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LOW SEASON
Jan 9 to Jul 14
Sept 16 to Dec 19
Excluding Easter |
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HIGH SEASON
Jul 15 to Jul 31
Sept 1 to Sept 15
Easter Week |
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PEAK SEASON
Aug 1 to Aug 31
Dec 20 to Jan 8 |
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| ABOUT BALI |
| About Bali |
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With a reputation as being
one of the most beautiful and deserve tourist
spots in Asia, Bali attracts at most 1,000,000
visitors a year, from all around the world.
Geographically, Bali lies between the islands
of Java and Lombok. Bali is small, stretching
approximately 140 km from east to west 80
km from north to south. The tallest of a
string of volcanic mountains that run from
the east to the west, is Gunung Agung, which
last erupted in 1963. Lying just 8 south
of the equator, Bali boasts a tropical climate
with just two seasons (wet and dry) a year
and an average annual temperature of around
28C. The wide and gently sloping southern
regions play host to Bali's famed rice terrace
among some of the most spectacular in the
world. In the hilly, northern coastal regions,
the main produce is coffee, copra, spices,
vegetables, cattle and rice.
The Balinese have strong spiritual roots
and despite the large influx of tourist
over the years, their culture is still very
much alive. The main religion is Agama Hindu
Dharma, and although originally from India,
the Balinese religion is a unique blend
of Hindu, Buddhist, Javanese and ancient
indigenous beliefs and different from the
Hinduism practiced in India today.
Naturally creative, the Balinese have traditionally
used their talents for religious purposes
and most of the beautiful work to be seen
here has been inspirit by stories from the
Ramayana and other Hindu epics.
The Majority of Bali's 3,000,000 people
live, for the most part, in tight, village
communities with large extended families.
The largest towns are the capital Denpasar
and Singaraja in the North. The main tourist
area stretches from Kuta to Seminyak. Kuta
became major attraction during the tourist
boom of the 70's, because of it famed white-sand
beaches, the surf and stunning sunsets.
Today, the Kuta to Seminyak stretch is a
major tourist destination, with hundreds
of hotels, restaurants and shops. Those
in search of a little peace and quite tend
to head for the more sedate resorts of Sanur
and Candi Dasa, on the east coast, or Lovina
in the north. Nusa Dua, on the southern-most
peninsula of the island, houses many five
star hotels. The central village of Ubud,
in the hilly region of Gianyar, has also
blossomed as a tourist attraction and is
now considered to be the artistic and cultural
centre of Bali. |
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| Culture |
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HISTORY
Although there are no artifacts of records
dating back to the Stone Age, it is believe
that the first settlers on Bali migrated
from China around 2,500B.C. By the Bronze
era around 300 B.C. quite and evolved culture
existed on Bali. The complex system of irrigation
and rice production, still in use today,
was established around this time.
It appears that the time religion, around
500 A.D. was predominantly Buddhist influence.
A Chinese scholar, Yi-Tsing, in 670 A.D.
reported, on a trip to India, that he had
visited a Buddhist country called Bali.
It wasn't until the 11th century that Bali
received the first strong influx of Hindu
and Javanese culture. With the death of
his father around AD 1011, the Balinese
Prince, Airlanggha, moved to East Java and
set about uniting it under one principality.
Having succeeded, he then appointed his
brother, Anak Wungsu, as ruler of Bali.
During the ensuing period there was a Javanese
language, Kawi, became the language used
by the aristocracy, one of the many Javanese
traits and costume adopted by the cause.
With the death of Airlangga, in the middle
of the 11th century, Bali enjoyed a period
of autonomy. However, this proved to be
short-lived, as in 1284 the east Javanese
King Kertanegara, conquered Bali and ruled
over it from Java. In 1292 Kertanegara was
murdered and Bali took the opportunity to
liberate itself once again. However, in
1343, Bali was brought back under Javanese
control by its defeat at the hands of GajahMada,
a general in the last of the great Hindu-Javanese
empires, the Majapahit. With the spread
of Islam throughout Sumatra and Java during
the 16th century, the Majapahit empires
began to collapse and a large exodus of
aristocracy, priests, artists and artisans
to Bali ensued. For a while Bali flourished
and the following centuries were considered
the Golden Age of Bali's cultural history.
The principality of Gelgel, near Klungkung,
became a major centre for the Arts, and
Bali became the major power of the regions,
taking, control of neighbouring Lombok and
parts of East Java.
THE
EUROPEAN INFLUENCE
The first Dutch seamen set foot on Bali
in 1597, yet it wasn't until the 1800's
that the Dutch showed an interest in colonizing
the island. In 1846, having had large areas
of Indonesia under their control since the
1700's. The Dutch government sent troops
into northern Bali. In 1894, Dutch forces
sided with the Sasak people of Lombok to
defeat their Balinese rulers. By 1911, all
the Balinese principalities had either been
defeated in Battle, or had capitulated,
leaving the whole island under Dutch control.
During World War II, the Dutch were expelled
by the Japanese, who had occupied Indonesia
from 1942 to 1945.
