Balian of Ibelin

“ The regents, however, were particularly anxious to get hold of Ibelin himself, and fifteen knights galloped forward in search of him. This, it would appear, caused considerable disorder253 amongst the imperial troops; and when Philip of Navarre, with a strong body of men, made his appearance upon the battle-field just at this critical moment, the troops of the regents were completely defeated. Ibelin in the meanwhile had sought refuge in a farm-house, where he was powerless to defend himself, but from which, after the battle, he was set at liberty by his son Balian and Anselm de Brie. ”

“ So Balin took the shield that was unknown, and left his own, and rode unto the island. He put himself and his horse in a great boat, and when he came on the other side he met with a damsel, and she said, "O Knight Balin, why hast thou left thine own shield? Alas! thou hast put thyself in great danger, for by thine own shield thou shouldst have been known. It is a great pity, for of thy prowess and hardiness thou hast no equal living." ”

“ But Balin was bruised sore with the fall of his horse, for he was weary of travel. And Balan was the first that rose on foot and drew his sword, and went toward Balin, and he arose and went against him, but Balan smote Balin first, and he put up his shield, and smote him through the shield and cleft his helm. Then Balin smote him again with that unhappy sword, and well nigh had felled his brother Balan, and so they fought there together till their breaths failed. Then Balin looked up to the castle, and saw the towers stand full of ladies. ”

“ Whatever, at former periods, may have been the extent and influence of the Hindu religion, Bali is now the only island in the Eastern Seas, in which that religion is still prevailing as the national and established religion of the country. That high spirit of enterprize which burst the bounds of the extensive confines of India, like the dove from the ark, rested its weary wing for a while in Java, till driven from thence it sought a refuge in Bali, where even amongst the rudest and most untutored of savages, it found an asylum. ”

“ The compiler of this work, Jean d’Ibelin, was count of Jaffa and Ascalon, lord of Baruth (Berytus) and Rames, and died A.D. 1266, (Sanut, l. iii. p. ii. c. 5, 8.) The family of Ibelin, which descended from a younger brother of a count of Chartres in France, long flourished in Palestine and Cyprus, (see the Lignages de deca Mer, or d’Outremer, c. 6, at the end of the Assises de Jerusalem, an original book, which records the pedigrees of the French adventurers.) ”

“ 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. ”

“ Bali of yore, Virochan's son,
Dominion over Indra won,
And when with power his proud heart swelled,
O'er the three worlds his empire held.
When Bali then began a rite,
The Gods and Indra in affright
Sought Vishṇu in this place of rest,
And thus with prayers the God addressed:
“Bali. Virochan's mighty son,
His sacrifice has now begun:
Of boundless wealth, that demon king
Is bounteous to each living thing.
Though suppliants flock from every side
The suit of none is e'er denied. ”

“ Bali was worth all the trouble it took to get there. Not only is it spectacularly beautiful, with its rugged mountains, its misty vales, its crumbling temples, and the glossy green of its rice paddies, but the people are beautiful too. Outside of Den Pasar, where the tourists congregate and create understandable disruptions and where it is considered “rude” for women to go about unclothed above the waist, the Balinese serenely follow their age-old customs, practice the Hindu religion, which is the hard core of their society, and preserve their independence and integrity. ”

“ There were only two knights in all the city. Balian knighted fifty sons of the bourgeois. There was no money, because Guy had taken it all.all. Balian took off the silver from the Holy Sepulchre, and coined it into money for his soldiers. Every day all the men that he could spare rode out into the country and brought in provisions, of which they might have direful need, because the city was so full of women and children that the houses were crowded and the unfortunate creatures were lying about in the streets. ”

“ The tale of Balin's deeds is too long for recital here, but it may be read in the book of King Arthur's knights. At last, after many days of wandering and many exciting combats, Balin saw by the roadside a cross upon which in letters of gold was written, "No man must ride to this castle alone."
Then, too, an old man came toward him and said, "Balin le Savage, turn now before it is too late. You have already passed the bounds of prudence." With these words the old man vanished, and Balin heard the blast of a horn, like that blown when a huntsman kills an animal. ”

