There are many Articles by Murni: she has written numerous articles, mainly on Asian arts and crafts, book reviews and Ubud. She is also a published author.
Meet the BalineseLonely Planet: Bali, Lombok & Nusa Tenggara, July 2024 MEET THE BALINESE You might think we’re nosy, but we’re not. We’re just friendly. NI WAYAN MURNI introduces her people. Read the full article: MEET THE BALINESE
Treasures of Bali Book ReviewBook Review Ni Wayan Murni Kabar Magazine Travel, Experience, Taste, June-July 2006 Treasures of Bali, A Guide to Museums in Bali written and edited by Richard Mann Gateway Books International, 2006 I witnessed this book’s strange birth. The quintessentially English publisher Richard Mann stayed at my Villa a couple of years ago, researching and writing … Continue reading Treasures of Bali Book Review
Wanderlust Indonesia Cyber Heart Travel360A grassroots initiative to harness the power of technology to better lives has transformed a sleepy hamlet in Indonesia into a cyber village, catching the attention of Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg. Click here to read the whole article Wanderlust Indonesia Cyber Heart published in Travel360, Air Asia’s in flight magazine, October 2018: Travel360_Air Asia_Wanderlust.Indonesia.Oct2018 Wanderlust … Continue reading Wanderlust Indonesia Cyber Heart Travel360
Ubud is Just Getting Better and BetterUbud is Just Getting Better and Better A look at Bali’s Artistic centre, past, present and future. Ni Wayan Murni Hello Bali, January 2005 In the early Thirties, Miguel Covarrubias came to Bali, and said, “Undoubtedly Bali will soon enough be spoiled for those fastidious travellers who abhor all that which they bring with them.” … Continue reading Ubud is Just Getting Better and Better
Another Day Another DanceNi Wayan Murni Natural Guide to Bali, 2005 Balinese dances – and indeed the other performing arts in Bali – have a religious background. Dances are offerings to the gods and ancestors – staged to please and entertain the deities at religious ceremonies to which they have been invited by the priests. Visitors to Bali … Continue reading Another Day Another Dance
Buddhas in BaliBuddhas in Bali Ni Wayan Murni Hello Bali, February 2005 Visitors to Bali see Buddha images everywhere. They are often moved and inspired by them but wonder what they mean. They all look alike, but are subtly different. Bali is predominantly Hindu but has long had a connection with Buddhism and, following contact some 2,000 … Continue reading Buddhas in Bali
Healing Performances of BaliBook Review Ni Wayan Murni Hello Bali, July 2006 Healing Performances of Bali Angela Hobart Berghahn Books, 2005 As far as I know this is the first book of its kind. It is a study of the traditional healers whom we in Bali do not often speak about but all visit from time to … Continue reading Healing Performances of Bali
Dancing Out of Bali and Dancers of Bali: Gamelan of Peliatan, 1952 Dancing Out of Bali and Dancers of Bali: Gamelan of Peliatan, 1952 Ni Wayan Murni Hello Bali, August 2006 Dancing Out of Bali and Dancers of Bali: Gamelan of Peliatan, 1952. Laura Rosenberg has done it again. First, the book, which we heartily applauded, and now, by way of an encore, the CD. Both … Continue reading Dancing Out of Bali and Dancers of Bali: Gamelan of Peliatan, 1952
Perfect Order Recognizing Complexity in BaliBook Review Ni Wayan Murni Hello Bali, September 2006 Perfect Order Recognizing Order in Complexity J. Stephen Lansing Princeton University Press Perfect Order Recognizing Complexity in Bali. If someone mentions ‘Bali’ one of the first images that will come into your mind will probably be rice terraces. The first Austronesian colonists introduced rice to … Continue reading Perfect Order Recognizing Complexity in Bali
The Ethnomusicologists’ Cookbook Complete Meals from around the WorldBook Review Ni Wayan Murni Hello Bali, October 2006 The Ethnomusicologists’ Cookbook Complete Meals from around the World Sean Williams Routledge, 2006 The Ethnomusicologists’ Cookbook Complete Meals from around the World. You will make friends and influence people with this book. You will be able to invite friends to amazing dinner parties at which … Continue reading The Ethnomusicologists’ Cookbook Complete Meals from around the World
