a Guide to Bali
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| November 24, 2007 |
| Thoughts On Riding A Motor Bike in Bali |
 Riding a motor bike in Bali can be an exciting activity for you to do. Most of the Balinese ride motor bikes, though most of them don’t have license or don’t understand the traffic rules. Every body agrees that it is cheap to run compared to cars. You too can ride motor bike in Bali. Getting one while you are here is no big deal. A lot of motor bike rentals in Kuta and other tourist area, but before you hit the Bali street here is some tips that might be useful for you.
To hire a motor bike, you will need about 30,000 rupiah a day or about 3.5 USD. The petrol is 4800 a litre. So, yup, it is indeed cheap to run.
Next, you have to get an international driving license. You can get that from your country or you can obtain it here. The cost of getting one, is around USD 20 to 25.
Get a "automatic" motor bike. So, you don’t have to change gears. It is easier especially if you are not used to ride motor bikes a lot in your country. Some brands like Yamaha Mio, Nuvo, and Honda Vario are the automatic motor bike.
The police will stop you from time to time on the street. They normally are stationed in the big cross roads, and close to tourists area such as Kintamani. They just like asking questions, especially to tourists. Just show your license. Nick, an expat living in Seminyak, wrote a good article about his experience concerning this.
The traffic can be chaotic and overwhelming. You need to get use to it. Sometimes you will see mad motorcyclists who do some fancy stuff in the streets to impress people or maybe they just don’t understand the traffic rules, like most of us.
Turn on your light. It’s a safety riding technics introduced by the Police several months ago, though it has gained less and less popularity.
The advantages of riding a motor bike:
• You can stop at any time you like, any place you want.
• Like I said before, it is economical to run.
• You can ride into small paths in the villages to see more of the village life. Cars can’t do that.
• If you are a surfer, you can have your surfboard attached to your motor bike for easy transport.
The disadvantages of riding a motor bike
• It is a little bit dangerous. Maybe there is more chance to be hit by other motor bikes or cars in Bali street compared to being struck by lightning.
• You can get stopped many times by police, because they want to check your license.
Conclusion, motor bike can be risky. So, please consider thoroughly before deciding to get one.
Labels: Practicalities |
posted by Admin @ 10:46 PM  |
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| Balinese Wedding |
 Bali is all about tradition, religion and ceremony, governed under a system known as adat. For a Balinese person there are important annual and family ceremonies, plus a set of ‘life ceremonies‘ (oton on the person’s 1st birthday, maketus when their milk teeth fall out, manggah daa / manggah teruna when they hit puberty, mapandes the tooth filing ceremony and pawiwahan / nganten at marriage). The biggest one being marriage. When a Balinese couple get married it usually means the girl is pregnant, then gets married to her pacar (boyfriend). In fact many Balinese men will not marry a girl until she proves he can get pregnant. It simply means the girl is capable of having kids and that she and her husband will be locked into the Balinese family cycle of making kids and attending ceremonies. The family are actually happy about it. Covarrubias writes that the Balinese are naturally promiscuous (something that might be stretched to cover other parts of Indonesia also ) and pre-marital sex is not a taboo, as long as it is discreet.
When a Balinese person gets married (pawiwahan or nganten ) it must be done the ‘proper way’ which means in front of the whole village. If a man is living in his own place it will be at his house, if not at the home of his parents, the new wife moving in immediately.
The lowest thing in Balinese society is a janda which is an unmarried mother. There are times when a person or a groups of people are ‘ritually unclean’ or ‘sebel‘. For example after a married woman gives birth she is sebel and cannot visit the temple. A janda is unclean and cannot attend any big ceremonies therefore cutting her off from a large part of her culture. A Balinese man will likely not want a janda for a wife, so its bad news all round. One solution for a girl who was a janda might be to marry a foreigner for the intention of being ‘married’, him living in another country altogether.
For a westerner finding himself in the situation of having a pregnant Balinese partner there are 3 options. Marriage, fleeing the island for good, or await the anger of her male relatives. Its a big deal.
