HISTORY OF BALI

OVERVIEW & HISTORY

One of the most popular tourist destinations in the world, Bali was awarded the world‟s best island by The International Travel Magazine. The rapid growth of development in tourism has had a big impact and influences to Bali tradition and lifestyle. Interestingly, Balinese culture is still as what it was, and it is this preserved Balinese culture and civilization that makes the island so different from any other destination.

HISTORY

The first Hindus arrived in Bali around 100 BC, but the unique culture which is so apparent to any current day visitor to Bali hails largely from neighboring Java, with some influence from Bali's distant animist past. The Javanese Majapahit Empire's rule over Bali became complete in the 14th century when Gajah Mada, Prime Minister of the Javanese king, defeated the Balinese king at Bedulu. The rule of the Majapahit Empire resulted in the initial influx of Javanese culture, most of all in architecture, dance, painting, sculpture and the Wayang puppet theatre. All of this is still very apparent today. The few Balinese who did not adopt this Javanese Hindu culture are known today as the Bali Aga ("original Balinese") and still live in the isolated villages of Tenganan near Candidasa and Trunyan on the remote eastern shore of Lake Batur at Kintamani. With the rise of Islam in the Indonesian archipelago, the Majapahit Empire in Java fell and Bali became independent near the turn of the 16th century.

The Javanese aristocracy found refuge in Bali, bringing an even stronger influx of Hindu arts, literature and religion. Divided among a number of ruling rajas, occasionally battling off invaders from now Islamic Java to the west and making forays to conquer Lombok to the east, the north of the island was finally captured by the Dutch colonialists in a series of brutal wars from 1846 to 1849. Southern Bali was not conquered until 1906, and eastern Bali did not surrender until 1908. In both 1906 and 1908, many Balinese chose death over disgrace and fought en-masse until the bitter end, often walking straight into Dutch cannons and gunfire. This manner of suicidal fighting to the death is known as Puputan. Victory was bittersweet, as the images of the puputan highly tarnished the Dutch in the international community. Perhaps to make up for this, the Dutch did not make the Balinese enter into a forced cultivation system, as had happened in Java, and instead tried to promote Balinese culture through their policy of Baliseering (the "Balinisation of Bali").

Bali became part of the newly independent Republic of Indonesia in 1945. The current chapter in Bali's history began in the seventies when intrepid hippies and devoted surfers discovered Bali's beaches and waves, and tourism soon became the biggest income earner. Despite the shocks of the terrorist attacks in 2002 and 2005, the magical island continues to draw crowds, and Bali's culture remains as spectacular as ever.

PEOPLE AND LIFE STYLE

Bali‟s population of over 3 million is spread over an island just 130klms across and 110klms north to south. The overwhelming majority of Balinese are Hindus (approx 95%), with the increasing number on non-Hindu migrating from the closest neighboring islands of Java and Lombok. The coastal areas in the south are the most populous areas with over 370,000 people living in various professions in the capital of Denpasar. Farming has been the primary way of living in Balinese life, with fishing, and craftsmanship also in fashion from generation to generation. But the fast growing tourism industry now takes the lead with over 45% of Bali‟s workforce linked in some way to tourism. Life in Bali is very communal under the organization of villages. Temple ceremonies, marriage, cremation, farming and even the creative art festivals are decided by the local community institution called the “Banjar”. The responsibilities in the day-to-day life are normally administered by both the Banjar and the Bali Government. The government mostly responsible for schools, health clinics, hospitals and roads, and the Banjar is responsible for all other aspects of life. There is another association which exists within the Banjar named “Subak” that concerns in the production of rice and organizes the complex island irrigation system. Every family who owns a rice field must be a member of their local Subak, which ensures that every member gets his fair distribution of water. A Banjar consists of an average of 50 to 150 family members, owning a meeting venue called the Bale Banjar, which is used for regular gatherings and a center for local Gamelan orchestras and drama groups.