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Balinese
People
The Balinese, anthropologists suggest, are an amalgamation
of a number of people. The Chinese coming from the North,
the Indian and the Arabs from way West, and other groups coming
directly to Bali or by way of Java. Centuries past, and they
become what is now known as native Balinese. They are blessed
with well-developed bodies, golden-bronze skin, long, glossy
black hair, and charm and mystical smiles, happily living
in a rich and complete yet dynamic culture.
There are pockets of villages in which fraternization with
outsiders is completely restricted, resulting in a people
and a culture that the Balinese called Bali Aga (Old Bali),
which may curiously be the tunnel that allows us to periscope
into the culture of Bali in the past centuries.
People, Religion, and Temples
A person in Bali cannot exist in solitude. Balinese society
is very community oriented. The first invitation to attend
the next village meeting is delivered to you practically as
a wedding present. If ignored, it will result in a warning;
if three invitations are ignored, then the village may take
actions against you. Since land is usually owned by the community,
the village may revoke your privilege to till the land. Much
of the rituals require massive effort, which usually the village
shoulder in cooperatively. You will have to shoulder it yourself,
should you decide to be an outcast. Along with other families
in the village, you participate in meetings. You may play
an instrument in the orchestra, or dance in the ceremonies.
The women prepare the offerings, for their little shrines
or for the village's offering to the Mother Temple of Besakih.
If a child in a family is having his tooth filed, the rest
of the village's women will help cook and prepare, and the
men help erect a stage and decorate the house. In short, life
in Bali is never alone.
You can observe this even in little children. As their parents
go to plant rice, the children - all seem to be in their best
behavior - play with their age group. The older ones will
care for the younger ones. Fights rarely occur, and loud screams
or cries are even scarcer. As if they have been taught to
be at harmony with their surroundings.
The Balinese also has a built in population control mechanism
through their naming structure. In Bali, all first child is
named Wayan, second child is Made, the third child is Nyoman,
and the fourth, or the last, is Ketut. If you have more than
four? Well, the Balinese seem to have understood modulo arithmetic,
so it's back to Wayan, Made, Nyoman, and Ketut, repeat. But
implicitly, the culture discourages having more than four
children.
Though originating from India, the brand of Hinduism known
and practiced in Bali differs significantly from the one found
in India. Instead of mysticism or philosophy, the emphasis
of Bali's Hinduism is more in rituals and dramatic features,
allowing the religion and its practice to be incorporated
into daily life of Balinese peasants. These rituals and dramatic
features have been intricately woven into the lives of Balinese
to the extent that one cannot separate the religious life
of Bali from its daily life. In fact, one can say every little
action of a Balinese has some religious connotation; stone
and wood carvings, cremation ceremony, trance dances, vibrant
music - all are intended to please the gods and the goddesses.
These rituals most often take place in a
temple, the most important structure in the Balinese culture.
Food
Another aspect of religious life in Bali is the belief
that the gods and the goddesses appreciate the mundane pleasures
as much as the mere mortals. Feasts and festivals color everyday
life as they function to please the people as much as they
please the gods. Dances, music, and performances will of course
be present. And endowed with such fertile and arable land,
the Balinese also practice their creativity with the food
and offerings presented in these feasts (which, one can rightfully
expect, transcend into similar kinds of food and fruits consumed
in normal daily living...)
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