Is Bali Dying?

[Sanurian]

It is with some interest that I notice a complete lack of comments upon the recent extraordinary (and immensely brave) article in Jakarta Post's Bali Rebound (March 19 - April 02, 2005). It was written by I Wayan Juniartha, a Balinese reporter for the Jakarta Post and titled: "Nyepi and Signs of a Fractured Society".

For me, it answered some nagging questions I've had for quite some time about contemporary Balinese society/culture. Well, it may not have exactly answered my questions (and raised some new ones for me) but it certainly aired some very serious issues on this island. Its raw frankness and the fact that it's authored by a Balinese made me take notice.

It started with references to the Nyepi day violence near Krobokan and the murder/suicide in Penulisan (north Bali). Some quotes:

"How on earth could these tragedies happen, have the peaceful Balinese changed?" For starters, the people who ask this question should discard the romantic notion of "the peaceful Balinese". This notion is nothing but a marketing gimmick, introduced and amplified by the travel industry and its publications so as to attract as many foreign visitors as possible to this "paradise island". Well, perhaps we should discard the "paradise" word too.

"...The people of Batu Paras banjar (traditional neighborhood association) in Denpasar's Padangsambian Kaja village spent the night of Nyepi engaged in an orgy of mob violence, pelting stones and damaging houses belonging to a small group of people. The attack was punishment for the group's members who wanted to secede from Batu Paras to join the neighboring Robokan banjar. The secession was triggered by a dispute over the status of a temple in the area..."

"...noted cultural scholar I Ketut Sumartha suggested that the increased conflict between traditional institutions and their members reflected the fractured state of the island's contemporary society. 'It is an island that is divided into those people who want to move forward and embrace modernity and those people who want to stick to the past glory of the island'..."

"...Sumartha also reminded people that it had been 500 years since the last major social reconstruction of the island, hinting that it was about time the Balinese, in a conscious and deliberate manner, undertook another reconstruction. 'There is always a possibility that our society has reached the very end of its life span. Maybe that's the reason why our society has produced such fractures, such paradoxes and such violence'..."

"In recent years, the island has seen a significant increase in violent clashes triggered by conflicts involving traditional institutions and laws, or religious teachings and practices."

"Violence, religious-motivated or otherwise, is not a new phenomenon in Bali. Violent events having been frequent occurrences in the island's history - kingdom against kingdom, clan versus clan and religious sects against each other. Contemporary events, such as the bloody massacre that took place in. the aftermath of the communist party's alleged coup attempt in 1965 and the violent political clashes on the eve of the 1999 and 2004 general elections showed that violence is still one of the Balinese's preferred methods of conflict resolution."

"...Their struggle ranges from supporting the abolition of the traditional caste system to the implementation of the sarwa sadhaka principle that demands equal treatment for all priests regardless of their clans of origin or their sects, thus putting an end to the 500 years or so of hegemony enjoyed by th priests from Nirartha's clan of Siwaistic Brahmin..."

"...The arrival of a modern economy, particularly the tourism industry, has given birth to a new breed of entrepreneurs on the island. Their successes are determined solely by their intellectual caste. In this context, the old caste system that rigidly structures society into four classes.' brahmana (priests and intellectuals), ksatriya (soldiers and officials), wesya (merchants) and sudra (farmers and laborers), based solely on genealogical consideration has been substituted by one based on merit, ability and expertise...These modern rulers and shapers of thought on the island have actively been promoting the need to re-evaluate the island's social and religious teachings and structures for decades...into a bunch of chauvinistic zealots who view their island as the last, most unique, culturally superior paradise inhabited by peace-loving, God-fearing, aesthetic natives..."

And it ended with this:

",,,The Confused Hindus, the large majority of spiritually ignorant and uneducated Balinese youths and laymen like myself, could make a huge contribution to peace on the island by simply not getting emotionally carried away by the defining Old-New debate. We must keep our sticks, stones and torches in a safe place, while incessantly reminding ourselves of that venerated adage: Ahimsa Paramo Dharma (non-violence is the ultimate truth)..."

One part of the article has a brilliant photo of a young Balinese boy, decked out in traditional clobber playing a PlayStation game, somewhere in Denpasar (I presume). I've wondered for a long time about what I consider is the plight of young Balinese living in their 'traditional' villages. If one is fed-up with what's going on (or not going on), what can one do? Where can you run to escape?

