Sparks from the fire filled the air as a descendant of a clan of 15th-Century blacksmiths plunged a pair of tongs holding an alloy of precious metals into the flames. At his forge, in the Balinese village of Klungkung, Jro Mangku I Wayan Sudiarta appeared serene as he carved sacred symbols into the temple bell. It had taken the blacksmith-turned-priest 70 hours to create the bell, which was moulded with black volcanic soil and formed from gold, silver, copper, zinc and iron. But it was worth the wait. For when it is rung, the temple bell is said to create the sound that contains all sounds. It brings health, prosperity and peace and marks beginnings and endings.