Today’s Bali Photo of the Day comes from The Setia Darma House of Mask and Puppets in Mas near Ubud, Bali.
One of the newest and perhaps most interesting museums in Bali, the traditional Puppet and Mask Museum houses a huge collection of artistic, traditional and finely crafted masks and puppets from Indonesia, many parts of Asia and Africa. Hadi Sunyoto, a kind and funny man with an appreciation and enthusiasm for mask and puppets of all types saw a downturn in the continuance of this fine art and felt a deep need to preserve it.
The massive and inspired collection is held in a group of traditional imported Javanese houses called Joglo, the villa like structures are quite different from the traditional Bali buildings. Each of the complexes contained a different group of Topeng (masks) or Wayan (puppets). Even the newly re-elected President Barack Obama is immortalized in puppet form.
Locally known in Bali as topeng, the beautifully carved masks are strictly for ritual practices. Hey are also found in parts of Indonesia such as Java, Papua, Toraja, Kalimantan, Sumatra, and Sulawesi to name but a few.
In Bali and Java these ritual masks are traditionally associated with performing arts such as drama, gamelon, and dance rituals and performance. The museum is easy to get to, free of charge and a definite worth while stop on any traveler’s Bali itinerary.
Photo from the Bali Puppet and Mask Museum near Ubud, Bali. Traditional culture, wellness and Yoga
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6 Comments. Leave new
That museum looks way cool. I’m definitely going to add it to my list of places to see!
Thanks for the comment Steph and we really recommend the Puppet and Mask Museum. Great Bali and Indonesian cultural tradition and art are well represented and the curator/owner is such a nice man who has worked tirelessly to create a beautiful place for his collection. Plus its free! (altho we suggest making a small donation if possible). Please let us know if we can help.
Warm regards,
Michael
I didn’t know about this place either. I’ll stop by next time I come 🙂 Thx a lot!
You are very welcome Daniel. In fact I have many more photos from the museum and will be posting a more complete blog post about it soon. if you like, I can email you when it is completed. Let us know when you come back to Bali and perhaps we can give you a tour.
Thank you,
Michael
Our second visit ( first time last year). This time even more interesting as it was the venue for an international festival of puppetry. Our friend and Commedia mask maker (he’s an Ubud resident) ,Newman is also represented in the mask exhibition.
Very well worth a visit foe all but especially if your a mask maker or mask performer.
Thanks Chris.
I have a deep appreciation for the masks and the deep cultural significance they have here in Bali. The masked performer and the puppeteer have a special high priest-like role in Bali society and it is something that many Westerners do not realize or grasp. The performance has a much higher purpose but at the same time fulfills many roles aside from entertainment like education, instilling a moral code and appeasing the Gods to name just a few. I am so glad you had the opportunity to experience this lesser known aspect of Bali.
Warmest regards,
Mikaku