Current Indonesian TV portrays an Indonesian world full of white-skinned school-girl goddesses, Javanese pseudo-spiritual crap (the Misteri shows with people sitting in graveyards/haunted houses tempting whatever with the cameras rolling), cruel "talent" quests, daily graphic footage of dead bodies and baby corpses dumped in plastic bags in garbage dumps, reams of Dangdut shows, millions of ads for anti-dandruff shampoo, silly and inappropriate soapies from Spain (I don't get it), views of touristy places without the garbage...and then there's Bali TV: This has to be the most boring, useless TV station on the whole planet. Enough said.

This post should provide my/our friend Roy with plenty of material for the next few weeks. Myself, I'd like other forumites to share their thoughts/impressions about the stuff that's been raised. All for the greater good of Bali (I hope).
8)

 

[Roy]

Excellent post. As you know, I have often spoken about the book, Bali, Living in Two Worlds, edited by Urs Ramseyer. And, you already know my thoughts and feelings on this topic.

Don't be surprised, my friend, if there is not a lot more to be written on this string. I don't think many posters have to deal with these issues on a day to day basis.

Being married to a Balinese, and blessed with three sons, these issues are part and parcel of our personal daily lives. How we "fit in" and how we are a part of our Banjar and Adat is an all too frequent issue, in my opinion, even though we live in my wife’s village.

Six years on, living in our village, and endless working and financial assistance to our village, I still get the odd look, and sense from some, of their displeasure that I live here, and that I am a member of adat. They are few, but there they are, and I see them enough.

I am summoned to Banjar meetings frequently, but I most always send someone else in my place…without any voting privileges. I’ve made it clear with the head of our village that I prefer private and quiet conversation, and I thank the Gods that they all know I am not conversant in either bahasa Indonesia, or Balinese. I do show up from time to time, but I’ve tried to make it clear…it’s your village, and it’s your decisions.

Among the many things I have learned about the Balinese, by living with them for six years, and in their village, is that the smiles meant for tourists can quickly change to a menacing grimace, or worse. It takes a lot to “push a Balinese over the edge” but once there, look out!

Once an expat is accepted, or made a member of a Balinese community, then the “non-tourist” side of the Balinese is exposed. A tourist is assured to never see this. The transition, from the “tourist reality” of Bali to the abject reality of Bali can be very disheartening, if not totally devastating. I’ve often been quoted, saying that “expats ebb and flow like the tide.” All too often, it is within this context that causes would be expats to ebb.

Over time, I have also learned, that in the end, the Balinese are, just as us all, human. Once the mystique and memorizing aspects of the ceremonies are put aside, we are faced with a human being, a fellow “man” that shares most of the same thoughts, and daily activities as anyone else.

I’d like to think that whatever becomes of Bali is what the Balinese want. For me, and I’d venture to say, for every expat I hold in kinship, Bali is for the Balinese.

 

[Sanurian]

Your observations are pertinent and on the ball, Roy, and I agree with you that few posters are likely to be drawn into these complex and serious issues. Many tourists come here for sea-sun-and sand; others for sex-drugs-rock 'n roll (or reggae and house music). And also for the colourful, if convoluted, ceremonies.

Your comments regarding getting occasional "odd looks" and a sense that some locals see us as intruders are right on the money. As the tourist economy continues to flounder (despite assurances to the contrary by Indonesian officials), I believe that many narrow-minded locals are becoming increasingly un-enamoured with not only the presence of Westerners here, but domestic tourists from other parts of Indonesia as well. You might remember the recent furore surrounding the Bali-Java bridge proposal (which as far as I know, is going to go ahead regardless of the misplaced xenophobia of some).

That "the smiles meant for tourists can quickly change to a menacing grimace, or worse" should be clearly apparent to anybody who has spent time in Asian countries. Given that Indonesia now has the dubious honour of being seen as the most corrupt country in SE Asia, is it any wonder that I repeatedly feel like a walking ATM (money dispenser)? Sure, I can see where the financially-challenged are coming from and sympathise with them. But check those "smiles" when you don't pay out.

