A. J. Bernet Kempers
Arnhem, December 1989
NOTE ON SPELLING AND PRONUNCIATION
For Sanskrit, Old Javanese and Old Balinese variants of the usual spellings have been followed: r=er; ng = ring; ñ = ny; sh (formerly s) as in rush; ś (formerly ç) as in shape; c (formerly ch) as in church, m, a nasal sound approaching ng. Indonesian (Bahasa Indonesia) and Balinese spelling present various problems in consequence of successive changes, deviating from the earlier system taken from the Dutch: c (formerly tj) = ch; j (formerly dj); u (formerly oe) as in book or u in rule; ny (formerly nj). In certain cases the use of é, è instead of e seemed advisable to avoid mispronunciation. Certain words occurring passim appear without italics: candi, méru, pura, stūpa. The reader is also referred to the index.
Figure 2: Besakih.
PART I
Introduction to
Balinese Archaeology
Figure 3: Bukit. Pura Uluwatu. (See also page 90.)
Chapter One
The Island of Bali
MANY LABELS have been used to advertise the island of Bali according to her most striking qualities as seen by the outsider: "Island of Demons," "Island of Gods," "Land of A Thousand Temples," "The Last Paradise," and so on. This trend began not too long ago, at the time when Bali entered the scene of international tourism, in due course becoming Indonesia's number one attraction.
There is much truth in the contentions of these labels; occasional diversions from the actual situation are often flagrant understatement (the number of modern temples, as opposed to antiquities, is much larger than suggested above). However, in the context of this book, and in order to understand the topic, it is essential to view the island of Bali not with the eyes of the outsider, the proverbial Innocent Abroad, but with at least some understanding of the way in which the Balinese traditionally reacted to and were influenced by their environment.
The data concerning Balinese views on their earlier local history have been taken from certain Balinese literary works and legends, as well as from the archaeological sites and remains which are discussed in the book's guide. Since, to the Balinese of that early period, Bali was the actual center of the whole world, local history was also a matter of cos-mological importance. Even a brief introduction to this subject, as given in the present chapter, may provide us with a backdrop for further discussions and actual visits to the monuments, whose origins derive from Balinese reflections on their position in the universe. Let us then begin with some basic observations.
Bali is an island. This fact is all the more clear because Bali is so tiny, unlike the continent-sized islands of Java, Sumatra or Borneo (Kalimantan). Wherever you are in Bali, the sea is always present, even if only in a river running to the ocean.
For the Balinese, the sea was especially important because of its connection with death in the Nether World. This perhaps explains why they were not a seafaring people. They turned their eyes in a different direction—to the mountains from which the rivers originate. The water of the river is very different from that of the salty sea; no connection exists between death as such and the water flowing from mountainous springs, which purifies and fertilizes. While the ashes from cremations far from the coast are cast into rivers, this is because ashes must be returned to the sea—the abode of the powers of death.
The sea thus held little attraction for the Balinese other than as a source of fish. Apart from their expeditions to East Java and Lombok, both of which they politically influenced for a period of time, the Balinese kept to their own island. Any Balinese who turned up in Old Batavia during the Dutch East India Company's rule did so involuntarily—as slaves, who later lived there as freedmen, craftsmen and soldiers. In the latter capacity we find them also in the service of the rulers of Madura, fighting in East Java.
The waters surrounding the island, especially the dangerous Indian Ocean to the south, served an isolating function. The northern Bali Sea—an extension of the Java Sea—however, was an important channel of contact with seafarers from India in the west and China in the north. During the first millennium A.D. there were also contacts with Java. Beginning in the 13th and 14th centuries there were contacts with East Java, primarily with Majapahit, the great empire which spread all over the archipelago.
While its island identity is important, it is equally crucial to see Bali in its larger geographical and cultural context. Seen in the broadest terms, Bali is part of one of the world's most intriguing cultural areas— the Indonesian Archipelago. Marked by geographical variety and riches, this area has always had manifold connections with the outside world. Bali is part of the great belt of islands marking the archipelago's southern boundary, which runs from the northern tip of Sumatra on through Java, the Lesser Sunda Islands (Nusa Tenggara) and Maluku, to Australia and West New Guinea (Irian Jaya). Bali is the westernmost of the Lesser Sunda Islands, situated between East Java and Lombok.
Bali belongs to Western Indonesia rather than the East. The two-mile strait between Java and Gilimanuk on Bali's west coast is not an actual boundary. In many ways West Bali (Jembrana)—the only part of the island notably affected by Islam—is nearer East Java than Central and South Bali, from which it has long been sealed off by mountains and impenetrable forests. The coastal road is a modern creation. During the 1930s the forests were opened up slightly for internal transmigration, freeing parts of Central Bali from overpopulation. Similarly, the far tip of East Java was poorly connected with its hinterland before construction of an overland road in the 19th century.
Figure 4: Southeast Asia and Wallace's line.
Bali at one time—albeit long ago—was actually connected with East Java by a land bridge. The island rests on the so-called Sunda Shelf, an enormous continental plate protruding from the Asian mainland. This shelf supporting most of the Larger Sunda Islands is nowadays covered by the Java Sea and its annexes; its mean depth ranges between 40 and 50 meters. During the Pleistocene glacial periods, enormous ice caps solidified much of the world's waters, resulting in lowered sea levels everywhere. The Sunda Shelf fell dry in parts and periodically gave way to a land mass. Successive orogenic movements eventually gave the Sunda Land and Shelf their present surface and structure.
Sunda Land's eastern border consisted of a series of deep basins essentially corresponding with A. R. Wallace's "Line" dividing the animal worlds of Asia and Australia. This is a faunal break of eminent importance, whose southern end coincides with the Lombok Strait that separates Bali from Lombok. fifteen miles wide, and in its northern parts up to 1300 meters deep, this is a treacherous area for navigators. The difference in the flora and fauna between luxuriant Bali and arid Lombok is significant in terms of the "Wallace Line."
Southeast of Bali is the island of Nusa Penida, or Pandita (colloquially changed to "Bandit Island"). Under the rule of Central Bali's former Klungkung kingdom, Pandita was a devil's island to which criminals were banished. Another dynasty of Balinese princes, from Karan-gasem, crossed Lombok Strait to rule over Lombok from the mid-18th to nearly the end of the 19th century. Lombok adopted Islam during the religion's eastward spread, which missed Hindu Bali.
Bali's north coast, hardly more than a narrow strip between