Balinese Mythology

Hey dear community, at the beginning of my post I hope that you have a weekend that is full of positive experiences! In this post, I would like to go into mythology a little and hope you can expand your knowledge about this exciting topic.

You can see here pictures of sculptures of a winged lion which is also considered a symbol of protection in Bali and usually you can find it at entrances where it is supposed to have the task of expelling beings. It is also known under the traditional name Singa lion and in Balinese culture he is also associated with the Barong who is considered the king of spirits and a huge cult has emerged around this figure and in honor of it, ritual dances or festivities are also celebrated and symbolically this figure is also considered with duality between different forces. Guardian lions also appear in other cultures with different representations and it is believed that the origin could be in ancient China thousands of years ago and from there they spread more and more and especially decorated palaces and were almost always linked to mythology. The Indonesian island of Bali is particularly known for its diverse culture and often considered the island of gods or demons and the importance of mythology is reflected in the thousands of temples or other places of worship that can be found all over the island. The cult of gods is extremely diverse and to honor the gods, sacrifices are regularly made by the locals because they thought they could appease the anger and there are numerous festivals or rituals that revolve exclusively around the the gods and it is interesting that it still shapes the culture today. In the history of the creation at the beginning there was only the snake Antaboga which had created the turtle Bedawang through the power of meditation on which tank more and more the base of the world was created and under the turtle was the underworld. Through the gods, the heavens and the light of the earth were created and the heavens were similar to other cultures as the place of residence of the gods and there are nowadays numerous different gods, mythical creatures, animal figures and other traditional beings that have been incorporated into this diverse cult. Most of the mythology originated before the time of Hinduism and have been increasingly adapted to Hinduism in recent centuries and a lot of symbolism has also developed and nowadays you can find numerous interesting legends in this diverse mythology.

Thanks a lot for stopping by and I hope you could learn something new about mythology! I captured these pictures with my Camera Sony Alpha 6000 plus 55-210 mm lens.