Perhaps I'm becoming paranoid trying to live in Indonesia, but I feel a growing back-lash seething under the surface. Like some kind of emotional tsunami (pardon the metaphor). I don't like what I'm feeling and I pray that I'm wrong. Just watch out if the "smiles" get turned off.

On the eve of last Nyepi, my (Sundanese) wife and I drove into the main street of Sanur to see some of the ogoh-ogoh. Not unexpectedly, we got into a traffic jam. One group of police urged us to continure driving into an area I was sure was going to worse, and that proved to be true. But the worst thing was a group of local youths drunk on arak screaming things like "Why is that Javanese (sic) prostitute bring her bule here? They should stay in their bungalow..." It was all I could do to refrain from jumping out of my car and beating the main offender up, or at least getting him arrested. If I'd done that, I'm sure I wouldn't be writing here now.

I just learned (to my horror) that my 13 year-old (Sundanese) step-son is being bullied by local dressed-up in a senior high-school uniform. He wields a motorbike chain and threatens violence. He's gone through his school bag on several occasions and stolen the school fees, etc. I gather that this sort of scam is not exactly news in Java, but I'm a surprised it's going on here. Then again, why am I surprised?

Like you, Roy, "I’d like to think that whatever becomes of Bali is what the Balinese want". The trouble with that sentiment is that I'm not convinced the contemporary "Balinese" actually know what they want. And who exactly are "The Balinese" these days? While the catch-phrase "Bali is for the Balinese" has a ring of romantic cuteness about it, it's perhaps misguided in the overall modern global village. What about "Indonesia is for the Indonesians"? How many "Balinese" really believe Bali's just another island in the archipelago? If they thought they had half a chance, I reckon they'd try to seceed.

I believe that "violence is still one of the Balinese's preferred methods of conflict resolution". The trouble there is that that kind of thinking doesn't resolve very much at all.

It's raining cats 'n dogs (sic) here in Sanur at the moment. Enjoy the rain.
8)

 

[Roy]

The trouble with that sentiment is that I'm not convinced the contemporary "Balinese" actually know what they want. And who exactly are "The Balinese" these days? While the catch-phrase "Bali is for the Balinese" has a ring of romantic cuteness about it, it's perhaps misguided in the overall modern global village.

Excellent and insightful, and painfully true. I don’t know. I only share these conversations with my trusted Balion, Tony Van den Hout, who lives in Mas. His mother was Balinese, and his father was a noted Dutch physician. I’ve known this man for many more years than I have lived in Bali.

Somehow, in his own way, my Balion, Pak Tony, puts all of these troubling issues to bed. Even in my own village, talking with Jero Manku, a young priest whom I love, and he loves me too, can soothe my fears.

My friend, all I can offer, is that in all the world, all peoples struggle with the same issues every day. As you know, being close to the Balinese, the sense of resolve that we had when we first moved here is not evident in the end. They, as we, struggle every day.

My peace has been found within my family, my village, and Bali. Once I understood that this new life I chose, and the family and village I married into was not ever going to offer me the answers to my lifelong questions, and pursuit of inner peace, I was finally able to find it. And I found it by not really looking for it, and in the end, I found it in my family and village. Once my expectations were dissolved, the gates were opened. “Many are called, but few are chosen” comes to mind. And that, well, that’s it.

 

[matahari]

I`m not sure what a longterm life in bali is like, but I imagine it might not be what i first thought it would be.

When I stayed in Bali for 8 months I got a litle glims of how it could be and I also got a sense of something that was new to me and that I really couldn`t understand. It was a few things that worried me, I was not sure if it was just me imagining the hole thing or if it was real, but it felt like some of the people in bali is not as friendly and genuine as i first belived they all where, it seemed like many put up som sort of fasade, simmilar to what you mentioned earlier about the BIG smile. And after awhile It felt like I could see thru it and discovered something that I`m not sure what it really was, something like bitternes towards tourist/westernes or some kind of envy, or do they feel like we take to much space or is it a mix of many things.

Well I`m not sure what it is and what to do about it and maybe I shouldn`t worry and think about it to musch, The best thing might be to relax and take it as it comes.


Roy, what is "inner peace" for you? for me, I don`t know what it is. havn`t find it yet. and I have a feeling that the search for inner peace never ends, that there will always be some kind of war inside all of us. But I`m hopefully wrong.

