Bidadari Angel Statue

Bidadari Angel Statue

The Bidadari Legend:

There was a time when the lake was such a magical place. The water was pure and the lake was surrounded by large shady trees and the air was fresh. That magical place was very attractive for angels. They usually came down to earth and bathed in the lake and the lake became their playground.
One day the angels were bathing in the lake and didn’t realize that there were human eyes watching.

That day, Raja Pala was doing his daily work. He was sitting under a tree waiting for the birds. The cool tropical breeze made him fall asleep. He woke up by surprise when he heard sounds of female voices. He found beautiful girls were bathing in the lake. Raja Pala hid behind a big tree. Then he saw shawls were hanging on a branch of tree near him. I’ve never seen such beautiful shawls they must be the angels that villagers talk about. Raja Pala took one shawl and put it under his shirt.

Bidadari angels finished bathing and prepared to leave the lake. They put their clothes on, Suddenly one of them screamed “I can't find my shawl. Where is it?”
“Where did you put it?” asked the other girl.
”I put here, next to my clothes” the girl said.
She looked panic.
“Ok. Don’t panic. We’ll look for it.”
Her friends tried to comfort her.
Raja Pala was still standing in silence behind the big tree watching the girls looking for the shawl that he placed under his shirt.

“We’ve looked everywhere and we can’t find it. Maybe a deer took it?” one of them said.
“We have to go. It’s getting dark.”
”No, don,t leave me here, please.” the girl started to cry.
“But we can’t stay. I’m sorry, my sister. May gods protect you tonight.”
The other girls then tied their shawls around their waist and held the tips.
Then slowly they started to fly away.

Thats the story I was told, when I looked to this statue on the entrance to a Balinese restaurant on the way to Bedugul.