A Fish with a Moustache

Once upon a time in a village in Bali, there lived a witch doctor who was well known for his extremely magical powers. This doctor was capable of healing animals and human beings suffering from severe diseases and he was even able to bring dead animals back to life. One particular time, an animal had had it’s head cut off and he managed to revive it by attaching the head to the animal’s body following a mantra sentence reading.

News of the doctor’s effectiveness in applying his magic spread swiftly everywhere within a short time. People flocked to him to see if he could heal their ill family members, and others came with their diseased animals, sometimes even with their dead cattle. His chain of success in rescuing the ill animals brought about an effect that no more living creatures in the world would be trampled to death.
Nevertheless, the witch doctor wanted to do more and wished next time try to and bring a dead person back to life by cutting off his head and then joining it together again. He told people of his idea but nobody was interested in taking part in his experiment because nobody among the public was brave enough.
At last, the witch doctor used one of his sons to try out such an uncertain experiment. Notwithstanding rejection posed by many people against the queer plan, the doctor was determined to execute his idea. He took his son to a high altar, the poor boy’s face was sweating and his body was shaking. Standing beside his son, the doctor stood upright with a sword in his right hand.
“My brothers…now, I am ready to start executing my plan to revive a dead man!” His claim was uttered with a trembling body, which reached the Gods in Heaven. These deities were greatly surprised, followed by anger when they heard about the witch doctor’s wish. The deities went down in a hurry to check the crazy idea, however the heavenly deities arrived late. The witch doctor had already severed his son’s head by his sword bringing it rolling down to the ground followed by hysterical shouts from onlookers.
The village medicine man was trying to grasp his son’s head when one of the gods kicked the human head so it flew into the sky and then fell down into a river. The deities reprimanded the medicine man and said, “Hey, you crazy medicine man! You have committed an indecent deed. You are very greedy! If you had succeeded in the experiment you have just done, you would be equal to God!” Listening to the deities’ critical voices, the medicine man became aware of his foolish action and became afraid, he felt that he was in danger.
No sooner than he asked for forgiveness, the deities spoke further as follows: “The head of your son will come into union with the body of a fish in the river. Your son will become a fish forever.”
Since the incident, a fish having a human head often appeared in the water attracting onlookers. This fish had no descendants, but gradually the fish lost its human head, instead of which a moustache grew across its mouth similar to that of a human moustache. Up to now the Balinese have found fishes of this kind, appearing in some districts of Bali and they remain sacred and must not be eaten. (Retold by Gung Man)

Balineselife

From Ancient to Recent Tools

In the period of simple hunting and gathering human beings already used some tools made of stone to help their daily work. This age is called the Paleolithic. At this stage they lived nomadically, moving from one place to another. One simple tool that was in use during this age was the hand axe. They used this tool to cut and split the tree for their temporary huts and fires. They also used this axe to skin the animals they hunted. An example of such an axe was found in Kintamani and is now kept at Suaka Purbakala office at Pejeng, Gianyar regency. People in the Paleolithic also used horn and animal bone for their tools.
In the next period they settled permanently in one place. As they settled, they also bred animals and knew simple farming systems. They learned to produce more sophisticated tools, to sharpen their weapons and other tools.
In time and with accumulation of empirical knowledge, their techniques of making tools grew better. In the carpenter period (or metal period) people already knew iron ore and bronze as the raw material for their tools. By this new material they were able to make more tools of better quality. Some of them are square and penarah pickat for tilling the land, chisel for processing the wood and pointed axe for skinning off the wood for clothes.
In modern Bali we still find and use some tools and weapons from the stone and metal ages. Stone mortar, various axes, chisel, kris daggers and spears can be found in very limited use nowadays. Even though there is no war anymore, spears now have important ceremonial uses. The kris dagger is used for pecalang (traditional security for the village), traditional opera performances, and in some life-cycle rites in Bali. Other tools are still used by carpenters to finish their daily works.
There is a professional clan of ironsmiths in Bali called pande besi. Their skills and knowledge are handed down from generation to generation. They can make various iron tools for household needs. (punia)