Such
is the general pattern along which a temple feast moves,
but, again, each community has its own way of doing things
and no two feasts are carried out in exactly the same manner.
Differences are particularly striking in the villages of
the mountains, as in Paksabali and Bugbug, two communities
in East Bali.
Where
they stage wild battles of the gods, the artjas, which are
placed inside baskets wrapped in polen cloth and topped
with bunches of leaves. The baskets are firmly attached
to bamboo stretchers carried by half-naked men who rush
at full speed against others carrying " rival "
deities, trying to knock each other down. A crowd armed
with spears joins in the free-for-all while firecrackers
explode, and everybody yells, pushes, and tramples everyone
else. The excitement is followed by an equally mad kris
dance.
