Bali, God, Rice and Art
Introduction
Bali is a small island in the eastern center of the Indonesian Archipelago. It is about 86 miles from west to east and 51 miles from north to south. On the west it is bordered by Java and the Java Sea. To the north can be found the Bali Sea and to east the Bali Sea, which joins the Lombok Strait between Bali and the island Lombok. To the south the Indian Ocean stretches to Australia. Bali is a province of Indonesia. An important difference in animal and plant life was noted by a naturalist Alfred Russell between the life on Bali and the life on Lombok, an island to the west. This difference is called the Wallace Line. Between these two islands lies a significant biological difference in both flora and fauna. Bali is south of the equator as it enjoys two seasons, rainy and dry. At all times the weather is hot and humid changing very little during the year of average monthly temperatures of 82f to 86f all year. Rainfall is heavy during the months from the middle of October through the middle of April. The rains are strong for very short periods usually in the afternoon and the sun comes emerges from the fast moving clouds. Bali is a tropical island cooled by prevailing trade winds from the ocean and seas. The island was created by volcanic eruptions from that very well known ring of fire where tectonic plate movement is very active in the eastern part of the world. The major volcanic activity has been from Gunung Agung with an eruption in 1963, though the steam and lava flow continues daily from Gunung Batur, which has had many eruptions over 200 years. Gunung Agung is the highest peak of Bali reaching 10,350 feet. The other two other major volcanos, Gunung Batur and Gunung Lesong, have high mountain lakes, Lake Batur and Lake Bratan being the main ones, from which the water irrigation for crops comes from. The high volcanic peaks halt the fast moving rain clouds, driven by tradewinds, which provides rainfall for the mountains and southeastern side of Bali There are many other smaller volcanos on the island as a ridge that bisects the island from east to west separating the north from the south. In the western part of Bali lies an immense National Park combined with an impenetrable series of volcanic peaks. It is very undeveloped dense jungle entered only by foot. Here the rare Bali starling (leucopsar rothschildi) is on the brink of extinction with only an estimated 14 remaining in the wild. The island consists of limestone from old coral reefs and lava flows. The beaches are both white and black sand. Mangrove swamps protect much of the island where beaches or cliffs are not. There are two islands which belong to Bali in the south called Nusa Penida and Nusa Lembongan which are visited by ferry and for the most part are visited in the day by snorkelers and divers. The clear water around these islands is legendary for divers.
4000 years ago the Chinese came to Bali at Pura Pulaki in the north west corner of Bali. There is evidence that the Buddhist and Hindu religion came to Bali in around 500AD. The recorded history of Bali starts with a obelisk, dated 914AD in Sanur in the south. Subsequently the Holy Spring Temple of Pura Tirta Empul was built in 960. Contact with the kingdoms in Java created new kingdoms in Bali. The two influences making up the Bali culture were the Javanese and Chinese. The religion being modified from the Buddhist-Hinduism of Java and the trade and rice culture from China. The northern part of Bali was settled first, the dryness and uncertainty of rain in the north pushed the settlers to move south. The main concentration of people settled in Denpasar, now the capitol and largest city of Bali with 600 hundred thousand people. It is the location of the International airport. While most of Indonesia and the Javanese adopted the Muslim religion, the Balinese adjusted the Hindu-Buddhist traditions to meet their way of life. The Balinese have refined and kept their traditions orally without writings. Indonesia meanwhile has become the largest Muslim country in the world with 250 million people. Bali is a small island of 5 million mostly Hindu-Buddhist, with religious and art culture unparalleled in the world.
The battles between kingdoms inside Bali as well as from Java and Lombok continued over the centuries. A major event happened in 1540AD when a Javanese Hindu leader, Dang Hyang Nirartha, came to Bali. He reformed the religion so that one God ruled and gave the Balinese the form of Hindu that the Balinese practice today. The great leader has since been sainted. In 1602, the Dutch established the United East India Company in Jakarta which extended its trading to Bali. There was much trading of Balinese slaves and opium. The Dutch conquered Java bringing it totally under their rule in 1830. Then the Dutch conquered the most important kingdom of the Balinese in 1849. In 1908 Bali was under total control of the Dutch. The Balinese were put to work as serfs to create roads and improve irrigation by forced labor. The Dutch determined that Bali should remain as a state in which the arts and traditions should be preserved. In 1942, Japan invaded and occupied Bali. It was a very difficult time of subjugation for the Balinese. The food was sent to Japan and the men and women were used as slave labor. After the Second World War, the Dutch attempted to resume leadership in the country. By this time the Balinese had enough and rebelled against the tyranny. In 1949, The Dutch were forced to give independence to Indonesia and Bali. As Bali was a part of Indonesia, the political turmoil that Indonesia has had to endure from a dictatorship to a democracy has had considerable influence in Bali. Bali always was the island for tourists to visit because the people were so friendly, the religion so open and strong for its people and the magnificent arts, music and dance that was constantly on display. The economic difficulties of Indonesia have rubbed off to the Balinese, even though their economy was the strongest in Indonesia. Slowly through their tourism, crafts and art have the Balinese built an economy that has stability. It was for this reason that the recent terrorists bombings have taken place in Kuta targeting tourism. Muslim provocateurs want to disrupt the Balinese economy, pointing to create a rigid Muslim state. Lombok, meanwhile in 1540, became Muslim and its economy has not been as strong.
