Taman Gili
Semarapura, Bali
The form and decoration of this gateway resembles the grand inner gate of Taman Ayung. Its roof is decorated with figures that include some Europeans who perch near the top. More top-hatted Europeans, wrapped in the traditional honorific cloth, guard the base of the gateway. Western visitors should not feel flattered, though, since temple guardians in this part of the world have always been seen as powerful, but thuggish, ogres who definitely belong to the lower regions of the spiritual realm. The temple's European guardians are merely followers in this long tradition.
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