Not all young Balinese people can afford the elaborate preparations that an upacara (wedding) requires. There is a back door approach, which mirrors the old English tactic of running off to Scotland and getting hitched. The great thing about this is the degree of pretense it requires. An elopement (ngerorod or malaib) pretends to be a kidnapping. “Where’s Made this evening?” a mother might ask. “Wayan has kidnapped her” might be the response. The girls parents pretend to be outraged and insist the man must marry their daughter. They may even organize a search party to look for the missing girl, all the while knowing she’s with her boyfriend. The ‘kidnapping’ doesn’t last longer than a day or 2. When the couple arrive back at his parent’s house, a small wedding ceremony called a ‘makala-kalaan‘ is performed without the girls parents who are pretending to still be outraged.
Three days later another ceremony called a ‘ketipat bantal‘ is performed with both sides attending. Every body eats and is happy again. The funny thing about all this is everyone wants the same thing, for the couple to marry and have kids and everyone knows how things will plays out. They go this long route, everyone playing a part so that no one’s honor will be lost. One might ask why they don’t just say “Okay, we want to get married but don’t have the cash, instead of all the pretending lets have a feast here and save the time, maybe afterwards go catch a flick?” Of course that’s not the Balinese way.
Regarding gay people as ritually unfulfilled for not getting married, is something of a grey area. Some of the high priests are flamboyantly gay, because they are supposed to be able to communicate with the male and female Gods.
Finally there is another twist to the Balinese marriage structure. As previously mentioned, the girl will move in with the boy’s parents, if he does not yet own his house. If the girl’s family do not have any sons of their own, he must move in with the girl’s parents, under a situation called nyentana. The parents of the boy must consent to this as they are losing a son, so that the other family can continue their line.
All the above types of marriage are complicated and have variations. Ask a Balinese person to explain them in detail for you.Labels: Culture |
| posted by Admin @ 6:18 PM |
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| October 30, 2007 |
| Balinese Caste Structure |
 Bali is truly unique, in that it is the only Hindu island in Indonesia, a country dominated by Islam. Hinduism is a religion that developed out of the way of life of the people living on the banks of the Indus river in India and Hinduism came to Indonesia many centuries ago. The earliest written records in Bali, metal inscriptions called prasasti (Prasasti Blanjong is an example), speak of Buddhist and Hindu influences and date back to the 9th century AD. The caves, statues and bronzes of Goa Gajah and Gunung Kawi indicate this too.
As far as Bali is concerned the 3 big events that pushed Hinduism to the fore were the marriage of the Balinese king Udayana to Princess Mahendra from East Java, at the end of the 10th century thus bringing the 2 areas together. This was followed in 1343 by the conquest of Bali by the Majapahit empire of Gajah Mada, prime minister of that kingdom in East Java. Finally in 1515 the Majapahit empire in Java fell to the increasingly powerful Muslim Mataram empire. This created an exodus of priests, crafts people and noblemen and helped to make Bali the unique center of art that it is.
As many people will tell you the version of Hinduism (Agama Hindu ) that is practiced in Bali differs from that practiced in India. One of the most obvious differences is the quantity of offerings given in Bali, which is usually to either ward off evil spirits or to satisfy the Gods, a relic of the Balinese animist beliefs to which Hinduism has been melded.
The 4 main castes in Bali are Brahmana, Ksatria, Wesia and Sudra. Here is a list of Balinese names according to caste.
•Brahmana (priest) caste
Ida Bagus or Bagus (good one) for a male
Ida Ayu or Dayu (beautiful one) for a female.
•Ksatria (rulers, warriors) caste
Anak Agung, Agung, Dewa for a male.
Anak Agung, Agung, Dewi, Dewayu for a female
Cokorda, Dewa Agung for members of the kingdom ruling clan.
Ksatria caste often have the following middle names.