The structure of the Balinese culture starts at the family compound. In a traditional village the land is broken into similar size lots. The lot is surrounded by a high wall. The extended family follows the male heritage. Usually many generations of the family have lived in the same home. Inside there is a family temple, closed sleeping quarters, an open pavilion for eating, working and socializing, A central courtyard of packed earth, a kitchen with a wood stove and the main enclosed family quarters for the head of the family. The open pavilion is often protected with marble tiles as are floors in the residences. Water is drawn from the irrigation ditches, rivers or from springs. Very few homes have wells. In a small corner is an open or closed pit for human waste. A granary serves as food storage. There is usually one gate for entrance. The house is the center of the family. It is usually handed down to the eldest boy. The home can never be sold. If all in the family die, it reverts back to the village. Pigs, chickens and ducks keep the waste from accruing. The houses usually are built with adobe bricks with grass thatch for a roof. If the family is wealthy tile is used for the roof, brick or stone is used for the walls. Running water and electricity are luxuries. The eldest son is called Wayan, the second Made, the third Komang and the fourth son Ketut, followed by their last name, following centuries of tradition.
The village is a collection of homes facing a sea mountain axis. The village temple faces the seaward side of the village. At the other end of the village is the founders temple. In the middle is the village diety temple. Between the two extreme temples are the individual homes of the inhabitants surrounding the earth courtyards and public buildings. A village has various numbers of residents but a normal village houses about three thousand inhabitants. In or near the village are the numerous warongs where condiments, drinks and food may be obtained. Old traditional villages cling to age old practices. In Tenganan, residents can not marry outside of the village without having to leave it. In Trunyan, on Lake Batur, the deceased are placed in the open graveyard covered by a cloth. The odor of the dead is totally mitigated by the sap of the Trunyan tree sheltering the graveyard. They are not cremated. Quite often villages will specialize in the work that they endeavor. One village might carve doors, one village might make jewelry, another village makes bricks, others make temple carvings and so on. The two social fabrics of family and village are at the foundation of the Balinese culture. The four castes of Balinese families use the Indian Hindu system, with the exception in Bali there is no untouchable caste. Rather the Brahma caste are the high priests and teachers, the second caste Wesya, warriors, rulers, government and other professionals, the third caste Gusti, businessmen and the fourth caste Jaba are the working class. When a young man marries outside of his caste there are responsibilities that have to be assumed to the detriment of his families cohesion and life. The same is true for the woman.
The primary food staple of the Balinese is rice. It is supplanted with vegetables, fruits, chicken, pork, duck, beef and fish. Fifteen years ago the rice crop was not big enough to support the population, so many Balinese used sweet potatoes as their staple food. Since the advent of the new miracle rice strain, which provides a larger crop in a shorter time, Balinese now exports rice and again it is the most prominent food. Pasta in the form of noodles also provides the second staple. Since there is little refrigeration in the homes, markets in each town provide the fresh foods for the population. Water from springs and bottled water provide the fresh drinking water. Around the island the fishermen, in their outrigger boats, called jukung, ply the oceans for a variety of fish, mostly using nets. All around the island one can find fishing villages where fresh fish can be purchased very inexpensively. Very few people are hungry in Bali.
The Balinese are very industrious. When they celebrate, each person has clothes that fit the occasion. The ceremonial dress for women is specially beautiful. Sarongs in beautiful colors and fabrics, many times silk, are the norm. The sheer lace and transparent finely embroidered kebaya blouses are especially beautiful then a lovely sash and combined with sarongs that match, the beauty of the Balinese women is accented very well. Men also wear sarongs as well as white suits and cloth hats called udeng at major ceremonies. At other ceremonies different color clothes are worn by women, men and to suit the occasion. Children also dress up as their parents for all ceremonies, which are many. Workers in the fields cover themselves completely from the unrelenting sun. Hats are especially important. Bemos (a minibus used for inexpensive transport) mopeds and motor bikes as well as cell phones and the internet brings the Balinese into the 21st century. Denpasar is a very busy city.