Shop Smart Bali & LombokBook Review Ni Wayan Murni Hello Bali, November 2006 Shop Smart: Bali & Lombok, edited by Jane Marsden, 2006 I often get asked by people writing books if I would be happy for my restaurant and shops to be reviewed. Of course I say I’d be delighted. Shortly after that I’m told that the … Continue reading Shop Smart Bali & Lombok
Balians: Traditional Healers of BaliBook Review Ni Wayan Murni Hello Bali, December 2006 Balians: Traditional Healers of Bali Edited by Bradford Keeney, PhD Ringing Rocks Press, 2004 Balians, dukuns, traditional healers, shamans or witch doctors, whichever name you like to use, are a subject that never fails to arouse interest. This new book looks at some of Bali’s … Continue reading Balians: Traditional Healers of Bali
Revolt in ParadiseBook Review Ni Wayan Murni The Times, Lombok, July – August 2007 Revolt in Paradise K’tut Tantri Reprinted Gramedia, Jakarta, 2006 Revolt in Paradise is a classic and it is good to see it in print again after a long absence. It is rather hard to classify this book: maybe autobiography, perhaps historical novel, possibly … Continue reading Revolt in Paradise
Appreciating Calligraphy Batik Ni Wayan Murni Appreciating Calligraphy Batik The Times, Lombok August – September 2007 Calligraphy batiks do not get much press. The beautiful books on batik and the exhibitions abroad concentrate on Javanese batik, especially from the north coast of Java and the courts of Yogyakarta and Solo in central Java. The batiks from these … Continue reading Appreciating Calligraphy Batik
How to make BatikNi Wayan Murni How to make Batik The Times, Lombok September – October 2007 How is batik made? I wrote in last month’s Murni’s Corner about Calligraphy Batik, which is an outstanding example of one of the many styles of beautiful batik made in Indonesia. I have been collecting batik for decades and selling … Continue reading How to make Batik
What to Look for in Balinese Shadow Puppets Ni Wayan Murni What to Look for in Balinese Shadow Puppets The Times, Lombok October – November 2007 One of my earliest memories is of watching a shadow puppet performance in our village temple in Ubud at night. I must have been about five years old and was totally mesmerized. That was a long … Continue reading What to Look for in Balinese Shadow Puppets
The Art of Chewing BetelNi Wayan Murni The Art of Chewing Betel The Times, Lombok November – December 2007 When I went to London I saw South Pacific. I loved Bali Hai but was really surprised when the men sang: Bloody Mary is the girl I love. Bloody Mary is the girl I love. Bloody Mary is the … Continue reading The Art of Chewing Betel
Mads Lange, the Bali Trader and PeacemakerBOOK REVIEW: Mads Lange, the Bali Trader and Peacemaker Mads Lange The Bali Trader and Peacemaker Produced by Peter Bloch Bali Purnati Center, 2007 Hardback, 176 pages Ni Wayan Murni The Jakarta Post, 6 January 2008 Order here. A Danish expat living in Lombok and Bali in the 19th century has been almost completely … Continue reading Mads Lange, the Bali Trader and Peacemaker
The Palaces of BaliIntroduction to Palaces of Bali by Richard Mann Gateway Books International, 2012 “A Secret Worth Sharing” It is a big surprise to discover that the small island of Bali has so many kingdoms. The plethora of palaces encouraged an intense rivalry between them as they competed to produce the best buildings, decorated with the finest … Continue reading The Palaces of Bali
Food of the GodsIn Bali, Religious festivals begin with elaborate culinary sculptures by Ni Wayan Murni Saveur, 13 March 2012 Like every girl in Bali, I was taught how to make banten, food offerings, at an early age. We make thousands of different offerings; it’s a key practice of Balinese Hinduism, which is influenced by veneration for … Continue reading Food of the Gods
Book Review: Looking for BorneoBook Review Ni Wayan Murni The Jakarta Globe, 13 October 2014 Explore the Sights and Sounds of Kalimantan in ‘Looking for Borneo’ Mark Heyward, David Metcalf and Khan Wilson Creatavision Publishing, 2014 “Looking for Borneo” by Mark Heyward, David Metcalf and Khan Wilson is not just a book; it’s an event, a multimedia extravaganza. Tasmanian … Continue reading Book Review: Looking for Borneo