Raka - older sister / brother
Oka - child
Rai - younger sister / brother
Anom - young woman
Ngurah - an indication of authority
•Wesia (merchants and officials ) caste
Gusti - (lord) for men and women
Dewa for a man
Desak for a woman
•Sudra (rice growers ) caste
Wayan, Putu, Gede for 1st born male child
Wayan, Putu, Iluh for 1st born female child
Made, Kadek for 2nd born male child
Made, Kadek, Nengah for 2nd born female child.
Nyoman, Komang for 3rd born male and female children
Ketut for 4th born male or female children.
The 5th born reverts back to the list for 1st born children. Last names are also given names.
There are a tremendous amount of Wayans and Mades in Bali. If someone tells you their name is Nengah Susantini, you know they are Balinese female from the lowest caste, who has at least one older brother or sister. Many Balinese will use a middle name to differentiate from other with the same name. Others will change their name slightly (Yumi for Yuni, Koming for Komang) or use their last name for a form of address.
Long before the caste system came to Bali the local people already had their own form of hierarchy and adapted the caste system to fit over this, just like the Hindu religion blended with their animist beliefs. In the Bali Aga villages of Tenganen and Trunyan up in the mountains the new Hindu religion did not penetrate and the locals practice religion in their own ways today.
Nowadays the language the Balinese pedandas (high priests) use during temple ceremonies is Kawi, old Javanese which is largely composed of Sanskrit. Bahasa Bali (the Balinese language ) has different levels and caste comes into play when speaking. I have asked many young people what languages they speak at work and they say Indonesian, even if the whole staff is Balinese. Back in the village it will all be Bahasa Bali.
Bahasa Bali used to have multiple levels but in the last century it seems to have thinned down to 3 (common Balinese, middle Balinese and high Balinese). Village life is more traditional of course than the free-style living in Kuta and people will be watched more closely as people know who they are. Paying attention to the levels of respect are more important here and super important involving religious activities.
When a Balinese person meets a stranger in the village he will start by using the Middle language and might ask “Antuh lingge?” meaning Where is your place?, as far as caste. The stranger will tell his caste and that will dictate what level of Balinese is used. If one man is high caste and the other low the high caste man will talk in the common language to the other and the man of low caste will reply using high Balinese. Its all about respect.
Using the words (tjai, nyai, nani) which all mean You, are too familiar and impolite, so the word jero is used. Jero is the name given by some Balinese to a child of a nobleman and a commoner and maybe this is a way of saying, I can see you carrying wood in the village but I give you the credit that you came from a nobleman.
Covarrubias writes is 1937 that he finds the levels of Bahasa Bali totally unrelated, not just different dialects or variations of the same language. Common Balinese originates from Malayo-Polynesian dialects of the aboriginal population of the region. Middle Balinese is an adaptation to fill the void when caste becomes an issue and High Balinese is from Sanskrit-Javanese.
In older times the caste system had more power than is does today. It is somewhat taboo for a Balinese woman of high caste to marry a man of lower caste. In such a case she drops to his level. The reverse is true if it were a man.
Interesting cross-overs from the Indian caste-system to the Balinese. The Sanskrit word for color, varna is almost the same as the Indonesian word, warna. I think the Balinese people have a natural easy going mentality and still for the most part live close to the village. Maybe this is why the hardcore caste discrimination did not take hold here.Labels: Culture |
| posted by Admin @ 2:56 PM |
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| Balinese Ceremonies (both large and small) |
 Balinese culture revolves around Agama Hindu, the local version of Hinduism. The highlights of this cultural / religious observance are the upacara (ceremonies) that are colorful and frequent. The most important ones are Galungan, Kuningan, Tumpek and Nyepi to name a few - but there are those ceremonies that a majority of travellers to Bali are unaware of. Here are just a few.
• Bersih Desa: This ‘ritual’ is an expression of appreciation to the fertility Gods such as Dewi Sri. Subsequently, this ritual takes place around the period of the rice harvest. I suppose you could call it a ‘village spring-clean’!. Roads and paths in the village area are repaired. Houses and other buildings of importance are cleaned, as are most of the garden areas within the village. Whatever needs painting gets painted, and in general, the whole village is renewed in appearance.
