Part 1: the island; the people - the ancient survival - the Bali Aga, the history of Bali, the Dutch, the Lombok War, conquest of South Bali; the community - the village, the market, the social order, etiquette, language, castes, the organization of the village, the "Bandjar", law and justice, the courts; rice, work and wealth - the "Subak", rice culture, distribution of labour, the economic order; everyday life in Bali - the house, Balinese cooking, costume and adornment; the family - childbirth, the life of children, adolescence, the love life of the Balinese, marriage; art and the artist - the place of the artist in Balinese life, development of Balinese art, old Hindu Balinese art, the period of "Madjapahit", the plastic arts of modern Bali - sculpture, architecture, painting, crafts; the drama - music, village orchestras, Balinese music and instruments, the dance, the "Legong", the "Baris", the "Kebiyar", the shadow play, the classic drama, kings and warriors, the "Topeng", the "Ardja". Part 2: rites and festivals - society and religion, temples and feasts, gods, demons, offerings and exorcisms, the calendar, the high priests and Brahmanic ritual; witchcraft - witches, witchdoctors and the magic theatre, the "Rangda" and the "Barong", black and white magic, how to become a "Leyak", the witchdoctors, magic and medicine; death and cremation - the body, the soul, cremation, the sacrifice of widows, the aftermath. Part 3: modern Bali and the future.
Miguel Miguel Covarrubias (1904-1957) was born in Mexico City and was an author, painter, caricaturist, and professor of art history at the National School of Anthropology in Mexico City.Covarrubias