BALINESE HINDU COLOR

A Multidimensional Symbolic System From Cosmology to Experience

Abstract

Abstract

This article explores color as a polysemic symbolic system within Balinese Hinduism, with attention to the relationships between cosmological structure, ritual practice, and religious experience. Whereas previous research on religion and anthropology has largely treated symbols as sets of meaning (Geertz, 1973) or as vehicles of ritual transformation (Turner, 1969), color as a potent symbolic medium has received less attention (to say nothing of close attention to non-Western contexts like Bali). This study employs a qualitative critical literature review, integrated with symbolic hermeneutic and phenomenological analyses. The findings show that color functions in three interrelated levels: (1) as a cosmological structure demarcating spatial orientation and sacred ordering, (2) as a ritual medium mediating the relationship between human and divine, and (3) as an embodied experience shaping religious emotions and awareness. This study introduces a multidimensional framework that reframes color as part of a system of meaning, positioning colors as an interrelated symbolic system that can consider cosmology, practice, and experience. This study advances symbolic anthropology and religious studies through a contextual, experiential, and integrative lens by marrying classical theoretical perspectives with local Balinese knowledge.