The economy is dominated by tourism. The art and craft exports are sent all over the world. Bali is presently a net exporter of rice. The graciousness of the Balinese people in their reception of tourists is legendary. A very important segment of their economy is the practice of massage. There are spas and massage facilities all over the island to service the tourists with a large variety of body care. Another very labor intensive product is the making of salt, using the method of evaporation. Lumber cutting was a large economy and still is active, though most lumber now comes from Borneo. Coffee, spices, tobacco and medicinal plants are a net exporter, gaining momentum.
The topography of Bali rising from the south into the steep mountains and then dropping to the sea on each side with great gorges of the one hundred and fifty fast flowing rivers, determines that the roads are very windy and slow. In addition the crowdedness of many villages and towns creates a lot of stop and go traffic. The beaches in the south are very beautiful, usually white. While the beaches in the east are usually black. In the far south of Bali, the arid highlands can be found on Bukit peninsular. Most of the tourist hotels can be found in Kuta, Nusa Dua, Sanur and Ubud which are towns near Denpasar. Outside of these areas rice fields dominate, displaying age old man made sculptured terraces of extreme beauty and rich vibrant greens, gold and blues. Surrounding these fields are tall swaying palm trees and shrines as well as temples. Visitors and residents call Bali paradise or Island of the Gods. I think by all standards in this world it is.
Pura Uluwatu Temple
God
Black and white; good and bad; ying and yang; 80 years of life span on the earth. The soul is the primary entity of the human form which is contained in a very mortal body. These are the parameters that the Balinese live in, while their lives are totally encapsulated in their unique form of Hinduism. Called Agama Tirtha (science of the holy water) it is primarily an Indian Hindu religious interpretation, while Chinese influences of Buddhism and local social practices from Java, introduced in the 5th century, and then Balinese local customs complete the religion. The axiom which shapes the Hindu religion is that the universe has been an organized and ordered creation. That there is a balance between the forces of good and evil, positive and negative, and that this balance must be kept to preserve order. All of human endeavors must be applied to maintain this equilibrium so that man might attain nirvana. In Bali the belief is that all of nature is all powerful. Each element of the natural order, whether it is the sea, mountain, stone, tree or water has its own designated God and protector. The religion is practiced without writings, using age old traditions that covers their entire life span. It is the fabric that controls their existence, their purpose, their economy and their arts. This faith is demonstrated each moment of their lives, each location of the island, how they dress and how they interact with each other, their temples, their homes and their food. They have made religion an art form which is reflected throughout their entire society. In Agama Tirtha, the supreme being is Sang Widdhi. This god manifests itself into three main dieties, Brahma, the creator; Vishnu, the preserver; and Siwa, the destroyer. Nature’s elements are the underpinnings of the religion and ancestor worship is a major influence in day to day living. In a Balinese Hindu life, the soul must be refined carefully so that the soul can reach nirvana upon the departure from earth. If the life has not been worthy of nirvana, the soul will be reincarnated in another life form on earth (where from and where to). Then life must be relived again in its attempt to correct ones journey to achieve nirvana. So each moment in the life of a Balinese is important, if one wants to reach that place of peace. Prayer follows the Indian Hindu tradition. Usually the hands are held together at head level with a plumeria held between two extended fingers. Gunung Agung (mother mountain), the highest volcano in Bali, is the abode of the deities and ancestors. In contrast the sea is impure, but the wrath of the sea deities must be appeased. Life revolves around the principles of place, time and circumstances. The goal of each Balinese is to live a life of harmony with God, ancestors, nature and the society. Thus each hour and day are filled with rituals meant to help each person realize a balance in their life’s journey. The Indian caste system of Hinduism has been modified from five to four which does not include the untouchables, in Bali, relieving the society of a negative influence which makes up the structure of the Balinese society. There are many manifestations in the life of a Balinese to help them travel this passage on earth. These manifestations can be found in the numerous religious temples, altars, mountains, springs, rivers and in any unique natural location. It is not unusual to see Balinese praying along the side of a road to a little religious shrine during any time of the day. The supernatural plays a large part in the life of a Balinese many times taking the manifestation of white or black magic.
