When conversations turn to black magic in Bali, images of Rangda masks, mysterious rituals, haunted cemeteries, and whispered stories often come to mind. For many visitors, these stories sit somewhere between folklore and fascination, feeding a long-standing Western appetite for the exotic and unexplained. Yet as cultural educator Made Suryasa recently shared during a captivating […]
A World on a String: Susan Tereba Comes to Usada Bali There are dragons and scarabs, chickens and eggs, frogs and dragonflies, cats, mermaids, snakes, eagles, tiger angels, green men, mamulis, and ancient feminine forms. Spread across a table, they appear less like a jewellery collection and more like the inhabitants of an imagined world. […]
Blessing Ceremony for Paon Usada and Cucu Melaspas, Usada and a New Hearth. Today we gathered at a new extension of our Usada hearth in Campuhan. For a Melaspas ceremony to mark the beginning of the next exciting chapter for Usada Bali. In Bali, a Melaspas ceremony purifies and consecrates a newly completed building before […]
At Usada, cultural programming continues to grow through ongoing collaborations with practitioners who bring lived experience into the space. David Metcalf, photographer and visual anthropologist, joins as a community partner, presenting regular photography highlights alongside cultural talks drawn from his travels. His work offers a grounded lens into place, culture, and continuity. This month, we […]
Nyepi: Stillness and the Renewal of Balance is part three of a three part series based on a talk by Anthropologist and cultural expert Jean Couteau ‘Nyepi Uncovered’ at Usada Bali. After movement, procession, and expulsion, Bali enters stillness. People often describe Nyepi simply as the Day of Silence. Within the wider ceremonial cycle, however, […]
Exploring Bali and its culture with John Couteau Pengrupukan and Ogoh-Ogoh: The Expulsion of Disorder is part two of a three part series based on a talk by Anthropologist and cultural expert Jean Couteau ‘Nyepi Uncovered’ at Usada Bali. Following the cleansing of Melasti, the focus shifts. If Melasti returns accumulated imbalance to its source, […]
