Bali

“ The crowd of people, men and women, sitting round the central figure, join in the BALI DAYONG, which recurs as the refrain at the end of each verse, intoning in loud deep voices. It seems clear from the use of the words BALI DAYONG that the whole is addressed to some superior power; for no human DAYONG, and indeed no human being, is addressed or spoken of with the title BALI. And it would perhaps be more correct, therefore, to describe the address as a supplication rather than an incantation, and the whole operation as a religious rite rather than a magical procedure. ”

“ Or, should you weary of so dolce far niente an existence, you can sail across to Java with the opium-runners in their fragile prahaus, or climb a two-mile-high volcano, or in the jungles at the western extremity of the island stalk the clouded tiger. And you can wear pajamas all day long without apologizing. Everything considered, Bali offers more inducements than any place I know to the tired business man or the absconding bank cashier. ”

“ When you first arrive in Bali you swear that they are the prettiest brown-skinned [148] women in the world. But after you have been here a year or so you get so tired of everything connected with the tropics that you don't give the best of them a second glance. For my part, give me a plain, wholesome-looking Dutch girl with a lusty figure and corn-colored hair and cheeks like apples in preference to all the cafe-au-lait beauties in Bali."
"Au revoir," I called, as I signaled to the driver and the car leaped forward. "If I listen to you any longer I shall have no illusions left." ”

“ Here Bali is made the symbol of all living things.
That too is one of the "babblings of child humanity." I know not what figure the greatest man could use more poetical, more full of meaning, more sublime in its imagery, than that the whole world was gathered in the dust of the foot of the Supreme. For what is the world save the dust of His footsteps, and how would it have any life save as His foot has touched it? ”

“ The men of Bali are a fine, strong, dignified, rather haughty race, fit mates in physique for their women. They are considerably taller than any other Malays whom I saw and possess less Mongoloid and Negroid characteristics, these being subdued by some strong primeval alien strain which is undoubtedly Caucasian. Though now peaceable enough, every Balinese man carries in his sash a kris—the long, curly-bladed knife which is the national weapon of Malaysia. ”

“ We can see from the account we now obtain of Bali, that the name of the common ancestor of the tribes under review was not the creation of a fancy of the Aryans. It has been stated in the previous section, that those who proceeded to Southern India from Bengal, and its neighbourhood, had Nāga for their totem, and we have now seen that Bali is still worshipped in the Southern Presidency. ”

“ The high mountains on Bali contain a number of lakes or tarns, which supply many streams, and the natives are thus enabled to irrigate their land so completely, that about twenty thousand tons of rice are annually exported to other parts of the archipelago, after a population of nearly three-quarters of a million is supplied. In 1861 Java had only a population of three hundred and twenty-five to a square mile, while Bali was supposed to have nearly five hundred, and it is probably the most densely populated island in these seas at the present time. ”

“ In the island of Bali “all the attention paid to the sick has its root solely in the excessive superstition of these islanders, which leads them to impute every unpleasantness in life, every adversity to the influence of evil spirits or of men who are in some way in league with them. The belief in witches and wizards is everywhere great in the Indies, but perhaps nowhere is it so universal and so strong as in Bali.”267 In Java, we are told, it is not merely great shady trees that are believed to be the abode of spirits. ”

“ Instead of going to Palm Beach next winter, or to Havana, or to the Riviera, why don't you go out to Bali and see its lovely women, its curious customs, and its superb scenery for yourself? You can get there in about eight weeks, provided you make good connections at Singapore and Surabaya. With no railways, no street-cars, no hotels, no newspapers, no theatres, no movies, it is a very restful place. ”

“ Bali, the island next to Java on the East, where the Hindu religion found refuge, and continued to be observed after the fall of majaphahit on Java, and the consequent introduction of Mohammedanism. A sort of Hinduism still exists on Bali. ”

“ To tell the truth, the dances of Bali, like those I saw in Java and Cambodia, are rather tedious performances, beautiful, it is true, but almost totally lacking in that fire and spirit which we associate with the East. ”