When one first arrives in Bali, the first impression are the barongs or statues which are created to drive away the evil in the world. The second is of flowers and scents everywhere. Then one notices the temples at every location, houses, villages, work places, each prominent geographic feature of the island and the sea. The number of temples are almost impossible to count as they grow each day. An enormous amount of economic resource of the Balinese people is given first to creating the temples, then in the daily offerings to the Gods, and finally in performing the innumerable ceremonies which are celebrated in each temple, each calender event and in the events in each persons life. Birth, coming of age, marriage and death are all accorded the pomp and circumstance in the passage of life. Each temple whether it is a house, village, district, ancestor or mother temple has to be honored by the people. When a young man wants success in courting he goes to a temple which has that associated power, Makam Jayaprana in the western part of the island. If a person wants success in business to goes to Pura Melanting. In death the Balinese go to the mother temple, Besikah and then to the sea at Goa Lawah, also known as the Bat Cave. When a person wants to remember their father or mother, they go the ancestor temple. Many times family members which do not live in their original village, come back to the village for ceremonies or ancestor rituals. There are in Bali ceremonies going on all the time. The elaborate offerings prepared for the ceremonies are magnificent. Fruits, flowers, chickens, ducks and palm leaves are used in abundance in these offerings, which are carried by the women on top of their heads. Each woman and man has wonderful ceremonial clothes which are worn on the special occasions. Sarongs and kebayas by women and sarongs with unique caps of cloth called udeng by men. The island is a flower paradise and the Balinese people use a great number of them in all of their ceremonies and in their daily life. The aroma all over the island of plumaria and spices is quite wonderful. In the background the music of the gamelan orchestra is heard everywhere. At each festive occasion flowers, music and dance plays a large role in accomplishing the ceremonial goals and fulfilling the religious life of each Balinese. The mother temple is found on the highest volcano Gunung Agung is known as Besakih. The other six main public temples are important for different purposes. It is the visible-invisible world. The physical world is penetrated by the spirit world which is always present. Always there is the black and white cloth representing the range of good and evil in the world with flowers decorating the spirit statues. All of the natural locations of springs, rivers, lakes and even special trees are designated with the location of a temple. The rice fields have shrines to Dewi Sri, the goddess of rice to whom the Balinese owe the rice staple of food, Each step in the production of the crop calls for another ceremony to insure a successful harvest. Villages adorn their streets with bamboo poles and ornaments during harvest called penjor. Each morning offerings in the form of flowers and rice are offered to protect from the evil spirits, in front of houses, work places and innumerable worship locations. The Balinese public temples are Pura designated. The architecture is often quite similar throughout the island as well as statuary of the spirits that are to chase the constant encroachment of evil away. The more important the temple is, the more significant the different aspects of the architecture. E.g. the importance of the temples is often reflected by the number of tiers of the shrine. Each temple has its own schedule of rites and ceremonies accompanying the worship in the temple during the Bali year consisting of 210 days. The first of the year is creation day followed ten days later by all saints day. With the great number of temples there are continuing events of worship throughout the island. Dance, music and feasting accompany the worshipers who are dressed in their most important finery and bring bounteous food offerings for the event. At the end of the ceremony the elaborate offerings are consumed by the family who created them. The temple is decorated in bright festive garb for the occasion. The public is always welcome.
While, birth, coming of age and marriage are important events in the Balinese society, the most important event in their life is death and cremation. The reason for this is the loosening of the ties of earths yoke to reach nirvana. It is a very special event always shared by all the people of the deceased person’s villagers. When a person dies, the body is immediately washed by the men of the village, then carefully dressed and prepared for cremation. If the person is poor, the body is buried, temporarily, till a mass cremation can be accomplished every five years, quite often in October. The body is exhumed from a temporary grave for the village ceremony. If the person is important and the family can afford the cremation expense, the body is cremated immediately in a pomp and circumstance ceremony celebrating the deceased person’s life. The whole ceremony is practiced by the whole community to assist the deceased on their journey to nirvana. Music and food accompanies the ceremony which is presided over by priests. After the cremation, which is witnessed by all the people of the village, the ashes are taken in a village procession to the Mother temple at Gunung Agung, the highest peak in Bali, where extensive ceremonies are held. Food is provided by the family to all guests. Then there is another ceremony performed at the families ancestor temple. The village then moves to the sea, at Goa Lawah, the Bat Cave, where another ceremony is held on the Indian Ocean shore. The cremation ceremony is held over three days, presided over by priests, with ashes spread at each location. In the beginning, upon the death of the family member, there is great sadness. Upon the end of the ceremony, the family has helped the departed on their journey and the family is no longer sad with the loss, but joyful that the departed has hopefully reached nirvana. It is interesting to note that all of the Bali Hinduism practices are aimed to clean the soul, the life, the world and all actions of individuals while on earth, to achieve the ultimate goal of nirvana. The progression of life in Bali calls for ceremonies at birth, a one month anniversary, a three month anniversary, the coming of age which includes tooth filing, marriage and death.
