Bali Experience

In Bali, history is not the dry, dead stuff of tedious textbooks and typical tourist guides. Here history is alive, a vital part of the daily island rhythms of work and play, of ritual and commerce, of family, identity and community. In Bali, where one's ancestors are born anew in one's children, living links with the past continue to shape the present and give form to the future.

History is brought back to life each evening when, beneath a sky glazed with the gaudy colors of tropical sunset, women in sarongs and sashes place flower and incense offerings in the ancestor temples that grace the courtyards of every Balinese home. History is reenacted for spellbound audiences in the dramas of the wayang kulit shadow play, in the topeng masked dance, in the Balinese opera Arja, and in traditional Balinese drama gong theater. And history is remembered and rewoven into the fabric of contemporary life during temple anniversaries and holidays such as Galungan, when Balinese from all across the island return to their temples of origin to reunite with their families and to pray for the blessings of their ancestors.

History continues to play an important role in modern Bali as a means of determining two crucial aspects of culture: space and status. Knowing who one's ancestors were, where they came from and when is vital information, used to establish one's relationships to the networks of temples that span the island, to know what ceremonies one must participate in, and to determine where one "sits" in the hierarchical system of Balinese social relations. Many Balinese families possess their own genealogies called babad, colorful compilations of the deeds of their forebears that account for their descendants' status in the present. In the case of high-caste families, these may be detailed documents linking them back hundreds of years to illustrious ancestors. Other chronicles may tell tales of their family members' former occupations, their migrations, or their heroic resistance against despotic kings who attempted to control them. But these genealogies are not "histories" in the conventional Western sense. They are also religious writings, revealing the words and deeds of ancestors who have become part of the powerful unseen world and with whom one must continue to maintain ritual relationships. These histories are not to be forgotten or fought against, for they provide a mythic charter to legitimize the present and lead one into the future. Nor are they static documents, fixed for all time in a finished form. They are constantly being rewritten as new information is discovered and as current concerns dictate. Even today, one of the most popular columns in Bali's daily newspaper, The Bali Post, is called Asal-Usul or "Origins." Readers who wish to know more about their family's history are invited to send a letter to an expert genealogist who can fill in the gaps in one's story -- hopefully making it a more noble narrative.

Because it is such a fluid, flowing collection of frequently contradicting accounts, history in Bali sometimes even becomes embroiled in conflicts, especially over controversial issues like access to land. In traditional Bali, most land was held communally by extended families or temple groups. Such land was often worked by tenant farmers, who were given this access in exchange for services or a portion of the crop. These arrangements were rarely written down, depending instead on tradition and mutual good will for their legitimacy. But in modern Bali, where prime land has become an increasingly rare and valuable commodity, these issues of ownership have become hotly contested. Family genealogies now play a crucial role in court cases to decide who will be awarded the precious certificate to a particular plot, and with it the right to trade for new symbols of status: a Jeep Cherokee, a Rolex watch, or investment in a hotel or golf course.

You may not remember all the exotic names, long ago dates and intriguing events that make up Bali's colorful history. But when you visit "the island of the gods" do remember this: that myth and magic are still alive. And so is the past, not as an ancient artifact growing dusty from disuse behind the locked gates of a museum, but as a continuously renewed and reworked connection to yesteryear.