While visiting the ancient village of Tenganan in the southeast area of Bali, we met one of the several palm-leaf manuscript scribes in the compound. I find it uncomfortable to admit that I only wanted to really go towards him at his invitation after he said, "you do not have to buy; I would like to show you what I do." Many of the areas in the community had signs posted that indicated it was ok to just "look" and not "buy." In reality, it's the buying that sustains much of this village's economy, and I felt guilty knowing I wasn't going to buy much of anything on this trip.
However, I am very glad I did not miss the opportunity to meet this man and witness a palm-leaf manuscript demonstration.
I can't remember how old this art form is, but it's ancient. I saw some extant palm leaves, made into "books" and they are writings I assume from pre-Hindu culture in Bali (see, I can't even remember everything because I was so focused on the way in which the words became visible on the palm--for a better look at the art of palm-leaf manuscripts in Bali, go here:
http://www.iias.nl/sites/default/files/IIAS_NL65_43.pdf ). There is "writing" and then there is "drawing" on the palms--Since the manuscripts unfold scripture, the other examples are the visual representations of the stories. We saw both. In this photograph you see a sample of how a letter or etching becomes visible. The scribe takes a metal tool (pencil-like with a a sharp edge at top) and etches in the teeny, tiny -- really, teeny, tiny letters in beautiful script on the palm. He then uses a piece of coal to rub over the palm so the color goes into the etchings to reveal them. With his fingers, he smudges the area to blend in the coal with the natural lines of the palm. There are "black" and "brown" effects one can etch and the tool makes the difference (I'll have to research the brown, which can really produce a warm glow to the palm when it is used for the artwork of one of these books). A full book takes an enormous amount of time, and our guide showed us his "works in progress" that he admittedly had taken a break from because of the work involved.
The artistic palm collections he creates are usually scenes from the Mahabharata. He showed the basic "tourist" versions, and then the ones that are meant to be framed and put on the wall. There was a stunning difference in the artistry, but the stories were the same.
While in Bali, I kept taking photographs of people's hands doing something because one of the themes in my photography club this year is 'hands.' I wish I had the tool in the shot, but I really enjoyed this portion of my tour. With his permission, he let me take this photograph as a reminder of his creations and his artful hands, for which I am deeply grateful.