The Balinese preoccupation with their religion can not be overstated. It is their reason for living and it is their vehicle to nirvana. It is a peaceful and open religion as well as a deep one that is very close to the concepts of other large world religions. Their form of Hindu has a great deal of tradition and creative beauty included in it. It is very satisfying and fulfilling to the people. The Balinese live in it well.
Rice
2000BC or 4000 years ago, the Chinese came to Bali bringing their rice culture. Tradition has it that they landed in the northwest corner of Bali at Pura Pulaki. A ship commemorates the point. In Singaraja, a short distance away, a Chinese temple stands as a reminder of the Chinese heritage of the Balinese. But the largest sign of Chinese influence are the rice fields of Bali. Water from the clouds stall at the tall volcanic mountains of Bali ,water which flows down to the Indian Ocean and the Bali Sea. Early in the development of rice fields in Bali, farmers determined that they had to harness these flows to provide water needed for rice cultivation. Over 4000 years these irrigation flows were engineered using dams and aqueducts to provide water for rice paddies terraced into hillsides allowing for water to reach all fields with a determined flow of water. One source of water can provide for thousands of acres of rice fields in Bali. This engineering has developed over thousands of years and must be one of the great human endeavors of all time. These aqueducts or irrigation channels can run through mountains, or around them, always dropping slowly to provide water at the same velocity, strong enough to provide each field with the correct amount of water, yet slow enough not to bypass the fields. It is truly one of the great works of man. The rain during October to April provides the fields with enough water, but April through September irrigation must provide the rice crops on a regular basis. Rice planting and harvesting is based on the prior crop and then the right time determined by the Gods for planting. When the crops have a gestation of 120 days, new crops can be planted at any time during the year, so crops are always being planted throughout the year.
These irrigation flows also provide for bathing and the washing of clothes. It provides for cooking water and is the sanitation system of Bali. The system also provides water for the growing of other crops as well as providing water for animal production. The irrigation system is the source of life on Bali. Combined with the sun and the ocean these three resources provide ample food for living on the small island.
Ancient volcanic eruptions created Bali and over time the lava flows eroded creating a rich volcanic soil very suitable for rice cultivation. Over the years water flowing from lakes high in the mountains cut deep gorges into the mountains where rivers ran very strongly into the sea or ocean. Elaborate aqueducts channeled much of this flow to land that was higher then the bottom of these gorges, taking the water from the flow of the water from different levels to achieve a constant irrigation at all heights. Water that came from the sky intermittently was captured in the volcanic craters which then acted as a reservoir, releasing the water at a slower rate. This slow release allowed the Balinese to cultivate rice all year long. The old rice seeds brought from China known as Padi Bali were good for one rice crop per year. New strains of rice have been introduced which allows for three crops to be harvested, so the importance of a continual water flow all year is very important to the Balinese.
All of this irrigation infrastructure creation necessitated a very carefully organized political structure to insure that the knowledge to create and maintain the water flow to all farmers was in place. In addition the water flow to each farmer and paddy was to be consistent. As one can imagine, if this water did not flow evenly a great number of problems arose in the community. These water sharing communities were organized into groups of farmers called a subak. There are approximately 1200 subaks in Bali, each with 200 farmers with an average field size of 125 acres. The chosen leader of the subak, kepala subak is the most important man of the village. He has to make sure each farmer receives adequate water to grow his crops. He has to make sure that this water is not interrupted. He has to make sure that new paddies receive water and does not take away from the neighbors water. The life and welfare of the community depends upon his wisdom, management skills and fairness. All things operational in a subak are done by all. Attendance at meetings is obligatory by all farmers in the village. The subak is in communication with the Ministry of Agriculture in Denpasar which determines the floor price and amount of export of the rice from Bali.
As in all endeavors of the Balinese, their religion governs all the processes of the rice culture. The rice mother, Dewi Sri, is one of the most revered deities of the Balinese. She is respected and loved by all. Rice is a god given resource which is honored at the core of their being. In the fields there are rice temples for the whole subak and shrines in each paddy grouping, where the farmer thanks the gods for the crop and supplicates them for a good harvest. All of the rice planting and harvesting timing is controlled by the calender and favorable times with signs from the God and Dewi Sri.
When one sees the paddies for the first time with water in them, one notes that it is a small defined water pond with narrow dikes surrounding the paddy. The next paddy follows the contour of the land and maybe higher or lower, with its own definition of dikes. These dikes are grass with deep intertwining roots. The contouring of these terraced paddies on steep slopes is striking and amazing.
