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Ringing with symbolism
Delicate touch: The fine wings of the bell handle are formed using the lost-wax technique
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Delicate touch: The fine wings of the bell handle are formed using the lost-wax technique.
For thousands of years, bells have been carrying prayers and messages to the heavens, their mix of smelted copper and tin allowing the bells to vibrate rather than crack on striking.
Known simply as 'bellmetal', the mix forms an elasticity within the metal that creates a resonance that lingers long after the bell has been struck.
For bellmaker Nyoman Sudidia, this is where the magic of his work comes in.
'Bells that have a particularly high pitch and long-lasting echo can fetch up to Rp 1 million (US$85.43). But you never know which bell will be perfect,' says the 37-year old, pointing out that the pitch and tone of a bell can change in the production process.
'When I test a bell fresh from the mold, it may have that heavenly sound. That can be lost on grinding and polishing or that purity of sound may remain. It's like magic ' you never know which bell will be pure in tone,' says Sudidia from his home foundry in Bali's bell-making village, Budega, on the outskirts of Klungkung.
The bells of Budega are all destined for religious devotions, says Sudidia, who learned to craft the ceremonial instruments from a friend.
Each part of the bell rings with symbolism. The upper handle represents the linnga of Shiva, the belted middle section is Vishnu and the bell form symbolizes Brahma.
'Vishnu is in the middle to represent the living world, Brahma on one side is the creator and Siwa on the other side manages the return of souls to the natural world,' says Wayan Budi who works alongside Sudidia, polishing and carving the handles to complete the bells.
At the forge, Wayan Korma is heating the bellmetal to the red hot liquid that will be poured into molds forming the bowl of the bells.
In a simple box, the molds are pressed into soil leaving a positive mold that will become the bell bowl. Spilling the metal onto the dirt floor and over the edges of the mold, Korma uses calipers to hold the crucible or molten ore, as he pours.
'We import this soil for the molds from Java. It is a special soil that compacts around the master and easily breaks away when the bells cools,' explains workshop owner Sudidia, who focuses on forming the delicate carved wings that decorate the top of the bell.
'These are made using the ancient lost-wax method. We press the wax into these special bronze casts and make the central rod of the handle with wax pipes.
I shape these into the handles then I cover the whole wax model with damp clay,' says Sudidia. The clay casts are heated over a coconut shell fire, the wax melts and falls away, leaving a perfect negative space for the molten bronze to take up, becoming the bell handle.
It is the variety of sound produced by the bells that continues to fascinate Sudidia. 'There are three distinct sounds and this comes from the thickness of the bell. First in the 'ning' then the middle tone known as 'ndeng' and the deepest tone is the 'neng', which in these small bells is still high pitched.
'The ning is produced by the thickest-walled of the bells, yet it is the thin-walled neng bell that echoes the longest,' says Sudidia tapping the neng and counting off more than a minute of echoes vibrating from the bell.
'We believe the sound of the bell is the priest's hand carrying messages from humans to the gods. Mantras are also part of this sound. Ning, ndeng and neng are also the sounds of gamelan, but with the bells the pitch is chosen by the priest. We also believe ning is the female and neng the male sounds,' says Sudidia, adding that different Hindu ceremonies call for different bell pitches.
'In daily prayers the ning bell is used, but in other ceremonies the neng is used. The medium bell, the ndeng can be used in all ceremonies,' says Sudidia who, unusually for such work, was not born into a family of bell makers.
'I was born into a farming family and when I finished high school I was not sure what work I would like to take on. Our village is the center for bell making in Bali and a friend suggested I learn with his family, who are traditional bellmakers,' says Sudidia striking a small bell. Instead of the piercing ring of the ning bell, there is just a dull clock, clock.
'See here, this fine crack. Even the tiniest crack on a bell will destroy its sound,' says Sudidia, fascinated with the bells that he believes speak a language from humans that the gods can understand.
