Balinese Culture

To get a general view of the rich variety of Balinese culture and its development, it is important to expose the historical background and the social life of the Balinese people who produced and nourished this kind of culture.

A. The prehistoric period

No artifacts of the Old Stone Age (Palaeolithicum) have yet been found in Bali. On scattered locations stone implements had been excavated such as axes and picks, thought to be from the New Stone Age (Neolithicum).
Some of these implements are kept at the Bali Museum while the rest is in the collection of the National Museum in Jakarta. Other objects have been found, such as bronze implements, because aside from the gong, The Moon of Pejeng (Pejeng is the name of a village), remnants of molds for bronze were found in the village of Manuaba, a few kilometers from Pejeng. Stone sarcophagi have also been found scattered throughout Bali, proving in fact that already during the Stone Age the indigenous people lived spread out throughout the whole island. The bronze gong which measures 186 cm in height and has a diameter of 160 cm is decorated with beautiful carvings.
It is generally assumed to be a sacred gong which may only be used at certain ceremonies. Although the religion at that time is yet unknown, the artifacts are clear proof of the high level of the culture at that time and it not being inferior to other existing culture in other areas at the same time.

B. The Historic period

Judging from the Balinese way of life and its social structure and also from its art forms, Balinese history can be divided into six periods.

1. The Balinese indigenous period (BC - around 700 AD)
In this period no Hindu influence was evident, but daily activities were controlled by the indigenous religions. People believed in a super and sublime force or a supernatural power that gave life to this world and which they must worship. Then again, ancestor worship was regarded as a special ceremony and a special occurrence. This belief stimulated a sense of solidarity and kind ship among the people, which in turn created a specific life pattern which is communal.

As a tangible sign of gratitude and reverence to the worshipped, the community would conduct ceremonies on specific days, especially on full and new moons, which were accompanied by various offerings, dances and gamelan music.
Sacred buildings for veneration were erected in places having ties with family life (in the environment of the house), with social life (in the center of the village) and with nature (on top of a hill, in the middle of a rice field, on the banks of a lake etc).
At that time the monarchial constitution was yet unknown and for the social administration a village council was elected (called kerama desa) consisting off all married men in the village and the head of the village (kelian desa) as council head. This system stresses on communal property and communal decision making and restricts private ownership. This system still prevails up to the present time in the Balinese villages. The subak system which regulates water distribution was already known at that time.

2. The Balinese Hindu period.
The Hindu faith is based on the Pancacradha, which teaches:
a. faith in Sanghyang Widhi (the Almighty One)
b. in Atma (the ancestral spirit)
c. in the Karma Law
d. in the Samsara (rebirth)
e. in Moksha (attainment of Nirwana)
The Hindu religion penetrated Java already in the 5th century. During the reign of King Sri Sanjaya Mataram it was at height of its influence in Java and it was then brought to Bali with the expansion of the Kingdom.
The Hindu philosophy and religion was well received by the Balinese people of that time because it did not depart too far from their initial religion and way of life. It was even regarded as being able to enrich their arts and their philosophy. The Sacred buildings (pura besar), started to be erected as a places for worship and as the symbol of unity for the whole village. Syncretism between the ancient religion, which was based on ancestor worship and animism, and Hinduism with its Acintia (the One Almighty) was also initiated.
This period was marked with the erection of six great puras (Sadkahyangan) which were spread out throughout Bali, i.e. Lempuyang, Besakih, Yeh Jeruk, Batur, Uluwatu, and Batukaru. Later followed by Silayukti, Gua Lawah, Klotok, Masceti and others. The social structure and administration was still the same as during the Pre Hindu period, except for the addition of an official exclusively in charge of the kahyangan.
The kerama desa forms of administration was still the same, but for a pact signed between the kingdom and the desa which regulated the rights and obligations of both sides, and which were written on brass plates. The Balinese who received direct Hindu influence made another change in their social habits by initiating a ceremony for the dead, starting with burial, to cremation, with the intention of accelerating the return to the Creator. According to the Hindu faith Man consists of solid material, fluids, heat, gas and ether.