“ Unlike the South Sea islanders, who are rapidly dying out as the result of diseases introduced by Europeans, the population of Bali—which is one of the most densely peopled regions in the world, with 325 inhabitants to the square mile—is rapidly increasing, having more than doubled in the last fifteen years. ”

“ Indeed, the Javanese appear to have no other means of acquiring the old Kawi traditions than by learning them from natives of Bali. See note to an Essay on the Island of Bali, in Asiatic Researches, vol. xiii. p. 162, Calcutta, 1820, 4to. Sir Stamford Raffles (Hist. of Java, vol. i. p. 400) says, ‘It is chiefly to Bali that we must look for illustrations of the ancient state of the Javans.’ See also p. 414.
[466] Respecting the corruption of Druidical traditions in Gaul by Christian priests, see Villemarqué, Chants Populaires de la Bretagne, Paris, 1846, vol. i. ”

“ Mr. Friederich considers that the word Bali is of the same origin as Bantam, which see- and fancies that Bali was a sort of holy land of the Panditas, devoted to religious purposes and offerings, which in short the word implies. Bāléyan, C. 469 fit or proper for sacrifice. The word in its origin is no doubt the same as the Sunda word Balai-which see.
Bali, the after-birth, the placenta.
Balibat, a word heard in the names of some ancient divinities. The Badui have a divinity called Dalam Balibat Jaya. Bali- see voce. Bata, C. 455 descent, going down, descent from a height. ”

“ On Bali it is still a title of distinction for man, viz chiefs of high rank, as many of the chiefs have the word prefixed to their names. The word is evidently of Sanscrit origin, but is not to be found in Clough. Mr. Friederich reports in Bat: Trans: Vol. 23 Page 15 that Gusti on Bali is a title of the Waisya caste, who on Bali are the kings of the country. The name is not exacty Indian, at least not clearly so. In India, the third caste — the Waisyas — are of no great note, and it is therefore not to be wondered that they have no particular distinguishing title. ”

“ In Bali there are certain persons called pĕrmas, who are predestined or fitted by nature to become the temporary abode of the invisible deities. When a god is to be consulted, the villagers go and compel some of these mediums to lend their services. Sometimes the medium leaves his consciousness at home, and is then conducted with marks of honour to the temple, ready to {p379} receive the godhead into his person. ”

“ See Crawfurd’s Dictionary, p. 166.
588 Balli is not properly a city of Java, but the island of Bali, located about 1–1/2 miles east of Java. The name in Javanese and Malay signifies “to return.” Its area is about 1685 square geographical miles, and it is lofty and mountainous. Its numerous rivers are navigable for native vessels only, and as far as the reach of the tide; and its mountain lakes ensure a constant water supply. The people live in villages of from five hundred to three thousand inhabitants, surrounded by walls built of clay, without stone or brick. ”

“ See Ngahiang. Hyang on Bali is still retained as a designation for the Deity for which reference can be made to Mr. Friederich's „Voorloopig verslag va het eiland Bali,” in the 22 vol. of the Batavian Transactions. Kahyangan, is still in Bali, the name for a temple, or place for a Divinity. Hyang or Hiang is also still in use among the Badui of South Bantam in the composition of the proper names of some of their divinities, as Dewi Kincha Raja hiang, which in this case appears to be a female deity. ”

“ THE islands of Bali and Lombock, situated at the eastern end of Java, are particularly interesting. They are the only islands of the whole Archipelago in which the Hindu religion still maintains itself—and they form the extreme points of the two great zoological divisions of the Eastern hemisphere; for although so similar in external appearance and in all physical features, they differ greatly in their natural productions. It was after having spent two years in Borneo, Malacca and Singapore, that I made a somewhat involuntary visit to these islands on my way to Macassar. ”

