BOMA is a Balinese protector spirit/beast. His story is that he was once a powerful and destructive earth demon. Once defeated by Krishna (as told in the Mahabarata), BOMA became a great champion and defender against evil. He is invoked over most doorways in Southern Bali, often with fresh flowers tucked jauntily behind his ears. In him, Balinese artists wed the structured story of the BOMA myth with inspiration of his possible, even essential, nature.

Life in Bali revolves around careful and devout maintenance of the balance between good and evil. The spirit world is both densely populated and close at hand–as fully alive as the jungle that covers most of Bali. The Balinese system is both simple and subtle. Evil is presumed to come from the South—specifically Nusa Penida, the small island off the Southeastern coast of Bali. Being so close to the source of evil, home/compounds in the entire southern half of Bali have stone BOMA carvings above their doors. They look like this:

Note the strangely crazed expression. Is BOMA roaring and glaring or just laughing? BOMAs on Bali range from outright goofy to terrifically ferocious. The vast majority display a mixture of the two. This duality is the genius of BOMA.

Fundamentally it's part of human nature for people to think of others as being like themselves. So too in the spirit world. Evil spirits see BOMA as menacing and ferocious (like themselves, his jocularity is a transparent deception) while good spirits (and probably most visitors) see BOMA as a welcoming and friendly figure.

A pen can be an instrument of good or harm. The BOMA micro-engraved on every BOMApen (shown below) watches over the writer to encourage good thoughts and deeds.

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