Bali -
Island and provinsi or province, in the Lesser Sunda Islands,
Indonesia, 1mile - 1.6 km, east of the island of Java. The provinsi has
an area of 2,147 square miles - 5,561 square km. Most of Bali is
mountainous (essentially an extension of the central mountain chain in
Java), the highest point being Mount Agung, or Bali Peak, 10,308 feet
(3,142 m) in height and known locally as the “navel of the world.” It
proved to be an active volcano, erupting in 1963 (after a dormancy of
120 years), killing more than 1,500 persons and leaving thousands
homeless. The main lowland is south of the central mountains. The
period of the southeast monsoon (May to November) is the dry season.
Bali's flora (mostly hilly tropical rain forest) and fauna resemble
those of Java. Some teak grows on Bali, and the giant banyan (waringin)
trees are held sacred by the Balinese. Tigers are found in the west,
and deer and wild pigs are numerous.
When Islam
triumphed over Hinduism in Java, in the 16th century, Bali became a
refuge for many Hindu nobles, priests, and intellectuals. Today it is
the only remaining stronghold of Hinduism in the archipelago, and
Balinese life is centred on religion, being a blend of Hinduism,
especially that of the Śaivite sect,
Buddhism, Malay ancestor cult, and animistic and magical beliefs and
practices. Places of worship are numerous and widespread, and there is
a firm belief in reincarnation. Caste is observed, though less strictly
than is the case in India, since nine-tenths of the population belong
to the Śūdra, the lowest caste. The nobility is divided into priests
(Brahman), the military and ruling royalty (Kshatriya), and the
merchants (Vaisya). Some Muslims and Chinese live in northern and
western Bali, and there are a few Christians. The Balinese language is
distinct from that of eastern Java, but the upper-class form contains
many Javanese and Sanskrit words.
The two
major towns are Singaraja and Denpasar, the provincial capital; others
include Klungkung, a centre of wood carving and gold and silver
industries; Gianyar, with a lively market; Kuta, Sanur, and Nusa Dua,
centres of the flourishing tourist trade; and Ubud, in the foothills, a
centre for European and American artists, with a fine art museum. All
Balinese villages have temples and an assembly hall, usually located on
a square that serves for festivals and markets. Each family lives in
its own compound surrounded by earthen or stone walls. Population
density in the lowlands is more than 1,500 per square mile (580 per
square km).
Balinese
farmers, raising principally rice, are organized into cooperative
water-control boards. The average farm is 2.5 acres (1 hectare). About
one-quarter of the agricultural acreage is irrigated, the remainder
being used for yams, cassava, corn (maize), coconuts, fruits, and,
occasionally, oil palm and coffee plantings. A large cattle population
is supplemented by smaller livestock. There are several meat-processing
plants; fishing is only a minor occupation. Food must be imported
because of the growing population, but exports include beef, pork,
coffee, copra, and palm oil. The tourist industry and the sale of craft
articles are important to the economy. There is an airport on the
south-central coast near Denpasar.
The
Balinese are fond of music, poetry, dancing, and festivals, are
extraordinarily able in arts and crafts, and are passionately fond of
betting games, especially cockfighting. A typical Balinese gamelan
(orchestra) consists of various percussion instruments, a two-string
violin, and a flute; and every village has its gamelan club. Stage
plays and, especially, dancing are an integral part of Balinese life,
serving magico-religious purposes or telling stories by pantomime. The
artistic temperament is also evident in sculpture, painting,
silverwork, and wood carving and bone carving and in the animal-shaped
wooden coffins in which corpses are carried to the cremation ground.
Visited
by Chinese traders and Indian literati, the Balinese had embraced
Hinduism by the 7th century AD. Mahendradatta, the mother of Air langga
(who ruled Java from 1019 to c. 1049), married Udayana, the Balinese
king, and many Javanese Hindus immigrated to Bali. In 1284 Kertanagara,
last king of Tumapel (Singhasāri) in Java, captured Bali; upon his
death in 1292, the island regained its independence. Bali came under
the rule of the Majapahit empire of eastern Java in 1343 and continued
under the Majapahits until the empire was overthrown in 1478 by
Muslims. The Dutch first visited Bali in 1597, when the island was
divided among a number of warring Muslim states. The Dutch annexed the
northern Balinese states of Buleleng and Jembrana in 1882, and, in the
1894 Dutch invasion of nearby Lombok Island, the Balinese prince, Anak
Agung Ktut, was killed. In 1906 the Dutch attacked Denpasar, massacred
about 3,600 Balinese, and captured the whole island. Bali was occupied
by the Japanese during World War II. In 1946 a battle was fought
between Dutch troops and Indonesian revolutionary forces at Marga in
western Bali. The island became part of the Republic of Indonesia in
1950. Pop. (1988 est.) Bali and nearby smaller islands, 2,766,000.