BALI
AS A MAIN TOURIST DESTINATION
Bali has been recognized as one of the main tourist destination
in the world since its exposure by many of the Westerners
in 1920s. Bali often cliched as "the island of thousand
temples", "the island of paradise", or as
Nehru's said "morning of the world".
GEOGRAPHY
Bali, one of 17,508 islands that scattered throughout the
Indonesian archipelago, lies 8 degrees South of Equator
and 115 degrees East of longitude. It is one of 32 provinces
of the Republic of Indonesia. Virtually the Wallace Line
separates tropical Asian flora and fauna from that typical
of Australia, and runs between Bali and Lombok, to the East.
Towering volcanic peaks dominate the island with a width
of 120 km (75 miles). The caldera of Mount Batur, the central
mountain, holds a vast lake which feed most of the rivers.
Gorged out valleys radiate from the volcano and thousands
of spring help irrigate the land. Mount Agung, Bali's highest
mountain, is standing at 3,142 m (10,300 ft). A good part
of its top blew off in 1963, and some of the devastation
is still visible in the northern and eastern parts of Bali.
PEOPLE
Bali's big draw is its unusual and vivid culture, and its
beautiful and creative people, numbering around 3 million.
The origins of the people seem to be a mixture of Malay,
Melanesian, Indian, Chinese and Indonesian aboriginal ancestry.
The Predominant religion inspirable from many aspects of
daily life is a kind of Hinduism unique to Bali, with strong
currents of Buddhism, Animism, magic, and ancestor worship.
Culture highlights are Bali's music, dance, theatre, and
spectacular religious ceremonies which take place almost
all year round. The culture has remained virtually undisturbed
by outside influences.
THE VIEW
Bali has many beaches, lakes, mountains, hills, and beautiful
rice terraces. This natural splendour has influenced the
Balinese way of life, for instance, farming and fishing.
CLIMATE
Bali has two seasons: dry and rainy season. The seasons
move from hot to rainy (November to March) to cooler and
dry (June to August). May is green and fresh and October
is hot and dry. The average annual temperature is 26°C
(78°F).
CULTURE
AND RELIGION
Bali's religion, Hindu Dharma, is expressed in ritual concerned
with the five spheres of attention: the Gods and ancestors,
the "demons", stage of human growth, the dead,
and the consecration of Priest. There are also cyclical
holidays honouring crops, books, tools, musical instruments,
and so forth. Essential to these rituals are copious offering
of good, flowers, and ingeniously fashioned abstract figures
of palm leaves.
Offerings are consecrated bye priests, known as Pemangku,
with incense, sacred incantations (mantra) and holy water
(tirta). Temple festivals, called odalan, and cremations
are the most conspicuous ceremonial occasions, and tourists
are welcome to watch, as long as they dress and behave respectfully.
The complex Balinese calendar follows two coincidental system;
one based on a lunar year of 355 days with a 13th month
added every three years, while the other is the wuku year
of 210 days. These 210 days year are further divided into
30 wuku (week). Each wuku is comprise of 7 days with its
own name. Within this 210 day - year are further concentric
cycles with "weeks" of varying length, the conjunctions
of which are of mystical importance.
The dense amount of information on the printed calendar
give a visual clue to the complexity of the system. Usually,
when people have an important ritual event looming, they
look at the calendar and then consult a priest of the appropriate
grade: a high priest or pendeta, for things like marriage,
cremation and important rituals pertaining to ancestors;
or a balian - healer - sorcerer - for more domestic problem,
like destroying a nest of wasps or putting a ring in the
nose of a calf.
The Balinese insist that their religion is monotheistic
- in accordance with the national philosophy Pancasila,
one of the five principles of which is the belief in one
god - but the manifestations of God are myriad: they include
not only the Hindu trinity (Brahma, Wisnu, Siwa), but also
deified kings, saint and ancestors, and a vast variety of
elemental spirits.
