Traditional Temple

north of Denpasar

This modern temple looks older, because it has been built in the traditional style (split gate entrance, guardians, etc.) using traditional materials. (It may be equally fair to say that ancient temples, when restored with fresh brick and newly-cut stone, can sometimes look like these newer ones.)

Black-and-white chequered flags, a form of honorific cloth, represent the Hindu Trimurti: white for Shiva, black for Vishnu, and (here present, though often omitted) a red border for Brahma. As an honorific signifier of divine affiliation, chequered cloth can also be wrapped around things (such as statues, dancers, etc.) that represent a god or guardian. In this temple the large guardian statues are not wrapped, but the foreground umbrellas are furnished in the chequered pattern.