• Hari Raya Sariswati: Batari Dewi Saraswati, the beautiful goddess, was the wife of Brahma. She was the goddess of the arts, sciences and learning. This day is to commemorate her and nobody on the island is allowed to write or read for the day. Special ceremonies are conducted by a pedanda early in the morning at the Pura Jata Natha temple in Denpasar. On this day, books are offered to be blessed by the Gods. Hari Raya Saraswati is a day of appreciation when wisdom was brought to the world by the Gods.
• Pagerwesi: Literally interpreted means ‘iron fence’. It is a day when man should fortify the space around himself to fend off evil spirits – the continuous battle between good and evil. Pagerwesi is a day of offerings requesting spiritual strength when confronting the life-cycles of suffering and worldly fulfillment. It is also a day of offerings for the protection of the village and families and the world around them. On this day, villagers take offerings to cemeteries for the un-cremated dead. As on the day Galungan, on the day of Pagerwesi ‘penjors’ are raised which makes it a day as almost as important as Galungan. You will find this ceremony almost strictly observed in the regency of Buleleng – the northern regions of Bali.
• Melasti: The day before Nyepi. Everybody knows that the day of Nyepi is a day of silence, but, the day of Melasti is far from that and especially at night. It is a day when the villagers purify the deities - known as ‘Pratima’ – with water. This is the day when the villagers, dressed in their finery and carrying long-poled umbrellas, proceed in lines towards a source of water – a holy spring or the sea. In this procession, the women carry offerings of fruit and sweet cakes and flowers, and the men carry the sacred family statues on bamboo litters. Upon arriving at the water source (generally the sea), the pedanda prays and rings his small bells whilst the men carrying the litters rush the sacred figures into the water symbolically washing them and thus purifying the statues.
On the day of Melasti, you will also find the offerings of the flesh of domestic animals at crossroads – the haven of the evil spirits ‘bhuta‘ and ‘kala’. The offering of flesh is to placate these demons. Later in the evening, all hell breaks loose with all manner of noise and din created to awaken all the evil spirits and demons. This is the most spectacular part of this day.
There is also another very important ceremony called Eka Dasa Rudra. It is a ceremony to restore balance in the world and, is the most important and biggest religious ceremony on the island of Bali. Traditionally, the ceremony of Eka Dasa Rudra occurs every 100 years. There must be a balance in the world between the forces of good and evil, and when the balance favours the latter the ceremony must be performed.
When the ceremony of Eka Dasa Rudra occurs - its preparation and the entire ceremony - it is with the involvement of the entire population of Bali. Basically, the eleven demons (of which Rudra is the most powerful) must be transformed in order that they become less threatening to the world balance. This is why then the ceremonies duration is 11 weeks with the number of ceremonies totalling thirty in all.
The beginning of the Eka Dasa Rudra is spectacular. This involves the symbolic washing of the Gods images in the sea. The whole procession takes three days and in this time the images are carried to the sea. But it is the sacrificing of a buffalo, whose horns are covered in gold casings and adorned with other valuables, to the sea demons that to most westerners would seem cruel, but to the Balinese its not. A large heavy stone is tied around the neck of the buffalo as it is forced into the swirling ocean. There are various chants and prayers by pemangku and pedanda, and there are dance rituals performed. The main one being the war dance, baris.
With the conclusion of the initial sacrifice and accompanying rituals virtually everybody in Bali, or most of them, travel to the mother temple at Besakih. Every path and road leading from all the villages in Bali are filled with lines of worshippers carrying offerings up to the main temple at Besakih. When all are gathered, then the climax of Eka Dasa Rudra begins - the Taur sacrifices. These sacrifices involve the pedanda directing their prayers in all 11 directions of what is called 'Balinese space', according to ancient rituals written on lontar-palm scripts. Whilst these prayers are being directed, two dozen or so priests sacrifice many animals and birds in an effort to appease the demonic manifestation of Bali's supreme-being, Rudra.