 

[roadrunna]

Thank you all three for that new and interesting view of the daily life in Bali.
In the past I spend a lot of time in Thailand and what I felt was the same what you described with the constant smile in front of the money spending tourist.

Me and my girlfriend are currently plannig to move away from Germany in the next three years. Beside many other countries to expatriate to my favourite is Bali although I have never been there before. I spent a few days in in Jakarta. Beside the fact that Bali is supposed to be great surf spot and a interesting religious challenge there is a tremendous powerful attraction. In one and a half months we gonna spend 3 weeks in Bali to see if we still feel that power.

While I have lived in Thailand I already tried to figure out why local people are acting like you descriped before which is exactly like Thais are doing for many years. I feel it all came with the growing Westernization. The Westernizaition with their always expanding markets have reached almost all Asian countries now. Along came a totally different system of values for their people. In the past it was important to be safe, healthy, beeing happy with your family, relatives etc. is now changing to how can I earn a lot of money in short term to afford all these "great" and "tasty" products the companies try to offer.
The inner values like family, etc. are more and more in competition with the outer values. And there is the conflict. The native Balinese probably want to save their roots but also want to live the life what the advertisement and the medias are constantly are showing.

I'm a little concerned now because I was hopeing to find an island which still is not to much occupied by these outer-values-focused kind of society we have here in Germany for instant. That's the main reason we want to leave Germany.
Im very excited to get a tiny feeling of real life when we come to Bali.

 

[Guest]

THERE ARE NO PARADISES ON THIS EARTH AND OUR EXPECTATIONS SHOULD NOT BE TOO HIGH!
BUT IN ANY CASE IS THERE A LOT MORE PEACE IN BALI THAN ERE IN EUROPE AND SOME OTHER WESTERN PLACES.
BE HAPPY WITH WHAT YOU HAVE AND DO NOT BE TOO MUCH OF A CRITIC!

 

[Roy]

Shouting your message with full caps on is definitely not conducive to inner peace.

 

[Jimbo]

Nice to see real topics designed to provoke thoughts and opinions. Although I still have some desire to live in my retirement in Bali the more I read and understand makes me have doubts that its the right thing to do.

From the ever spriraling house prices to the fact that its not the paradise on earth generally portrayed perhaps I would be best in Tanah Toraja with my extended family.

I enjoy reading the thoughts of people who have really entered into the community in Bali but if you are never accepted and subject albeit by a few to the "look" it does not fill me full of hope. Still maybe I am just having an off day

 

[Bert Vierstra]

So you are not totally accepted, and you allways be a bit of a stranger.

Still, I feel more at home then in Amsterdam.

At least here you know what causes your "alienation" 8)

But I have seen whiteys, born an raised here, and import whiteys living in remote villages allready for some time, with little or no contact with other expats. They were accepted and integrated as far as I can tell. But they speak the lingo and were marrried or something.

If you want to integrate totally, speak fluently Balinese and Indonesian, and live like them. And thats for every Alien, on every planet.

 

[matahari]

I think Bert has a good point, and I havn`t really thought about it in that way before. Thank`s for enlightning me :idea:

The more a person change his lifestyle simmiliar to the lifestyle the balinese people live, the more they can relate with him/her, and acceptance should be more easy to achive.

The situation in sweden is ofcourse a bit different, the majority of foreigners coming here doesn`t do so because the want to enjoy a nice and different way of life, the reason is sadly most of the time because of war or problems in their homecountry. but I belive the people In sweden and other countries in Europe feel the same way, If the foreigner who comes here shows interest in swedish(their) culture and respect the way thing`s are, they will ofcourse be more accepted and seen upon more like an equal then a stranger, but many of them keep to themselfes, not learning the language and don`t gives a rats ass about the culture, and that creates problems and makes them outsiders and not well integrated.

I think the keyingridience to get acceptance as a newcomer is understandment and respect.

just my thoughts...

 

[Guest]

I've been a regular visitor to Bali over the last 16 years & was there 3 times in 2004. It has changed a lot but I don't think it's dying. It depends what you want from it. My love affair with Bali has changed but that could be as much to do with my me as bali itself.

