bali art festival

Bali Arts Festival known as PKB (Pesta Kesenian Bali) is an annual arts festival in Bali that celebrates, preserves and develops Balinese art and culture. Traditional art performance is created as a means of activity and creativity of artists in supporting the government program in term of exchanging, preserving and developing Balinese cultural art values. The Bali Arts Festival is intended to motivate people to explore, discover and display the artistic contributions of the Balinese community. The PKB offers a variety of unique and different themes each year. This year, the Bali Arts Festival will adopt the theme "Jana Kerthi Pramaguna Wikrama," which means "Uplifting Human Dignity and Excellence."

Save the Dates!

Held annually, the Bali Arts Festival is the cultural highlight of the year. This month-long festival is a showcase of Balinese art, music, dance and literature. The Bali Arts Festival 2024 will be held between 15 June and 13 July, at Taman Werdhi Budaya Art Centre (Bali Art Center).


tenganan pegringsingan culture festival 2024

Mekare-kare Tradition: The pandan Wars of Tenganan Pegringsingan 

One of the yearly highlights at Desa Adat Tenganan Pegringsingan (Traditional Village of Tenganan Pegringsingan) is Mekare-kare, the vibrant pandan wars that mark the ‘climax’ of their ritual calendar.The pandan war  procession or mekare-kare in Tenganan is a ceremonial offering to honor the ancestors and Dewa Indra, the God of War. The most visible rituals include: Manyunan, where all of the young daha (young women)dressed head-to-toe in their best gringsing cloth and other accoutrements, take their seats on age-old ritual swings, which are then turned by the teruna (young men). The swing is symbolic of the cyclical nature of life — these young Tengananese to keep the wheels turning another generation.

Then comes the Pandan Wars. Taking place in front of one of the bale petemuan pavilions, the stage is set for battle. The young teruna men take their turns to face an opponent with bunched, thorny pandan leaves in one hand and a rattan shield in the other. Then, to the tune of the sacred selonding gamelan, the fights begin. Chaotic scenes as each warrior scrambles and wrestles in an effort to grate the skin of their opponent with the sharp thorns of the pandan.

 

The Tenganan Pegringsingan Culture Festival

The Tenganan Culture Festival is organized by the Karangasem Regency government as an effort to increase tourism visits. This can be seen from the increasing number of tourists visiting Tenganan during the major ceremonies, and the tradition of the Pandan War. In the Tenganan Pegringsingan Festival, dozens of Karangasem's typical Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (UMKM) participate in exhibitions, and competitions are held as a way to unearth the creativity of the youth in Karangasem.



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This exciting feature goes live on the sweetest day of the year – February 14th, 2024!

Love Bali Application as the Implementation of Bali Province Regional Regulation Number 6 of 2023 concerning Levy for Foreign Tourists for the Protection of Balinese Culture and Natural Environment.