Naturally the ceremony of Eka Dasa Rudra is much more complicated and detailed than I have explained. But you have the basics of the ceremony.Labels: Balinese Ceremonies |
| posted by Admin @ 2:52 PM |
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| Nyepi: The Balinese Day of Silence |
‘Nyepi‘ day, the Icaka New Year, the day of absolute silence, no activity is done, no amusement is held, no fire is lit along the day & night. The day of fasting & self-introspecting, the entire island is just like being deserted during the day.
For people not familiar with the ceremonial schedule in Bali, it is extremely complex.
Balinese priests consult 2 calenders, the saka and the wuku. The saka calendar operates on the Hindu lunar cycle that is somewhat similar to the western calendar with 12 months. The preists highlight phases of the moon as being auspicious times. The wuku calendar has no months but is a year of 210 days divided into weeks, 10 of which have from 1 to 10 days and run simultaneously! Each day has a name, thus in the 1 day week every day is called luang.
On Nyepi Day, the whole island shuts down, no walking on the beach, no going out for a bite, no flights in or out. For those who have never experienced Nyepi it is a purification for the whole island. In Balinese Hinduism local temples and villages are purified from time to time, the island once a year and dates to be arranged. In 2006 Nyepi fell on March 30th.
Before Nyepi Day objects from temples are ritually cleansed in streams and the ocean. Specially made offerings are placed at crossroads to lure evil spirits out into the open. The reason for this, is to flush hem out and chase them away with ‘ogah ogahs’, the large Freddie Kruger-like creations that every village makes.
The night before Nyepi, called Ngrepuk, is like a festival, with locals, expats and tourists out on the streets, watching the ogoh ogoh. Balinese people have always been open to incorporating new ideas into their relgion / culture, and the 21st Century has had an influence on the ogoh ogoh’s. One time I saw a one doing a wheelie on a Vespa. The ogoh ogoh’s are carried on bamboo platforms by young guys, who often are a little tipsy after drinking arak. At streetside a panel of banjar judges, give points to the best ogoh ogoh. The platform bearers will edge towards one side of the street, and tilt the platform. In Kuta it can get roudy so watch out if a platform is heading your way.
Best places to watch ogoh ogoh:
•Bemo corner in Kuta.
•Jl. Seminyak at Dhyana Pura in Semnyak.
•Puputan Square in Denpasar.
When the ogoh ogoh’s have departed, the streets clear quite fast. A good place to stock up on supplies is Bintang supermarket in Seminyak, which stays open late, 10pm or later.
The ogoh ogoh’s scare the evil spirits away from Bali, but they return several hours later looking for human activity. All lights, machines, radios must be turned off and no one is allowed out. The pecalang or religious traffic cops, will reprimand anyone who ventures out. The quiet period lasts from around 5am to 5am the next day, with the airport completely closed to traffic.
What does this mean for visitors? Well if you are in a resort you will have access to the facilities, but will have to quieten down a bit. Guest house travelers will have to stay in their guest house, no food places will be open.
One year I taped towels over my windows and cooked for once. It wasn’t bad but if you’ve done it once you probably wouldn’t get much out of it again. I think it would be more interesting being in a local household observing their interactions. Strictly speaking the Balinese are not supposed to talk or eat. The evil spirits will depart and leave Bali alone for another year when they are satisfied, at dawn the day after Nyepi.
What to do on Nyepi for tourists:
•1. Go to Lombok for a couple of days
•2. Stay in a resort, where services continue
•3. Stay with an expat who has enough land that you can party
•4. Get invited to a Balinese household and enjoy a traditional experience
•5. Lock yourself in your room with a bottle of arak and someone you like.Labels: Balinese Ceremonies |
| posted by Admin @ 2:47 PM |
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| October 26, 2007 |
| Bali Taxis Service |
Bali, the attractive seaport in Indonesia, draws the majority of the tourists to the country. There are various means of transport that can be used by the tourists to explore the city or getting in the city. One of the convenient ways to explore the island is by availing of the Bali Taxi Service. Travelers find it quite comfortable to move around the city by taxis. Bali Taxi Service takes the visitors to all locations in and around the city.