On my last trip however, I had a stronger feeling that people were trying to 'dig' into my pockets more than before. It's undoubtedly a more stylish, sophisticated destination than before but it does seem to have lost some of it's spirituality.

I've lived & travelled in Asia for some time now & can see change taking place across the region but I was struck by how little co-ordinated Bali is becoming compared to spots in Thailand like Phuket. My dream was to eventually relocate to Bali & run my business from there but the increase in corruption, the lack of infrastructure & the general feeling of being viewed as a walking ATM has changed my mind.

I will still visit ( less frequently ) but would not think about living there full time anymore. The thinking in Bali is too shortterm & I think they will be poorer for it in the long term.

many friends who also visited last year feel the same way, the arrival tax set the tone & it continued throughout their stay.

 

[lozza]

Is Bali Dying - I hope not - but I have seen alot of businesses close since the bombing and also a reduction in staff of some businesses.

If you are around the tourist traps I remember seeing a t-shirt that says:

"Bali - Now More Than Ever".

I think this is a small cry for help?!?!?! So please help and let's see Bali get back to it's old hey dayz.

Peace to all.

 

[Roy]

Itz, you wrote:

I've lived & travelled in Asia for some time now & can see change taking place across the region but I was struck by how little co-ordinated Bali is becoming compared to spots in Thailand like Phuket. My dream was to eventually relocate to Bali & run my business from there but the increase in corruption, the lack of infrastructure & the general feeling of being viewed as a walking ATM has changed my mind.

It really breaks my heart to read your post. There are a ton of places in Asia and southeast Asia that are, as you call, "co-ordinated" and frankly I will pray my heart out that Bali is NEVER one of those places.

You also wrote,

On my last trip however, I had a stronger feeling that people were trying to 'dig' into my pockets more than before. It's undoubtedly a more stylish, sophisticated destination

A sad, but accurate fact of life. What Bali can put into the coffers of history in just the past three years is well beyond the previous twenty years. Bottom line, it’s “dicey” here. The Balinese are intense right now, and it’s understandable to me.

That the PDIP party was just able to conclude its Indonesian wide conference here in
Bali without major incident was a miracle. The PAM party conference in Semarang, middle Java, has turned violent.

You are right of course, about the attempts to “dig into the Bule’s pocket” on Bali. Desperation is understandable. Hopefully, the transient behavior of some Balinese, and other Indonesians, will not have any long term effects on keeping Bali, as Bali.

 

[Jean Pascal Comte]

Very interesting discussion. Is Bali dying ? Difficult to say, because it implies a prior definition of what is Bali. Which Bali are we talking about ? The specifity - or the peculiarity - of Bali is that since the Westerners set foot on the island, it has been unanimously described has a kind of paradise in imminent danger of destruction which had to been preserved at all price from the corruption of the Western world, but in the same time - and since the beginning of this century I believe - this idyllic image and the idea of the imminent threat were both used to promote and sell the island to tourism. In their time, Covarrubias, Colin McPhee or Walter Spies were already warning of this danger and also marveling at the resilience of the Balinese culture... This people were already convinced that Bali was dying. And it is true that a certain idea of Bali was already dying and is still dying a little more every day. But was this idea of Bali, of the so-called "real Bali", really was Bali ? I wonder if a part of the problem is not that the Balinese themselves have began to see themselves through this difformed mirror that we were presenting them. Don't missunderstand me. I really believe that there is and always has been a very strong Balinese culture and identity. Anybody who have stayed there and opened a bit of his soul and intellect can sense this very strongly. The heart is beating everywhere. But Bali is confronted to two different threats which might be equally dangerous : commercialisation and "muséeification" (I don't know if such a word exists in English : it is a kind of mix of museum and momification). I think the Balinese gonna have to adress this problem themselves and I trust them to do it without calling to the old demons of violence. It is true that the history of the island – as well as the history of the all area - has witnessed many outbursts of violence. But the Balinese have a very pragmatic and wise mind, and they will deal with it.
This an endless subject with many others aspects… but my English is very limited and I have the very irritating feeling not to be able to adress the subject in all its depth... plus I don't have much time at the moment. May be I will follow up later. Regards to everybody :?
PS : I hope it is not too confused ! :?

