Figural !

A. G. Maisey · 20th October 2019, 01:20 AM

Yes Kai, affixing names of specific Balinese deities or folk figures can be pretty difficult sometimes. Moreover, sometimes the people in Bali whom one would think might have a good idea of what specific personage is represented by a totogan, will have no idea at all, or else, be demonstrably wrong.

But sometimes an attribution will be included in the carving that might be sufficient clue to venture a guess on. With Bhima it is usually an overlong thumb nail and/or rather massive genitals.

In respect of hairstyle, I'd be looking for a crab-claw hairstyle on a Bhima representation. The simple knot of hair is normally associated with a low level personage, maybe a punakawan, or servant, or common man.

Edit

I've referred to "hair style" above. Ideally, this crab claw (supit urang) would have been a hair style, but in reality it was probably mostly a head-dress, its symbolism is that it identifies a hero.

20th October 2019, 01:20 AM	#11
A. G. Maisey Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 6,989	Yes Kai, affixing names of specific Balinese deities or folk figures can be pretty difficult sometimes. Moreover, sometimes the people in Bali whom one would think might have a good idea of what specific personage is represented by a totogan, will have no idea at all, or else, be demonstrably wrong. But sometimes an attribution will be included in the carving that might be sufficient clue to venture a guess on. With Bhima it is usually an overlong thumb nail and/or rather massive genitals. In respect of hairstyle, I'd be looking for a crab-claw hairstyle on a Bhima representation. The simple knot of hair is normally associated with a low level personage, maybe a punakawan, or servant, or common man. Edit I've referred to "hair style" above. Ideally, this crab claw (supit urang) would have been a hair style, but in reality it was probably mostly a head-dress, its symbolism is that it identifies a hero. Last edited by A. G. Maisey; 20th October 2019 at 02:01 PM.