When planning to trip in Bali, one need not to be worried for Bali- How to Get There as there are several modes of public transport which will reach you safely and conveniently to your destination.
Taxis in Bali are plentiful, especially in tourist areas such as Kuta, Seminyak, Sanur, Nusa Dua and Ubud. Hailing a cab can be as simple as stepping into the street and raising your hand when you see one pass by.
Bali has a selection of taxi companies, each with its own color of car, name and quality. The most established company is Bluebird, based in Jakarta. Bluebird has new light blue colored cars and a good reputation.
Tips for using a taxi in Bali are as follows:
1. Have plenty of change on you, as drivers often claim not to have change, hoping you will allow them to keep the difference.
2. Make sure the driver understands where he’s heading and uses the meter. Some drivers will start out with no idea where you intend to go. Not using the meter can mean getting charged an extortionate fee on arrival.
3. If you know a fast way of getting somewhere, instruct the driver. Local drivers seem to prefer taking a direct route through downtown traffic, rather than a faster route on the Sunset Rd. This saves petrol but takes twice as long.
4. Be careful when getting out as there are often sharp drops into drainage ditches on the
passenger side, fast traffic on the drivers side.
5. Tipping is not required.
Here is a list of taxi companies in Bali:
Bluebird (Bali Praja Transportasi) (0361)701111
Geka PT (0361)289090
Gelora PT (0361)241444
Koperasi Taksi Kowinu Bali (0361)771661
Koperasi Taksi Ngurah Rai (0361)724725
Ngurah Rai Taxi (0361)724724
Pan Wirthi Taxi PT (0361)723954
Rajawali Taxi (0361)484537
Ramayana Taxi (0361)765303
Serasi Autoraya PT:
Jl. Bypass Ngurah Rai (0361)703333
Four Seasons Nusa Dua (0361)701010
Jl. Raya Airport (0361)753722
Jl. Raya Airport 2 (0361)753452
Jl. Raya Airport 99X (0361)763333
Kompi Bandara International Ngurah Rai(0361)755003
Taxis in Bali will often allow more than 4 passengers to ride, one sitting on the other’s lap. This is helpful if you don’t want to get 2 taxis. All taxis in Bali charge the same rate, which is a flag rate of 5000rp, plus 2500rp for each extra kilometer. In practice some companies seem more expensive.Labels: Practicalities |
| posted by Admin @ 1:25 AM |
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| October 15, 2007 |
| Bali People |
 LIKE A CONTINUAL UNDER-SEA BALLET, the pulse of life in Bali moves with a measured rhythm reminiscent of the sway of marine plants and the flowing motion of octopus and jellyfish under the sweep of a submarine current. There is a similar correlation of the elegant and decorative people with the clear-cut, extravagant vegetation; of their simple and sensitive temperament with the fertile land.
No other race gives the impression of living in such close touch with nature, creates such a complete feeling of harmony between the people and the surroundings. The slender Balinese bodies are as much a part of the landscape as the palms and the breadfruit trees, and their smooth skins have the same tone as the earth and as the brown rivers where they bathe; a general colour scheme of greens, grays, and ocher's, relieved here and there by bright-coloured sashes and tropical flowers. The Balinese belong in their environment in the same way that a bumming-bird or an orchid belongs in a Central American jungle, or a steel-worker belongs in the grime of Pittsburgh. It was depressing to watch our Balinese friends transplanted to the Paris Fair. They were cold and miserable there in the middle of the summer, shivering in heavy overcoats or wrapped in blankets like red Indians, but they were transformed into normal, beautiful Balinese as soon as they returned from their unhappy experience.