 

[drbruce]

Thanks Sanurian for starting a topic that I'm sure all of us who live in Indonesia have considered many times. (Nice as well to get away from the "which hotel is best" posts that are becoming regular here.)

School is just starting again so I don't have much time to write anything longer than a few thoughts. Roy has it when he comments that once a foreigner moves to Bali, he/she sees a side that the average tourist wouldn't - and it can be very disheartening.

I found the comment in the article that Sanurian quotes about the role of the entrepeneur in the cultural fractures very true in relation to my experience over the past 16 years. I'm looking at this from the perspective of having lived in a village (when I originally built my first house) that was just getting electricity and where mine was the only television. Since then there are luxury bungalows and little expat enclaves being built all over. I watched a close friends two sons grow up following all the usual religious and cultural patterns, but as the realities of the adult world began to impinge upon them, they found that the life of a fisherman or farmer was not going to grant them access to the new group of Balinese building wealth and power based on access to the tourist sector. They (and their friends) began drinking heavily, engaging in public brawling, and generally drifting - wanting things (as brightly advertised on tv) that they clearly were not going to get. While in those days I found the tensions between Balinese and Indonesians who migrated to Bali to be fairly minimal, over the years I saw them begin to increase (or perhaps I just noticed them more clearly), and I attributed this, in part, to increasing stress within the Balinese community itself. More than once I was told by Balinese that things would be better on the island if only the Javanese (meaning anyone not of "Balinese" origin) would go home.

I, too, have had some of the confrontations that Sanurian noted in regards to his wife. Usually, this occured in the South, and usually in situations where there were groups of young, drunk men roaming the street. I learned to steer clear of those situations. In the north where we lived, I only once ran into that sort of situation, and immediately went to the young men's parents who chastised their sons quite publically.

As to the fitting in thread of this topic. Well, that's always tough for a Westerner in Asia. I just returned from a week in Bangkok and Saigon, and I heard many stories from foreigners in Bangkok about how even though they speak Thai and have a Thai wife and family, they are still treated like a farang.

Over here in Sumbawa, in spite of the fact that many of the villagers profess their happiness over having their own bule and calling me an "orang Sekongkang", it's clear that I'll always be an outsider, but then I never really expected differently. I began thinking about this issue seriously when my first daughter was born, and I was trying to figure out how she would be accepted. I wrote a little short story then that was part of a novel about life here that I was working on. The story, "Just Another Tourist" was just published in the online writer's magazine Hackwriters.com.

Jean Pascal, I for one would be interested in reading more of your thoughts on this subject.

Thanks again, Sanurian, for the topic.

Regards,

Bruce

 

[Guest]

Hi,

I am new to these posting and to the Balinese experience generally. I have literally just stepped off the plane, having been there for two weeks.

In terms of fitting in, acceptance is always difficult, regardless. I have been in London for six years and although I have lived all my life in the UK fitting in is still difficult. But then there must be plenty of pockets of expats through which you can discuss the same difficulties and perhaps discuss initiatives [however small] or tips on how things could change for the better?

I am completely smitten by the land of Bali rather than the people, which is why I can't wait to return. I am jealous of all of you who are there right now! I found out pretty quickly that they only smile when they want something or thought I was going to spend cash. They were all hustlers, but if you have been to places like North Africa you can see it coming a mile off. In the end, they came across as quite spoiled and made greedy by the cash that tourism touts.

 

[Jean Pascal Comte]

Re: RE: Is Bali Dying?

I found out pretty quickly that they only smile when they want something or thought I was going to spend cash. They were all hustlers, but if you have been to places like North Africa you can see it coming a mile off. In the end, they came across as quite spoiled and made greedy by the cash that tourism touts.

Hi Neill,

Welcome to this forum :wink:. I find this generalisation a bit abusive. I do not live in Bali myself, but I came there several times. I find it difficult to be smitten by a place and not by its people. It reminds me of a person I met in England at a party who told me with a big smile : "Oh, you live in France. Such a nice country... shame about the French !". :wink: I know you don't mean that, but some people might understand that. Every time I came to Bali I had some encounters with very nice people and smiles that were not interested. It all depends and how far you are ready to go and how much you are interested in the culture of the country you are visiting. Next time, try a bit harder to go behind the screen, I think you won't regret it.