Half-bird and half-human beings (kinnara)

Created to be hung above a baby’s crib, these figures served as protective guardians who ensured blessings and safety during infancy. In Buddhist and Hindu cosmology, Kinnara is a divine musician and poet, counted among the eight celestial races entrusted with preserving Dharma, the cosmic law. Their presence symbolizes serenity, love, and spiritual guardianship.

The motif seen here echoes those on the ninth-century reliefs of Candi Prambanan in Central Java, suggesting the enduring continuity of these mythic figures within Indonesian art. In Bali, Kinnara, along with Kinnari, are also associated with romantic love and poetic inspiration, gentle beings who bridge the realms of the sacred and the human in a way similar to fairies in Western tradition.