Today the beauty of the Balinese has been exploited to exhaustion in travelogues and by tourist agencies, but as far back as 1619 records mention that Balinese women were in great demand in the slave markets of Bourbon (Reunion), where " they brought as much as 150 florins." The traffic in Balinese slaves continued until 1830, and today there is a colony of Balinese in Batavia, the descendants of former slaves. Their reputation for beauty is well justified: the majority of the population are handsome, with splendid physique and with a dignified elegance of bearing, in both men and women of all ages. From childhood the women walk for miles carrying-heavy loads on their heads; this gives them a great co-ordination of movement, a poised walk and bodily fitness. Old women retain their strength and do not become bent hags. We were astonished at times to discover that the slender, straight silhouette we bad admired from a distance belonged to an old lady with gray hair, walking with ease under forty or fifty pounds of fruit or pottery. Unless physically disabled, elderly people never admit that they are too old or too weak for activity; to " give up " would be dangerous to physical and spiritual health and would render a person vulnerable to attacks of a supernatural character.
Ordinarily free of excessive clothing, the Balinese have small but well-developed bodies, with a peculiar anatomical structure of simple, solid masses reminiscent of Egyptian and Mycenaean sculptures: wide shoulders tapering down in unbroken lines to flexible waists and narrow hips; strong backs, small heads, and firm full breasts. Their slender arms and long legs end in delicate hands and feet, kept skilful and alive by functional use and dance training. Their faces have well-balanced - features, expressive The Beach in Sanur eyes, small noses, and full mouths, and their hair is thick and glossy. Because they are tanned by the sun, their golden-brown skin appears generally darker than it really is, and when seen at a distance, people bathing are considerably whiter around their middles, where the skin is usually covered by clothes, giving the impression that they wear light-coloured pants. Watching a crowd of semi-nude Balinese of all ages, one cannot help wondering what the comparison would be should men and women of our cities suddenly appear in the streets nude above the waist.
Their character is easy, courteous, and gentle, but they can be intense and can show strong temper if aroused. They are gay and witty; there is nothing that a Balinese loves more than a good joke, especially. if it is off-colour, and even children make ribald puns that are applauded by grown-ups. It is perhaps in their mad sense of humour, the spirit of Rabelaisian fun with which they handle even such forbidding subjects as religion and death, that lies the key to their character. The adjective " childish " or 11 childlike," so often misapplied to primitive peoples, does not suit the Balinese, because even the children show a sophistication often lacking in more civilized grown-ups. They are resourceful and intelligent, with acute senses and quick minds. Once, when I mentioned the goodness of a very short friend, the immediate reply was: " How could he be otherwise, be is so small! " One day Spies's monkey got loose and ran all over the house upsetting and breaking things.
All the Balinese boys chased the monkey, but it let them come to within a few feet of it and then leaped out of reach onto the roof or a tree. The only one who did not join in the chase was Rapung, our teacher of Balinese, because he was a newcomer to the household and the monkey snarled and sprung at him every time Rapung passed near where it was tied: they bated each other. When it became plain that the monkey could not be captured so easily, one of the boys had the bright idea of having everybody pretend to attack Rapung, imitating the monkey, making faces, and squealing at him. Soon the monkey forgot that be himself was persecuted and joined in the attack, but when he was most aggressive someone grabbed him.
The pride of the Balinese has not permitted the development of one of the great professions of the East: there are no beggars in Bali. But tourists who lure boys and girls with dimes to take their pictures now threaten this unique distinction, and lately, in places frequented by tourists, people are beginning to ask for money as a return for a service. Ordinarily even a child would be scolded and shamed by anyone who heard him ask something from a stranger. A gift must be reciprocated and we were often embarrassed by the return presents of our poor neighbors. We gave Ketut Adi, a little dancer of eight, a scarf of no great value; one day soon after she came to us with a basket of rice, some eggs, and a live chicken, carried by her mother because the load was too great for her. Children of the neighborhood that Rose had treated for infected wounds always came back with presents of fruit, cakes, or rice which they handed casually to our house-boy, never mentioning them to us, as if they wanted to avoid making a demonstration of their generosity. Even children have a strong sense of pride.
