Today we went to visit the dragon kite village, where the artisans that make our wonderful traditional Dragon Kites are based.
Kite making has a long history in Bali and great cultural significance. Kite-flying is considered a religious activity, it is believed to carry messages to the gods and spirits, asking for blessings and good fortune. It is also associated with celebrating various harvest festivals and ceremonies.
The kites of Bali even have their own god, Rare Angon, one of the incarnations of Shiva. This particular member of the Hindu pantheon, however, is exclusive to the island. You won’t find mention of him in Vedic scriptures which seems fitting for a god who embodies such quintessential Balinese values.
What does Rare Angon symbolise? Nothing more or less than the sheer joy of a child lost in a moment of bliss. Rare is the Balinese word for a boy or a child, while Angon is used to describe the intoxicating joy that comes from involvement in a beautiful activity. In other words, Rare Angon is the deity for you if you love immersing yourself in wonderful experiences for the sheer pleasure of it.
Our kites take upto six craftsmen to make, each of which has different skills, firstly the bamboo struts must be cut and shaped in just the correct way, then these struts are fashioned into a skeleton for the kite. The parachute fabric is then hand painted before being secured to the frame. The head is then fashioned and handpainted before the whole thing is assembled.
Our Balinese Dragon Kites are works of art, they are hand painted and each one is slightly different The head is hand made from paper mache and the kite is constructed from a frame of light weight wooden rods with a strong light weight parachute material body. Many people hang them up as a work of art but they can be flown and each kite comes with a long line complete with wooden handle to allow you to fly the kite.
To fly the kite you need a gentle wind ( 5 -10 mph), we do not recommend flying these kites in a strong wind as they are large and may become difficult to control and may break away. Our Balinese Dragon kites have a wingspan of 118 cm and measures 218 cm from head to tip of tail. They come in the choice of Blue, Red, Green or Yellow Colours.