First the fields are burned of the former rice crops stubble which provides soil protecting alkaline for the new crop. Then the field is fertilized. Cattle are used for plowing the paddies. The cattle live in open sided barn which is next to the fields. They are fed with the grasses cut from the dikes or around the fields. The paddies are plowed, usually using one or two work cattle. Then a small hole is cut into the higher dike with a hoe letting in water to the level of about 6 inches. Before harvest time the water is released the same way at another end of the field to be drained into rivers. After the water is released into the paddy the plowed earth is smoothed to be even. Then seedlings, which were started 25 days earlier in plats, are planted singly in rows. This is amazingly difficult work bent over in the hot sun where the rays are reflected from the water creating enormous heat, standing in ankle deep water planting row after row of seedlings into the wet paddy. Then the rice paddy is dried and flooded at different times between which a constant effort of weeding is maintained. When the rice heads start to form and the stalks start to become golden the farmers create scarecrows and other diversionary efforts to keep the birds from eating the rice crop. The fields are festooned with a myriad of color and noise making objects. One hundred and twenty days after planting, the golden rice stalks are ready for harvesting. Harvesting is generally done by the women in the Subak. The stalks are scythed just above ground level. Then they are thrashed on a board under which lies a plastic sheet which holds the rice kernels. The rice is placed into bags and taken to a dehusking mill. Sometimes the dehusking is done by the women in a separate manual step. After the rice harvest a large ceremony is held which rice, rice cakes, rice wine and all forms of food pay homage to Dewi Sri for the life giving rice crop of herself. Then the ducks are herded into the fields which eat the left over rice and eat the bugs. And so a new cycle begins.
There are many forms of rice seeds. While the traditional seed was Padi Bali, there is black rice, yellow rice, red rice, Japanese fancy rice, a new dwarf strain of rice that raises the productivity of a yearly rice harvest over four times from the traditional. The new miracle strain is planted and harvested three times a year with more production in each acre then the traditional rice seed. Fifteen years ago rice was a luxury food while most of the crop was used as a cash crop and exported. Cheaper rice was imported from Viet Nam for consumption. Most Balinese could not afford to eat it. When the new rice strain was introduced rice again became the important food staple for all the Balinese. In addition Bali now exports rice. Most of the time the colored rice and Japanese fancy rice are ceremonial and used for rice cakes known as jaja.
While rice is the staple of food in Bali, the lush island with its rich volcanic soil, the variety of food and drink derived from coconut, fruits of banana, oranges, coffee, cloves, vanilla and medicinal plants is astounding. Its five million residents have a sea catch that is unlimited. The ducks clean the rice fields, the chickens abound, the pigs keep the houses clean so the waste does not accumulate, and the water continues to flow. The cycle of life and living combined with their religion that embraces this cycle allows for a peaceful life span of 80 years or so. There are the normal problems in any human lives. An eruption of Gunung Agung killed over 2000 people in 1963. Many villages were buried. Much of the cultivated land was destroyed. An earthquake in 1974 followed with much destruction. But the resilient and hardworking Balinese recovered, understood and went on with their lives, seeking nirvana.
Art
One of the most enduring and wonderful aspects of the Bali culture is its arts that are interwoven into all aspects of each Balinese life. Art in Bali finds its roots in the decoration of palaces and temples. The opulent kingdoms palaces were filled with elaborately carved wooden panels painted in gilt, silk decorations and tapestries, stone and wooden sculptures, paintings of historical events and exciting architecture, each ruler trying to outdo the other. The kings demanded excellence and artisans soon excelled in their work. The king’s art was matched simultaneously by the religious art. The architecture is the first apparent taste of Balinese culture to the visitor. The innumerable temples and statues reflect the honor they place in their Gods and Barongs. The consistent theme is to honor the good, their ancestors and to drive away evil. The black and white checkered cloth, the red and yellow cloth draped on the grotesque faced statuary. Then the red hibiscus flower perched in the Barongs ear. All to drive away evil, but to do it with humor and joy. These statues are everywhere. The cement architecture and statuary combined with lava stone as the principal building material with black thatch roofs is the common theme of temple construction throughout the island. The second observation is the different ways that flowers are used in every day life. The offerings to the Gods in every place of business, every home, every temple and shrine and on the streets. The statues that have flowers placed on them each day. The men and women wearing flowers. The smells of the plumeria and incense. The tropical trees with the flowers everywhere. The ponds with lilies and lazy dragonflies.