The aristocracy is despotic and arrogant, but the ordinary people, although used to acknowledging the superiority of their masters, are simple and natural in an unservile and unsubmissive way. By the threat of passive disobedience and boycott they kept the princes from overstepping their bounds. Europeans complain that the Balinese make bad servants; they are too free, too frank, and do not respond to the insolent manner that the white man has adopted as " the only way to deal with natives." Their moral code consists in maintaining their traditional behavior, observing their duties towards their fellow villagers and paying due respect to the local feudal princes. Among themselves they are kind and just, avoiding unnecessary quarrels and solving their disputes by the simplest and most direct methods. .1 The villages are organized into compact boards or councils, independent of other villages. Every married man - that is, every grown man - is a member of the council and is morally and physically obliged to co-operate for the welfare of the community.
A man is assisted by his neighbors in every task he cannot perform alone; they help him willingly and as a matter of duty, not expecting any reward other than the knowledge that, were they in his case, he would help in the same manner. In this way paid labors and the relation of boss to coolie are reduced to a minimum in Bali. Since the world of a Balinese is his community, be is anxious to prove his worth, for his own welfare is in direct relation to his social behaviors and his communal standing. Moral sanctions are regarded 2S stronger than physical punishment, and no one will risk the dreaded punishment of exile, from the village, when a man is publicly declared " dead " to his community. Once " thrown away," he cannot be admitted into another of the co-operative villages, so no misfortune could be greater to the Balinese than public disgrace. This makes of every village a closely unified organism in which the communal policy is harmony and co-operation - a system that works to every body's advantage.
By their ingenuity and constant activity they have raised their main occupation, the cultivation of rice, to levels unsurpassed by other rice-growing nations. Being essentially agriculturists, they are not interested in navigation and trade; living the easy life of the tropics, they are satisfied and well fed. The majority works the land for themselves, so they have not yet become wage earners and have enough freedom and leisure left to dedicate to spiritual relaxation. They are extraordinarily fond of music, poetry, and dancing, which have produced a remarkable theatre. Their culture, unlike that of their cultural ancestors, the Javanese, is not yet in frank declin6. Even the common people are better agriculturists, better craftsmen and artists than the average Javanese. The Balinese are by no means a primitive people.
Moreover, unlike the natives of the South Seas and similar races under white domination, the Balinese are not a dying people; far from that, in the last ten years a constant increase in the birth rate has been recorded. The 1930 census gave the population of Bali as 1,148,000 people, or about 500 to the square mile, an enormous figure when compared with the 41 per square mile of the United States. This includes the foreign population: 7,1935 Chinese, 1,544 Arabs and other Mohammedans, and 411 Europeans, of which only a small percentage are of pure European stock, the rest being Eurasians and certain Balinese, Javanese, Chinese, and Japanese who are given equal standing with Europeans by a decree making them " Staatsblad European."
For those interested in knowing something of the racial origins of the Balinese, it may be added that they are by no means a pure race, but a complicated mixture of the native aborigines, with superimposed layers of higher cultures of various types.' The Balinese are descendants of a pure " Indonesian " race mixed with the Hindus of Central and East Java, who were them selves Indonesians of Hindu culture, with Indian and Chinese blood. To these mixtures are further added traces of the Polynesian and Melanesian, the result being a picturesque variety of types among the Balinese: from the noble Hindu and Northern Chinese, to the Malay-Javanese, Polynesian, and even Papuan. While some have sleek hair, high nose bridges, and cream-yellow skins, some are dark and curly haired like South Sea Islanders. Some have large almond eyes, often with the " Mongoloid fold, convex noses, and. fine mouths; others have the concave, flat, broad
Noses, the squinty eyes, bulging foreheads, and prognathic. Jaws of the more primitive Indonesians. Thus the Balinese of today are the same people as the Hindu-Javanese of pre-Mohammedan Java, in the sense that they both underwent the same racial and Cultural influences.Labels: Culture |
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