The Moon Of Pejeng

Pura Penataran Sasih, Pejeng

The drum is as tall as a person, measuring 186.5 cm (6.12 ft) high. It was cast from bronze by the lost-wax method in two sections, the body and the tympanum, which were then joined together. It is hard to estimate its age, but many writers consider it to be pre-Hindu, from the first millennium A.D. Bronze drums like this originated in the area of present-day North Vietnam during the Dongsonian period (first millennium B.C.), but this one may have been manufactured locally rather than imported. They have always been considered sacred, and this one is still worshiped, although their original use has long been forgotten. They were obviously meant to be beaten, but why? To call the rain down to earth, perhaps, as this would be most important in an agricultural society. References: Dong Son drums (Wikipedia); Monumental Bali, pp. 16 - 31.