“ In Den Pasar we got off at the wide dirt lot which is the bus terminus and transferred to a doh-ka, the pony-cart-for-two which is the picturesque means of travel through the city streets. The driver whipped his tiny horse to a gallop, the plume of bells on its head jingled merrily, and in no time at all we were deposited in front of the Bali Hotel, where Minnetta was waiting on the porch.
She was far too travel-wise to be living at the Bali Hotel, however. Already she had found lodgings, at one-fifth the tourist rate, at a small Balinese hotel on a side street. ”

“ The devils, it is thought, are anxious to return to their old homes, and in order to make them think that Bali is not Bali but some desert island, no one may stir from his own abode for twenty-four hours. Even ordinary household work, including cooking, is discontinued. Only the watchmen may show themselves in the streets. Wreaths of thorns and leaves are hung at all the entrances to warn strangers from entering. Not till the third day is this state of siege raised, and even then it is forbidden to work at the rice-fields or to buy and sell in the market. ”

“ The bodies of deceased persons are invariably burnt, and the wives and concubines of the higher classes perform the sacrifice of Satia. A few days previous to my landing on Bali, nineteen young women, the wives and concubines of the younger rajah, who was lately put to death, sacrificed themselves in this manner.
The written language of Bali differs but little from that of Java; but the character has a more ancient form. The Kawi is the sacred language, and understood or pretended to be understood by the Bramins. ”

“ The Balinese seem to be a sturdy and industrious people; they have a free and independent appearance, very different from that of their somewhat grovelling neighbours, the Javanese. The roads are picturesquely lined with shady trees, and a very pleasant feature of them is the number of little mouse-coloured ponies, which carry panniers on a high-peaked saddle and are the coolies of Bali; most of them have an elaborate leather harness and many carry a large number of little bells, which make a pretty music along the roads. ”

“ Upon the third day the lineal head of the tribe goes out and sows his seed, after which all the rest may do so.496
The people of Bali, an island to the east of Java, have periodical expulsions of devils upon a great scale. Generally the time chosen for the expulsion is the day of the “dark moon” in the ninth month. When the demons have been long unmolested the country is said to be “warm,” and the priest issues orders to expel them by force, lest the whole of Bali should be rendered uninhabitable. On the day appointed the people of the village or district assemble at the principal temple. ”

“ Natar on Bali is the innermost part of a house where offerings are made. Ditto Page 56. Natar is probably only a modification of the word Latar, which in Javanese is the court before a house. There still exists on Java, in the Residency of Kědiri, near Blitar, an old stone temple called Panataran, which evidently has had a parity of origin with such places on Bali. ”

“ From Sumatra on the W., Java is separated by the Sunda Strait, which at the narrowest is only 14 m. broad, but widens elsewhere to about 50 m. On the E. the strait of Bali, which parts it from the island of that name, is at the northern end not more than 11⁄2 m. across. Through the former strong currents run for the greater part of the day throughout the year, outwards from the Java Sea to the Indian Ocean. In the strait of Bali the currents are perhaps even stronger and are extremely irregular. Pilots with local knowledge are absolutely necessary for vessels attempting either passage. ”

“ At the end of the eighteenth century there were still Hindus in Java, and to-day the ancient religion lingers in Bali, a small island off the south-eastern coast. In Bali, therefore, it is natural that we should find the fullest remains of such parts of [230] the Kavi literature as are most closely identified with that of Continental India. Only fragments of the two great Indian epics, the Mahabharata, or "Great War of the Sons of King Bharata," and the Ramayana, or "Adventures of Rama," are found in Java; but in Bali Kavi versions of both appear. ”

“ Thence it spread slowly eastward to Java, Celebes, and the Moluccas, and northward to the Philippines, where it was just gaining a foothold when the Spanish arrived. Under their rule it was soon eradicated, and supplanted by Catholic Christianity. Bali is almost the only island where the people can read and write their native tongue, and have not partially adopted this religion. On the continent it spread so rapidly that, within one hundred years after the Hegira, it was established from Persia to Spain ”