Island of the Gods – The tales

This is how our island was nicknamed, not only because of its great beauty and generous nature, but mostly because, for us Balinese Hindus, it belongs to several Gods, and the spirits of ancestors- who are very demanding! According to our beliefs, they lent us the earth, but in exchange, they count on us humans to maintain the balance on it.

Let me give you an example of our task: we see the earth as a big ball resting on a huge turtle called Bedawang. Around its feet are coiled two large guardian snakes – the Nagas.

Way above the earth, at the top of mount Agung volcano, the Gods and the ancestors dwell. We human beings, only occupy the intermediate part, that they lent us, where demons are free to come and cause damage. Sometimes when everything is going wrong, the turtle wakes up and start moving, which causes earthquakes. To make them cease as quickly as possible, we must make a lot noise in order to wake up the two guardian snakes.