The Eternal Dance

Born in the village of Blangsinga, Gianyar in 1929 Gus Aji was nurtured in the cultural heartland of South Bali. Two of Bali's most famous ancient temples - the 1Oth century Pura Bukit Dharma Durga Kutri and Pura Kebo Gaduh Kebo lwo are located only a stone's throw away from his family compound. The latter, named after Kebo lwo, a mythological ogre, houses a sacred dance mask depicting Gadjah Mada, the 14th century Majapahit general, who defeated him in battle marking the ascendance of courtly Hinduism over the old ways. The arts in Gianyar were also blessed because the kingdom had been spared the violence that rocked South Bali, when it was incorporated into the Dutch East Indies in 1906, only one generation before Gus Aji's birth. As a result, most inhabitants of Blangsinga, including the young Gus Aji, were blissfully unaware of the outside world.