Bali

General

Bali Bali is a mountainous island of volcanic origin. Its highest peak is Mount Agung (3142 meters), a volcano which has enjoyed long periods of inactivity. With a surface of 5632 sq. km and a population of 3 million, Bali is one of the 27 provinces which make up the Republic of Indonesia. Situated between Java to the west and Lombok to the east, Bali has always been a bridge between Asia and Australia. This has weighed heavily on the island’s historical vicissitudes and cultural identity, often forcing Bali to compare itself with other influential nations such as India and China. The first signs of the “Indianization” of Bali can be directly or indirectly traced back to the 8th century, at the hands of India, with the mediation of Java. The first documents to speak of a Balinese ruling dynasty, politically dependant on Java, date back to the 10th century. At the end of the 13th century, Bali was forced to acknowledge the temperary sovereignty of the Javanese kings of Singhasari. This was followed in 1343 by submission to the Kingdom of Madjapahit, named after the dynasty which succeeded the previous one in Bali. The Javanese influence, thus, continued to be strong and constant and was even greater between the 15th and 16th century because of the massive influx of Hindus who had escaped the forceful dissemination in Java of the Islamic religion and who sought refuge and asylum in Bali. At the end of the 17th century, the descendants of the princes of Madjapahit subdivided the island into nine independent principalities; it became a Dutch protectorate in 1743. Actually, Holland had established its commercial settlements in Bali since 1597 but the island fell under its full control only in the mid-19th century when forms of political and administrative autonomy were suffocated. Later, as we have seen, Bali became a part of Indonesia although it conserved its own social, cultural and religious characteristics. In Indonesia, in fact, the majority of the population (approximately 192 million people) is Muslim. Responsible for the dissemination of this religion was the massive and influential presence of the Arabs who had established there an important commercial center and many profitable markets. When the Indonesian sovereign princes converted to this new faith (15th century), the majority of the Hindu followers sought refuge in Bali where they were able to maintain their beliefs. This is why today approximately 93% of the Balinese are Hindus. Muslims, Protestants, Catholics and Buddhists are only a small minority. There are still strong traces of what must have been the oldest and most primitive form of religion in Bali – animism which is based on the respect for all things and all creatures because they are all equally governed by a spiritual entity or by the soul. Peaceful coexistance and tolerance have always traditionally characterized the relationship between the various religions. This is best exemplified in Denpasar, capital of Bali, where temples and other areas of worship of the various religions are peacefully built near each other. It is not surprising, therefore, that Bali is known as the “Island of the Gods”, or “Island of a Thousand Temples”. Nonetheless, Hinduism best embodies the customs and even the very landscape of the island. The Hindu areas of worship are found all over Bali (called Pura). Each village (Desa Adat, in the local language) has at least three main shrines known respectively as Pura Desa, Pura Puseh, and Pura Dalem. These places of worship are consacrated to the three divinities which form the Hindu Sacred Trinity or Trimurti, expression of the power of the supreme creator Ida Hyang Widi: Brahma, the creator, Wisnu, the preserver, and Siwa, he who destroys the universe and brings everything back to the primordial elements that compose it, and in so doing, concludes each cycle of creation. Then there are the Pura Ulunsuwi or Pura Subak. Located in the center of the rice fields and cared for by those farmers who, by using the same source of water, form a type of cooperative called Subak. There is also the Pura located near the traditional markets, called Pura Melanting, for the sellers. And lastly, the Kahyangan Jagat, real public temples, open to the entire population. The Pura Besakih, the largest in Bali, is one of these. Each Pura has its own “birthday” which, at times, is celebrated once a year, and at others, every 210 days (the equivalent of the lunar year); the ritual celebration is solemn and attracts crowds of faithful from all over the island. During these occasions, the faithful offer artistic compositions of flowers, fruits, cakes, rice and roasted meats as a token of gratitude for the kindness of the divinity, for the abundance granted them and to invoke benevolence for the future. In Bali, each Hindu family has its own personal sacred temple, the Sanggah or Pamerajan. It is built to honor the venerated memory of their ancestors, the spirits of their relatives and, naturally, Ida Hyang Widi, the only supreme divinity. The Sanggah, in fact, must always look to the sacred mountain, Mount Agung. As to the island’s economy, the major source of income (and the basis of progress and development) is agriculture, the crafts and above all, tourism. The latter started to be developed at the beginning of the 20th century and has undergone a significant and steady growth since the inauguration of the International Airport Ngurah Rai, at the beginning of the sixties. With the airport came the first large and modern hotels built to meet the needs of the international clientele. Agriculture, instead, is still more traditonally based. The most important product is, of course, rice which has been cultivated in Bali for over a millenium. It is indeed considered a gift of the gods and has inspired many legends and mythological tales. Vast rice fields, surrounded by groves of coconut trees occupy the southern planes and the carved sides of hills and mountains, creating the characteristic rice terraces. In those regions where the climate is dry, rice has been replaced by the growing of maize and tropical tubers often accompanied by the production of fruit and coffee. On the whole, the vegetation in Bali is thick and luxuriant and the landscape very green. This is just one of the elements that make this island a extraordinarily fascinating and enticing corner of the world, along with the beauty of the sea, its history, the alluring traditions and suggestive ritual ceremonies.