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| Kamasan | |
|---|---|
| Name | Kamasan |
| Settlement type | Village |
| Subdivision type | Country |
| Subdivision name | Indonesia |
| Subdivision type1 | Province |
| Subdivision name1 | Bali |
| Subdivision type2 | Regency |
| Subdivision name2 | Buleleng |
| Timezone | WITA |
Kamasan Kamasan is a traditional village and cultural center on the island of Bali, Indonesia, noted for its classical painting tradition, ritual calendar, and role in regional artistic networks linking to cities such as Singaraja, Denpasar, Ubud, Singaraja Regency and Bali Province. The village's painters and ritual specialists historically served courts and palaces including Gianyar, Jembrana, Tabanan, Karangasem and drew patronage from elites of Dutch East Indies colonial officials and later Indonesian cultural institutions like Institut Seni Indonesia and Yayasan Kebudayaan Bali.
Local tradition attributes the village name to an Old Balinese or Sanskrit root connected with artisanship and settlement patterns similar to names found in Java and Sumatra, echoing linguistic parallels with terms in Old Javanese inscriptions and place names in Majapahit sources. Colonial records from the Dutch East Indies administration and scholars such as Hendrik Kern and Benedict Anderson reference phonetic variants, while modern studies by Clifford Geertz-inspired anthropologists and linguists at Leiden University and University of Indonesia analyze onomastic links to ritual roles documented in Negara court chronicles.
Kamasan's historical development is closely associated with the movement of artisans during the late premodern period when courts in Gelgel, Mengwi, Buleleng Kingdom and Karangasem Kingdom sponsored painters, metalworkers and goldsmiths who migrated after political upheavals described in chronicles alongside events like the decline of Majapahit and the expansion of Dutch East Indies influence. Records from travelers and administrators such as H.C. Romijn and collectors like Dr. H. Creutzberg indicate continuous production of narrative panels used in palaces of Gianyar and in ritual contexts comparable to works held in collections at the Rijksmuseum and ethnographic displays assembled by Museum Nasional and Tropenmuseum. Post-independence cultural policy from the Republic of Indonesia and initiatives by figures such as Walter Spies and institutions like Bali Arts Festival impacted the transmission of techniques and iconography into the 20th century.
Situated in northeastern Buleleng Regency near coastal routes connecting to Lovina and inland roads to Bedugul, Kamasan occupies a landscape of terraced rice fields and riverine valleys typical of northern Bali Province settlements. The population comprises extended families organized into traditional hamlets comparable to desa adat found across Bali, with demographic links to migratory patterns involving neighboring communities such as Sukawati, Mas, Tegalalang and seasonal labor movements toward urban centers like Denpasar and Surabaya. Census and ethnographic surveys coordinated by agencies including Badan Pusat Statistik and researchers from Australian National University document household structures, age cohorts, and artisan lineages.
Kamasan is renowned for a painting idiom historically used for palace adornment and mythic narrative panels, sharing stylistic affinities with schools in Ubud, Mas, Lombok, Java shadow-puppet iconography from Wayang, and motifs rooted in Hinduism epics such as the Mahabharata and Ramayana. Workshops produce lacquered wooden panels, lontar manuscript illustrations, and gamelan-compatible ceremonial imagery associated with performance traditions linked to ensembles like Gamelan Gong Kebyar and dance troupes that perform in contexts echoing events at Puri Saren and during festivals promoted by Bali Arts Festival. Ethnomusicologists and art historians from Cornell University, University of Oxford, and Leiden University have analyzed Kamasan painters' use of line, color, and iconographic conventions, noting continuity with court painting exemplified in collections of the Victoria and Albert Museum and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
The local economy combines artisanal production, smallholder agriculture, and participation in Bali's tourism circuit that connects to resorts and operators in Denpasar, Ubud, Seminyak, and Kuta. Income sources include commissioned panels for temples and private collectors, sales through galleries associated with institutions such as Casa Luna and cooperatives modeled on programs by UNESCO and World Bank cultural heritage projects. Farmers cultivate rice terraces irrigated by subak systems referenced in water-management literature linked to Catur Angga Batukaru and participate in regional markets in Singaraja and Gianyar while younger generations seek employment in hospitality sectors servicing visitors to sites promoted by Bali Tourism Board.
Religious life centers on forms of Balinese Hindu practice tied to temples, ritual specialists, and ceremonial calendars comparable to observances at Pura Besakih, Pura Ulun Danu Bratan, Pura Tanah Lot and village temples maintained by desa adat institutions. Lineage groups, caste-like social distinctions historically influenced by Brahmin, Ksatriya and Sudra roles, and ritual offices mirror structures documented in ethnographies by Margaret Mead-style fieldworkers and contemporary analyses from University of Leiden. Priests, dalang-style storytellers, and pembuat lukisan (painters) coordinate rites such as odalan and nyepi-cycle events synchronized with the Balinese pawukon and saka calendars preserved in lontar texts examined by scholars at University of Hawaii and Australian National University.
Architectural features include ornate family compounds and temple complexes that reflect Balinese vernacular architecture with carved gateways, meru-tiered shrines, and lacquered paneling found in palatial settings akin to structures at Puri Saren Agung and public temples like Pura Dalem. Several workshops and community halls exhibit traditional layouts studied by conservationists from ICOMOS and architects influenced by the work of Benedict Anderson-era cultural preservation programs and contemporary restoration projects supported by organizations such as Asian Cultural Council and UNESCO World Heritage Centre.
Category:Villages in Bali Category:Balinese art