3. The Javanese Hindu Period (900-1350)
In this period Bali was influenced by the kingdom of Kediri, Singasari and Majapahit, which marked the era of the spreading of the Siwa and Buddha religion. Naturally each influence brought changes to the social structure. It is generally thought that the caste system, catur wangsa as well as catur warna, which originated from the social structure in India and was introduced during the Hindu kingdom in Java, entered Bali with the emergence of the king of Bedahulu. The Balinese culture was enriched by the Hindu mythology which manifested in Siwa, Brahma, Wisnu, Ganesha, Durga and other statues that decorate the biggest puras in Bali.
At this period the ruling kings were from the Warmadewa dynasty, notably Ugrasena (915-942), Subhadrika Dharmadewi (955-967), and Anak Wungsu (1049-1077), who was Erlangga’s younger brother and the son of Gunapriya Dharmapati and Dharmodayana Warmadewa, better known by the name of Udayana. The Erlangga era (1019-1035) marked the height of the Javanese-Hindu period in Bali. This was particularly evident in the field of literature, for where as the Balinese records before this era were written in the Balinese language (Pallawa script) later known as the ancient Balinese language, after Erlangga came to power in East Java, they were all written in the ancient Javanese language or Kawi. Ancestor worship was still practiced and was always included in ceremonies conducted for the Almighty God.
It was also during this period that the Galungan and Kuningan festivals were created, both in essence being commemorative festivals of the victory of Dharma (religion , truth) over Adharma (atheism, evil) with inherent themes of ancestor worship. After Bali was taken by Majapahit (1343) the political administration was turned over to a Majapahit official, Kresna Kepakisan.

4. The Balinese Java-Hindu period (1300-1880)
The Majapahit hegemony was very dominant in Bali, so that event at present the term Wong Majapahit and Wong Bali Aga is still in use. These terms were used to distinguish between the people inheriting the religion and culture of Majapahit and the Balinese living in remote areas who still observed the ancient Balinese way of live.
The communal system which at first did not recognize any class difference gradually moved into the caste system which consequently brought about changes in the communal and the family structure. In the beginning this change caused much disharmony which in turn gave rise to revolts against the Majapahit rulers. It was only on account of the wisdom of Dalem Ketut Ngelesir (1380-1460) who knew how to influence the masses that the revolt could be suppressed with a compromise acceptable both to the court and the masses.

5. The Balinese Classical period
Among the renown Balinese kings who were known for their wisdom, nobleness and righteousness, Dalem Waturenggong (1460-1550) stood out, who resided in Gelgel (the regency of Klungkung) and whose influence extended far beyond Bali (Lombok, Sumbawa, Blambangan and Bone).
This period can justly be called the golden era of Bali, as it was during this period that various forms of art emerged: literature, dance, visual arts, music and architecture, which surely were manifestations of the creative expressions of a prosperous and peaceful society. Especially after the fall of Majapahit people and officials faithful to the monarchy migrated in great numbers to Bali where they continued to live in peace. Presumably it was also during that period that the Moslem faith entered Bali, concentrating at first in the capital (Gelgel) and eventually spreading out, especially in the regency of Jembrana. It was through the zeal of the artist, and various master craftsmen and through the patronage of the king that several patterns were created such as patra punggel or patra Bali.

6. The Modern period
This period is marked with the advance of Western people, especially the Dutch, in Bali during the Middle of the 19th century, at which time Bali was already divided into 8 kingdoms, i.e. Klungkung, Karangasem, Gianyar, Bangli, Badung, Tabanan, Jembrana, and Buleleng. Bali was practically occupied by the Dutch in 1907, and from that time onwards the Dutch-Indian government took over with the ensuring political, socio-cultural and economical consequences. Apparently the Ethical Politics which started out in Holland at the beginning of the 20th century and promoted more attention to the Dutch Indies, was also applied in Bali, especially in the field of culture.
The Balinese culture which was expressed in the historical manifestations such as monuments, architecture, visual arts performing arts, their way of life and such, became the center of interest to the Dutch, German, Swiss, and American experts who did researches and made documentaries in script as well as in pictures.
The Dutch propagated extreme ideas, known as “Baliniseering” which aimed at the preservation of the Balinese way of life before the advent of the western people. This idea provoked strong reactions on one hand, especially among the nationalists who all gated certain parties of wanting to turn Bali into a ‘living museum’. It got to a point where the protestant missionaries were not allowed to spread their faith in Bali. On the other hand this idea was materialized with the erection of the Bali Museum in Denpasar in 1910 (formally opened in1932) and the Kirtia building in Singaraja (1928) where the Balinese lontar leaves library were stored, along with other documents depicting epic stories, family trees, legends, and Balinese art and culture in general, besides medical science. Furthermore the Dutch government intended to make Bali a tourist resort because of the unique way of life and the culture of the people.
For this purpose the Hotel Bali was built in Denpasar (1920) soon to be frequented by European and American tourist. They came with the Dutch KPM boat, which lay anchor at Buleleng Singaraja once a week. Tourism went on until the Second World War and the Pacific war broke out (1941). The Japanese army occupied the whole of Dutch Indies from 1942-1945 till the Indonesians independence was proclaimed on August 17, 1945. The re-entry of the Dutch Indies government stimulated and independence war and finally the Dutch and the international world formally accepted the sovereignty of the Republic of Indonesia on December 27, 1949.