Ketut Liyer Pray, Magic, Heal

The story of Bali’s famous EAT, PRAY, LOVE folk healer, with 48 original magic drawings created by Liyer for this book.   

PRAY, MAGIC, HEAL  ushers the reader into the shimmering world of Balionese magic and healing, as practised by the island’s most famous folk healer, Ketut Liyer. Even the recent onslaught of Western ideas, tourists, and medicine has not dampened the spirit of Balinese magic. Most Balinese still believe in the existence of a parallel world of demons and deities, of white and black magic, mediated by healers like Liyer who play a vital role in maintaining the health and well-being of the individual, family, and community.

Starting in the 1970’s, Stuart-Fox began recording conversations with Liyer, and much of the story is told in Liyer’s own words. As Stuart-Fox writes in the Preface, “From the beginning, this was as much Ketut Liyer’s book as it was mine. Not only was Ketut Liyer the source of information; it is his own drawings that are reproduced in this book. Liyer is both balian (folk healer) and painter.”