"When one speaks of the primordial image or archetype of the Great Mother, the reference is not to any concrete image existing in space and time, but to an inward image at work in the human psyche. The symbolic expression of this psychic phenomenon is to be found in the figures of the Great Goddess represented in the myths and artistic creations of mankind." Eric Neumann
While Ibu Pertiwi is the Earth Mother for all Indonesians, for the Balinese she is a goddess both more personal and immediate. Ibu Pertiwi is unconsciously felt as a kind, nurturing being who is thanked for her life-giving powers by the daily placing of canang flower offerings in the center of Balinese family courtyards. Ibu Pertiwi is at the very core of life, guiding the Balinese in every endeavour and enterprise. Without her, there is nothing.
We at the Ibu Pertiwi Humanitarian Foundation, have chosen this symbol to guide us along our path of humanitarian aid to those who have suffered from the horrors of the Kuta Bomb Blast of October 12th, 2002. In her human form, we like to think of her a kindly grandmother, smiling her compassion into her descendents.
