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`Poleng' chessboard motifs brighten up art festival
I Wayan Indrawan is preparing to welcome the thousands of tourists who are expected to flock to the Tanah Lot festival this week
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I Wayan Indrawan is preparing to welcome the thousands of tourists who are expected to flock to the Tanah Lot festival this week.
"I hope this year's festival will be livelier than last year," said the Tabanan native, who offers temporary tattoos to visitors at Tanah Lot.
Indrawan expects more tourists to visit to the area this year, he said.
"We're seeing more tourists from Taiwan at Tanah Lot now that the school holiday ended," said the man, who also works as a janitor at the tourist spot.
The Tabanan regency administration is sponsoring the second annual Tanah Lot festival, which starts Monday and will run until Aug. 1.
The festival's logo will be a black-and-white chessboard shape. The square-shaped motif is known in Bali as poleng and is considered to have a connection to the supernatural.
"The combination of black and white will bring a different ambience to Tanah Lot," festival organizing committee head I Made Sujana said.
The festival grounds will be covered with hundreds of meters of fabric emblazoned with poleng motifs and 500 umbul-umbul (decorated poles) with an identical color scheme. Statues, tree trunks, and surrounding public places will be adorned with the motif, which symbolizes balance in Bali.
More than 2,000 artists clad in poleng-influenced clothing are expected to take part in the festival's opening day events.
"This motif is meaningful. In Tanah Lot, it symbolizes the divine snake that guards the Tanah Lot temple," Sujana said.
People in the community believe that the holy snake, called Lipi Duwe, was ordered by the temple's founder, Dang Hyang Nirartha, to maintain the natural harmony and sanctity of the temple.
Snakes are often seen inside nearby caves and a tourist attraction. "We want Tanah Lot to be known as the guardian of natural harmony in Bali," Sujana added.
The festival is slated to be opened Monday afternoon by a cultural parade with participants from 10 districts in Tabanan. The opening ceremony will feature a dance performance depicting the philosophy of poleng in Tanah Lot,
Visitors can enjoy food stalls that sell traditional cookies and watch the performance of barong and Joged Bumbung on Monday.
Following days will feature classic dances, a kite festival, a musical parade and an exhibition of art products. Foreign tourists can take part in the kite competition, which will run until Friday. The organizing committee said it would only accommodate 400 kites.