Then there are the women in colorful silk and satin sarongs and transparent hand embroidered kebayas, blouses that are delicate, colorful, form fitting and elegant. Their long hair being made up on their head and their make up carefully applied. The small women are lovely. The men quite often also wear sarongs. By this time a visitor knows they are in a special place as beauty confronts them at every look.
At the core of Bali culture is dance, music, celebrations, offerings, story telling, and the warding off of evil. Good and evil, black and white, ying and yang. All of these are preempted by their Hindu faith and are inclusive in their religion. Bali arts start in their Hindu religion.
Most widely known of the performing Balinese arts is their dance. The Balinese use dance stories, shadow puppet presentations and storytelling to pass on their century old traditions and history. They do not write or read books about their history. The dances tell about the struggle between good and evil, between life and death, beauty and the beast, but always with a ribald humor attached to the story, often being played by actors performing as monkeys. Many of the dances have their roots in Indian Hinduism. All the children know each story. The young girls learn how to dance early, with many of them becoming extremely proficient. The women are dressed and made up beautifully; and the barongs or beasts are exaggerated in their colorful costumes and powerful face masks. The gracefulness of each dance, hand and leg movement is practiced diligently by the young women. Many aspire to be professional dancers which takes years and years of training. Those that do not become professionals, dance in ceremonies at their temples. Children attending the dance show both fear and excitement in the presentations. The dances are performed to the music of the gamelan orchestra. Some of the favorite dances are Ramayana a love ballet, Legong Keraton a masterpiece of beauty and grace, Barong and Rangda the powerful protectors of temple and village, Sanghyang trance dances and Kecak the recently developed fire trance dance by Walter Spies the artist. This dance was developed after the 1963 Gunung Agung eruption to be danced as a relief for epidemics These very famous and popular professional performances are backed up by many lesser known dance events throughout Bali. Most important are the local temple dances that are performed for different purposes to celebrate many occurrences in a persons, village or national religious life. Mendet and Rejang are normal temple dances. Dance started as an important part of ceremonial and religious life and was performed at specific times in the religious cycle. Soon outsiders wanted to see more and professional groups in theaters became a mainstay of the Balinese culture. Dance is a favorite form of expression for the Balinese.
Music is not far behind it. The gamelan orchestra is a percussion ensemble consisting of bronze metallophones similar to an xylophone using wooden mallets. In addition there are drums, gongs, wooden flutes and unusual stringed instruments. Sometimes there maybe a bamboo gamelan tingklik. Primarily used in ceremonies throughout the island, each village has its own ensemble. The percussion sound is very distinctive and rhythmic. Today professional orchestras are very popular and have CDs that are very popular.
Another performance with an ancient heritage is the Wayang Kulit known as shadow puppetry. It was first known in Bali in 900AD and was and is used to tell the traditional stories and history of the Balinese. Musicians accompany the puppeteer as he spins age old stories, morality, fables and philosophies. The individual puppets used are an art in themselves being made of leather and carefully painted in gilt and bright colors, many times similar to the large dance production costumes. Wayan Wong is the old and much loved mask dance as is Topeng.
While these forms of art originally stemmed from religious and traditional directions, tourists wanted to know and see them. Commercial dances combined with gamelan concerts and public puppeteers perform in hotels and theaters throughout the island and soon became big business for the Balinese.
In June the Bali Arts Festival is held in Denpasar. Opening with a huge parade where different villages compete for honors with their dance and gamelan orchestras. The women dressed up in their most exotic finery. The large colorful statues of barongs and other mythical Gods are carried on large floats. During the six weeks of the festival, extensive nightly performances of dance and music are held at the Art Centre. There is great prestige for the performers and the winners. During the day competitions are held in mask making, flower arrangement, preparation of food and costume making. The event is a microcosm of the arts in Bali and has very much appeal for the Balinese as well as the tourist.
Mas is known as the wood carving village. But there are many additional wood carving villages in Bali. The tradition of wood carving can be found in the temples. Ornate detailed wood carved doors, beams and furniture decorate each temple. From the temples the art was used in homes and village buildings. At the same time elaborate wooden masks were carved from bule to be used in dances. Then the carvers found there was a strong retail market. Soon the intricate carvings could be found throughout the world. Many workmen in a village will carve the doors from age old patterns. An intricately carved door for a house can be purchased for seven hundred dollars. Now wood carvings of birds, animals, Buddha’s, beautiful carvings of Balinese men and women and wood carvings in many other forms can be found for sale throughout Bali. Woodwork expanded to the creation of exquisite furniture of teak and rare woods imported from Borneo. Most of the furniture is exported.