“ 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. ”

“ Then Sir Balin cried out:
"Alas, alas! that I should live to see this day!" and he fell backward in a swoon.
Sir Balan was dying, but he crawled on his hands and knees to where Sir Balin lay, and took off his helmet only to discover the face of his brother. Then he wept bitterly till Sir Balin recovered from his swoon.
"Alas!" said Sir Balan, "if we had but worn our own armor we should have known each other. And now we must die; we have killed each other."
[129]
"They fought till their breath failed"
Sir Balin was too full of remorse to weep. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ Libanius never seriously desired that contest. He never desired any contest whatever; he cares only for his own interest. I tell you, Gregory—Libanius is not a great man.
Gregory. Yet all enlightened Greece proclaims him great.
Julian. A great man he is not, I tell you. Once only have I seen Libanius great: that night in Constantinople. Then he was great, because he had suffered a great wrong, and because he was filled with a noble wrath. But here! Oh, what have I not seen here? Libanius has great learning, but he is no great man. Libanius is greedy; he is vain; he is eaten up with envy. ”

“ But stay a while, and I will bring you word What King Belinus says unto the same. Belinus
What news, Albinius? Who is that we see? Albinius
It is, my lord, a soldier that you see, Who fain would serve your grace in these your wars, But that, I fear, his service is too dear. Belinus
Too dear, why so? What doth the soldier crave? Albinius
He craves, my lord, all things that with his sword He doth obtain, whatever that they be. Belinus
Content, my friend; if thou wilt succor me, Whate’er you get, that challenge as thine own, Belinus gives it frankly unto thee, Although it be the crown of Aragon. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ As these birds are called by the same names in the tribes of the Katingans, Ot-Danums, Kahayans, and others, it may be presumed that their worship is widely prevalent in Borneo.
Among most if not all native races certain persons occupy themselves with religious services and at the same time cure disease. In Borneo, as far as my experience goes, these priest-doctors, whether male or female, are generally recognised by the name blian, or balian. Although some tribes have their own and different designations, for the sake of convenience I shall call them all blians. ”

“ Then they took their spears in all the haste they might, and came together as fast as their horses might drive, and the king's son of Ireland smote Balin upon his shield, that his spear went all to shivers. And Balin smote him with such a might, that it went through his shield and perished the hawberk, and so pierced through his body and the horse croup; and Balin anon turned his horse fiercely, and drew out his sword, and wist not that he had slain him, and then he saw him lie as a dead corpse. ”

“ The sacred literature of the Balinese is written in the ancient Javanese or Kawi language, which appears to be better understood here than it is in Java. A general decline in culture is manifest in the Balinese. ”

“ 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. ”

“ Rather than that you should be scandalized when you visit Bali, let me make it quite clear that in matters of morality the Balinese women are as easy as an old shoe. Perhaps it would be more accurate to say that they are unmoral rather than immoral. This is one of the conditions of life in the Insulinde which must be accepted by the traveler, just as he accepts as a matter of course the heat and the insects and the dirt. Though polygamy is practised, it is confined, because of the expense involved in maintaining a matrimonial stable, to the wealthier chiefs and other men of means. ”

“ Anon Balin and Balan smote him down from his horse, and slew on the right hand and the left hand more than forty of his men. The remnant fled, and King Ryons yielded him unto their grace as prisoner. So they laid him on a horse-litter, for he was fiercely wounded, and brought him to Camelot. There they delivered him to the porters and charged them with him; and then they two returned to further adventure.
And Balin rode towards the castle of King Pellam to revenge the wrongs of knights and ladies on a treacherous knight named Garlon. ”

“ Keep her with the greatest care until I return.’”
* Ball was a powerful king, who, by his austerities and devotion, overcame Indra in battle, and obtained power over heaven and earth. The gods became alarmed at this, and sought the aid of Vishnü, who visited the earth in the form of a dwarf, and went before Bali, who, according to custom, offered him presents. These the dwarf, affecting utter contempt for worldly wealth, declined, saying he merely wanted as much territory as could be comprised in three of his paces. Bali laughed, and granted his request ”