Woodcarving Village
The village of Mas lies on the main road, 20 km to the north of
Denpasar and 6 km before Ubud, in a hilly countryside covered
with rice fields and irrigated year-round by the waters of the
Batuan and Sakah rivers.
Today the village appears as a succession of palatial art shops,
as Mas has developed into a flourishing center for the woodcarving
craft. Indeed, it is difficult to imagine what the village was
like before dozens of tourist buses started to drop in everyday.
Yet Mas actually played an important role in Balinese history
during the 16th century, as it was the place where a great priest
from Java, Danghyang Nirartha (also called Dwijendra), had his
hermitage (griya).
Descendants of the holy priest
The holy man, known locally as Pedanda Sakti Wau Rauh (literally:
"The Newly Arrived High Priest") crossed to Bali from
Kadiri in east Java after the fall of the powerful Majapahit kingdom,
and was invited to Mas by prince Mas Wilis (Tan Kober). Here the
pedanda acquired great fame through his teaching, and gathered
many disciples. His son by Mas Wilis daughter is the forebear
of one of Bali's four important brahmana clans, which to the present
day traces its roots back to the village.
The priest's fame reached the court of Dalem Baturenggong in Gelgel,
who, impressed by Danghyang Nirartha's superior wisdom, appointed
him the King's counselor and court priest.
Based upon his instructions, many temples were built, especially
after his moksa (holy death). His belongings - bajra (holy bell),
black shirt, mattress and staff - are now kept in the Mas griya,
and the Pura Taman Pule temple was built on the site of the priest's
griya.
Realm of the blessed craftsmen
The gods are also said to have bestowed talents on two of Mas
houses: the skill of the shadow puppet master to Griya Dauh, and
the skill of woodcarving to Griya Danginan. At first, the woodcarvers
(sangging) were all brahmanas who worked only on ritual or courtly
projects. Their disciples (sisya) learned the craft from them,
and woodcarving skills were transmitted from father to son. The
traditional wayang style prevailed, featuring religious scenes
and characters from Ramayana and Mahabharata epics.
During the 1930s, under the influence of Walter Spies and Pita
Maha, a new style of woodcarving developed here. The motifs were
more realistic, and inspired by everyday scenes featuring humans
and animals. Several of these early works may now be seen in Ubud's
Puri Lukisan museum.
During this period, woodcarvings began to be appreciated and purchased
by foreigners, but only after 1970 did the real boom take place.
The first art shops in Mas were those of Ketut Roja (Siadja &
Son), followed by Ida Bagus Nyana and his son Ida Bagus Tilem,
and Ida Bagus Taman (Adil Artshop). At first they all produced
works of quality in limited quantities, mainly working with locally
available woods. A more abstract style was later developed by
Purna and Nyana, featuring elongated, curved lines and woods such
as ebony and sandalwood. Later oil, in Pujung and Tegallalang,
Cokot began to carve roots into demonic figures.
In recent years, many realistic, brightly painted animals and
fruit trees (known here as pulasan) have appeared on the market,
based on European designs. First created by togog in Pujung, much
of the production is flow of questionable quality. |
