, but traces of which still remain today.

[Edwin Pietersma · Rating 5 out of 5]

I believe it was a very well-written book that, given its time, is very considerate of the different elements that constitute the life in Bali. It gave a rich introduction to some of the facets of Hinduism in Bali and also the discussion of the future, which is interesting showing some of the issues the island was dealing with at the time. Although quite a pill, a high recommendation for anyone having visited the island and wishing to learn more about the manifestations of different cultures within Bali, forming Bali identity in the 1930s.

[Rizky S · Rating 5 out of 5]

enjoyable read. in my opinion, this is one of the most authoritative books written about Bali. the Covarrubias wrote it in 1930s before Indonesian independence, and long before the mass tourism happen. reading it 90 years later after it's been written, I see some have changed, and some are still the same. the balinese culture has proven more resilience than previously thought.

[Helen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Even though this book was written in the 1930s, it is still an interesting read. If you are interested in the history, language and religion of Bali then this book is a must read. I must admit it did take me a while to get through it as I found some of the wording tedious. I’m not good with languages! But, all in all, it gave me an insight into the Balinese people.

[Mike · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a detailed book on the people of Bali from a hundred years ago. It must have been a sight to see a culture transition from ancient ways to modernity. Even when coercion by the Dutch caused a negative effect the witnessing and documenting of the events must have been interesting.

[Bhavna Antony · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book nearly 90 years after it was written but an incredible amount of life in Bali documented in the book still holds true. He has captured the Balinese culture very accurately. I read it while on holiday and recommend it to anyone tracking to the island

[Harry Chua · Rating 5 out of 5]

For those who fall in love with Bali, this is the most authoritative book on Bali and Balinese. The author puts us through back in time, all his sketches and drawings are so beautiful.

[Peter Anderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best books about Bali. If you’re only going to read one book about Bali, this is it.

[Desira · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very detailed and descriptive but also a readable account of Balinese culture from a fairly modern western perspective

[Иван Лисник · Rating 4 out of 5]

Наистина много интересна книга, написана преди почти век, в нея се описва в много дълбоки подробности бита и културата на остров Бали.

[britters_ · Rating 3 out of 5]

very interesting source on Bali and the culture. Covers many aspects and it worth a read.

[Mark Eveleigh · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book again (for the second time) when I was researching a Bali-based magical realism thriller and it remains a real classic and is immensely readable even after all this time.

[Jasmin Torbiak · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sehr detaillierte Schilderung der Menschen in Bali vor 60-80 jahren

[Blythe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thorough and splendid account of Bali culture. It made my travels feel very personal. It was written a long time ago in reference to trips he made in the 1930s, but it almost seems like the people governing Bali read it and took his advice to heart, because when I visited, they had clearly placed framework to allow them to grow with the times, but preserve the essential parts of their culture, particularly their humor, cooperation, religion, and their incredible and vast artistic talent. They put a premium on beauty and it makes the island a paradise. It was nice to know their culture more intimately through this book in a way I couldn't absorb in 9 days there.

[Audrey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this old account of Bali, written in 1930's. Although many parts of it weren't applicable to present day Bali, there were several parts that were, including the religion and ideas behind certain practices. The author includes anecdotes he heard while living there about the culture (use of human blood in the dyes of the double ikat of Tenganan) and notes about the fruit (including snake fruit!), which I really enjoyed. Kept as a reference for future trips to Bali.

[Dean Mermell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Covarrubias was a prolific Mexican artist who was one of the first wave of westerners in the 30s to spend time in Bali. His drawings and descriptions of dance, ritual, and daily life give a beautiful taste of what things were like in those early days, before Bali changed into the much more commercial post card of itself we find today.

[Hariyanto · Rating 4 out of 5]

This books is really good. It will give you the overview of the life in Bali. Not very in-depth, but quite well in describing what we need to know about Bali. A must-read before you read other books (fictions or non-fictions) about Bali.

[Steve Woods · Rating 1 out of 5]

THe best introduction for anyone wanting to understand the Balinese and their island

[William Cathey]

http://www.goodreads.com/review/new/1...#

[Richard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Covarrubias is practically forgotten and much under-appreciated as an artist in the current age. This is a marvelous book.

[Tony Zotti · Rating 4 out of 5]

An amazing account by a wonderful man

[in8 · Rating 4 out of 5]

read travelling Indonesia in 1990: http://www.5cense.com/15/404.htm