The temples also contain stone carvings. Created from a type of pumice which can be found from volcanic flows, these carvings were created for temples, then villages and homes. Much of this work can be found in the village of Batubulan. Finally the Balinese expanded the work to be exported for the retail market. Wall carved ornamentation can be found in almost all temples.
The wood carving and the stone carvings then expanded to castings of bronze and other metals which is usually sold to the export market. Most of the time the subjects of the carvings and castings are the mythical figures of the Hindu religion.
Gold and silver jewelry manufacture followed due to the patient and available labor market. Whole villages are employed as jewelry artisans, the most well known is Celuk. The work is known for its intricacy and beauty.
Weaving of sarongs and other clothing as well as blankets and shawls is an age old art in Bali. Using cotton, silk or wool the patterns of the weaving are unique. Traditional sources for dyes makes sure that the colors are unique. Batik clothes are a big industry in Bali, with prices having a great fluctuation determined by the quality of the fabric and patterns. The Balinese are the only weavers in southeast Asia to master double ikat. This work can be found in the village of Tenganan in western Bali. The gold woven tapestries and cloth are used extensively in the temples and for religious ceremonies.
The basket ware of Bali is stunning. Primarily created in the village of Tenganan and the coast south of Amed, the tightly woven rattan baskets and other designs are highly prized throughout the world. Handcrafted in natural color or boiled in large boiling vats with a dye to make them dark brown. The baskets rival favorably as the best in the world.
The arts of Bali would not be complete without describing the paintings using water colors, acrylics or oils to produce a variety of techniques in wall coverings. Many times the detailed paintings reflect Balinese history. The different schools are represented by the villages which create them. The Sanur school is quite different from the Ubud style. Some of the better work is similar to very good folkart. A new direction adopts the Dutch school of landscape art. In Ubud there are many quality galleries of art with varying styles.
Finally the unique kites flown in the summer months of July and August are ornately designed with major competitions being held. Also the flower creations in the temples and at ceremonies reflect the creativity of the Balinese people
The arts of Bali are unique in the world in its scope and magnificence. Much of the old work that stimulated recent commercial art can be seen in the Bali Museum in Denpasar. I know of no other culture which takes the wide variety of art disciplines and incorporates them into their religion and lives so completely. The beauty that the Balinese surround themselves in and are surrounded by in their island is a wonderful gift to the rest of the world and should be preserved.
Pura Ulan Danu Bratan Temple in a mountain lake, Bedugal
Epilogue
Bali is one of those rare cultures on earth where the balance of religion, work, and pleasure meets with success. It is a place where the people are happy. It is a place where the earthly struggle is a necessary prelude to potential nirvana. Certainly that does not mean that human struggles in Bali do not exist. They exist among all people where choice is the norm. Jealousies, quarrels, selfishness, infidelity are all there in Bali. But if one wanted to design a culture that is both beautiful, open and liveable, one might very well choose the Balinese way of life. The Balinese people reflect this very well. There is a grace and beauty in their culture that I have seen only a few times in my travels.
Bali is part of Indonesia. The religion of Indonesia is Muslim. It is the largest Muslim nation in the world of 250 million. Bali is a small island of 5 million which is predominantly Hindu. Bali’s economy is primarily tourist, arts and crafts. It is a strong bulwark for the Indonesian national economy. Many Muslims from Java immigrate to Bali to gain the advantage of the economy there. Denpasar, the capital, has a very large segment of Muslims and it now spreads throughout the island. The Muslims are very industrious and use their money to buy Bali enterprises and expand their economic base. The Muslims build Mosques but add little to the flamboyant art and traditional ceremonial life of Bali. One only has to go to Lombok to see this effect. It is a Muslim island. Much of the Balinese earnings are invested in their religion and ceremonial life creating an imbalance of Balinese versus Muslim reinvestment in the Balinese economy. Each day more and more Javanese Muslims are entering the traditional Balinese markets squeezing the Balinese out via monetary strength. I think there will be a time in the near future where the majority of businesses will be Muslim. I think then the money necessary to invest in the arts, dance and ceremonies to keep the Balinese culture and traditions alive will not be there. I think that the inequity of 250 million in Indonesia and 5 million in Bali populations with open borders will result first, in a distortion of the Balinese culture, then to its demise. This will be a great tragedy for the whole world.
It is not my intent in this book to predict a problem for the Balinese and their religion and culture. It is my intent to document and celebrate an open beautiful old traditional culture which works well for its practitioners and brings joy to observers which are privileged to enjoy the Balinese expansive hospitality. Bali is truly named correctly as The Island of the Gods
Hornbill in the Bali Bird Park
Sanur Beach fishing boat
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Last updated: January 21, 2008 .