After the Japanese defeat, the Dutch tried
to regain control of their former colonies,
but on August 17, 1945, Indonesia was declared
independent by its first President, Sukarno.
After four years of fighting and strong
criticism from the international finally
ceded and in 1949, Indonesia was recognize
as an independent country.
THE
PEOPLE
Life in Bali is very communal with organization
of villages, farming and even the creative
arts being decided by the community. The
local government is responsible for schools,
clinics, hospitals and roads, but all other
aspects of life are placed in the hands
of two traditional committees, whose roots
in Balinese culture stretch back centuries.
The first, Subak concerns the production
of rice and organizes the complex irrigation
system. Everyone who owns a sawah, or padi
field, must joint their local Subak, which
then ensures that every member gets his
fair distribution of irrigation water. The
other community organization is the Banjar,
which arranges al village festivals, marriage
ceremonies and cremations. Most villages
has at least one Banjar all males have to
join one when they marry. Banjars, on average,
have a membership of between 50 to 100 families
and each Banjar has its own meeting place
called the Bale Banjar. As well as being
used for regular meetings, the Bale (Pavilion)
is where the local gamelan orchestras and
drama groups practice.
RELIGION
The Balinese are Hindu yet their religion
is very different from that of the Indian
variety. The Balinese worship the Hindu
trinity Brahma, Shiva and Vishnu, who are
sin manifestation of Supreme God Shanghyang
Widi. Other Indian Gods like Ganesha (The
Elephant-headed God) also often appear,
but more commonly, one will see shrines
to the many Gods and spirits that are uniquely
Balinese. Balinese believe strongly in magic
and the power of spirits, and much of the
religion is base upon this. They believe
that good spirits dwell in the mountain
and that the seas are home to demon and
ogres. Most villages have at least three
main temples; one, the Pura Puseh or 'Temple
of Origin', faces the mountains, another,
the Pura Desa or village Temple, is normally
found in the centre, and the last the Pura
Dalem, is aligned with the sea and is dedicated
to the spirits of the dead. Aside of these
'village' temples, almost every house has
its own shrine. Some temples, Pura Besakih
for example, on the slopes of mount Agung,
are considered especially important and
people from all over Bali travel worship
there.
Offerings play a significant rule in Balinese
life as they appease the spirits and thus
bring prosperity and good health to the
family. Everyday small offering trays (Canang
Sari) containing symbolic food, flowers,
cigarette and money, art placed on shrines,
in the temples, outside houses and shops,
and even at dangers cross road.
Festivals are another great occasion for
appeasing the Gods. The woman bear huge,
beautifully arranged, pyramids of food,
fruit and flowers on their heads while the
men might conduct a blood sacrifice through
a cockfight. There are traditional dances
and music and the Gods are invited to come
down to joint in the festivities. The festival
are usually very exciting occasions and
well worth observing, if you are the area.
Please refer to the back page 'A world of
Advice' for Rules.
DANCE
& DRAMA
Dance and drama have historically played
an important rule in Balinese society. Through
this medium, people learned about the tales
of the Ramayana, Mahabarata and other epic
stories from Balinese history. The following
art brief description of some of the more
well-known dance-dramas that can be seen
at regular performances, throughout Bali.
BARIS
This is a warrior's dance. It is usually
performance by men, either solo or in a
group of five or more.
BARONG
& RANGDA
This is basically a story about the struggle
between good and evil. Good is personified
by the Barong Keket, a stange, fun-loving
creature in the shape of a shaggy semi-lion.
Evil is a represented by Rangda, a witch.
KECAK
The most famous of the Balinese dances,
the Kecak, originated from the Shanghyang
dance choirs, who chant a distinctive 'Kecak-Kecak'
accompaniment. The Kecak, as a dance, developed
in the 1930's in the village of Bona, where
it is still performed regularly.
LEGONG
This dance tells the story of Princes Rangkesari
who is held captive against her will by
King Lakesmi. Rangkesari's brother, Prince
Daha, gathers an army together to rescue
his sister. The Legong is very-very classical
and graceful dance, and is always performed
by prepubescent girls, often as young as
eight or nine years old.
SANGHYANG
TRANCE DANCES
The Sanghyang Dedari is a performed by two
girls, and is very similar in style to the
Legong; the main difference is that the
girls are supposedly untrained and can keep
in perfect time with each other, even though
their eyes are firmly shut. In the Shangyang
Jaran, a boy dances around and through a
fire, reading a coconut palm hobbyhorse.
This is frequently called the 'Fire Dance'.
In both dances, a priest is always on hand
to help bring the dancers out of their trance-state
at the end of the performance.
WAYANG KULIT (SHADOW PUPPET)
Wayang Kulit is one of the great story-telling
traditions of the Javanese and Balinese.
The wayang show normally consist of a small
4-peace orchestra, which provides the musical
accompaniment, around 60 'Puppets' carpet
out of flat peaces of water buffalo hide
and the Dalang, or puppet-master. Good characters
normally speak in ancient 'Kawi' and evil
or coarse characters speak Balinese. |
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