Cloth Painting: Eye of the Winds

This type of painting is often referred to as a compass. The directions of nine gods are plotted at the cardinal points, or “eyes of the winds.” These gods include Iswara to the east, Brahma to the south, Wisnu to the north, and Cintya/Siwa at the center. In a Balinese worldview, the gods of the Hindu pantheon are active participants in the assemblage of fetal bodies and “sit” in the body throughout life. Reincarnation occurs when the soul slips in between lovers’ bodies, entering the woman’s womb to animate the procreative fluids mixing there and to initiate human life.