Ancient beginings…
Little is known of Bali prior to the end of the first millennium.
It is believed however that possibly as early as 500.000 years ago, homorectus strolled its slopes and beaches.
It is further known, thanks to remains found in its grounds, that around 40.000 years ago human hunters and gatherers inhabited its caves.
Later, some 3000 years ago the inhabitants had developed and mastered farming methods, along superior crafting of quality stone instruments and pottery art.
Remains of that era were found in the village of Cekik, in the west part of the island and can be viewed in the museum Purbakala, museum of archeology, in its vicinity.
By the 3rd century before Christ the bronze era was in full bloom and had reached the Balinese shores.
One of its finest example, ‘The moon of Penjeng’ resides nowadays at the ‘Pura Penataran Sasih’ the temple of the moon.
Though it is a large drum of 190cm height and 162cm width, Balinese belief has it that it is an earring of the moon, lost during one of her nightly venture. The story goes to say that it fell in a tree, disturbing by its luminosity, a thief in his wrongdoing.
In an attempt to extinguish it, he urinated on it… to his misfortune and died instantly!
And the ‘moon’? It cracked and lots its illuminating power.
Defining times…
Of the beginning of the trading with India which originated the introduction of Hinduism as well as Buddhism to Indonesian archipelago, again the fog resides.
Then suddenly around 900 of our era, recordings were made remaining through the ages, of a culture finding its influence and origin partially in Buddhism though mostly in Hinduism.
Some of these testimonies are present and accessible around the island:
- the engraved pillar of ‘Pure Blanjung’ in Sanur.
- the rock carved monuments in the ‘Pakerisan valley’ the valley of the kings, just outside of Tampaksiring. There in the ‘Pura Gunung Kawi’ come to reside the royal souls during the temple’s festivities.
- the site of ‘Goa Gajah’, the elephant cave, outside of Ubud, on the way to Tampaksiring and Kintamani.
By that time, the island had already developed some of the characteristics it is still well known for to this day:
- the cultivation for rice with complex irrigation systems.
- a diverse and rich religious culture.
- a prolific and refined artistic tradition.
The first half of the second millennium is witness to a succession of appropriation and domination by the reigning kings of Java.
The great Airlangga, the Jaya princes, the powerful Kertanegara whose dreams of conquer spread the influence of his religious practice, a form of tantric Buddhism, from Sumatra to Bali.
Finally in 1343 the Majapahit empire founded a colony on the island under the directive of its grand vizier Gajah Mada. A young nobleman, of Brahman descent, Sri Aji Kresna Kapakisan, was appointed King of the island though under the ultimate ruling of the great Javanese empire.
Sri Aji Kresna Kapakisan founded a dynasty that lasted through to the 20th century, the very one that was brought by the Dutch colonialising system.
Bali’s actual distinctive rites, cultural identity and traditions owe a lot to the governing and castes system of this era.
There originates as well the practice of danced court theatre, derivative of which can
still be enjoyed nowadays and are usually very much appreciated in the grounds of the Water palace of Ubud.
In 1383 the court was moved by his son, now king, to Gelgel near KlungKlung on the southeast coast of the island. The dynasty took the name and Gelgel became a renowned center of the arts.
It flourished under the reign of Waturenggong, which achieved independence upon the fall of the Majapahit empire at the beginning of the 16th century.
These events gave birth to migrating waves of artists, dancers, and musicians as well as some of the high court intelligentsia, to newly free and kingdom.
A notable participant of this migration is the great priest who went on to serve Waturenggong and is believed to be the originator of many a complexity to the Balinese religion as well as the orchestrator of a chain of ‘sea temples’ amongst which the temples of ‘Uluwatu’ and ‘Tanah Lot’.
After the death of Waturenggong in 1558 however, the golden age of the Gelgel dynasty went into rapid decline with the withdrawal of allegiance from powerful aristocrats, founding a number of small autonomous states. This in time prepared the terrain with the tremendous rivalries and much scheming leading to inevitable decay that served the Dutch colonialism politic later on.
This state of affair lasted close to a century, time within which the Dutch acquired strong positioning throughout the region.
Officially it is not before 1597 and more precisely on the 9th of February, that the first European seamen, of Dutch origins, and their captain Cornelius de Houtman set foot on Balinese grounds ; though it is believed that the Italian explorer Marco Polo may have ventured through the Indonesian archipelago as early as 1292 and could have stopped on the island.
After close to two years of travel they reached a land of many riches.
The Gelgel court was then the theatre of a decadent abundance and extreme luxury.
The Dewa Agung, reigning sovereign, was reported to have two hundred wives, a magnificent chariot pulled by white buffaloes and a collection of fifty dwarves, whose body had been bent to resemble the blade of a ‘Kris’, the traditional and spiritually powerful dagger.
One of the seamen, so taken by the fast and magic of this welcoming land chose to stay, never to return.
A new world…
In 1601, another Dutch ship reaches the shores of Bali, with this time clearer intentions. Its leader Cornelius Heemskerk brought with him a formal request of trade from the prince of Holland.
The request was granted and success of the voyage sealed by the positive reply the ‘Dewa Agung’ wrote on a ‘Lontar’, traditional palm leaf scroll.
Firm hold of the Dutch empire over the island came later, in two stages.
In 1846, on a third attempt to establish position in Bali, the Dutch used the ancient and traditional Balinese salvage claim over shipwrecks resting in Balinese waters, to land military forces in the north of the island.
For close to fifty years they restrain to this area alone, strengthening their position acquiring the surrender of rebellious independent landlords, and spread the cultivation of coffee.
In 1894 they further their implant supporting the ‘Sasak’ people of Lombok, then a colony of Bali, in rebellion against their Balinese rajah.
The rajah capitulated. And though his younger princes overruled him, opposed and defeated the Dutch forces in a surprise attack, Balinese power over Lombok finally came to an end when the colonial empire dispatched heavily armed forces to the area.
Then working the age old strategy of divide and conquer, they secured their position within a land already festering with discord between its various autonomous states.
The kingdom of Karangasem surrendered shortly after. Followed by the one of Gyanyar under the persuasion of the rajah of Ubud.
Tabanan, Badung and Klungkung however remain proudly standing against the colonial invader.
In 1904 a dispute over a shipwreck of the coast of Sanur, gives the excuse needed, and in 1906 warships appeared in the Sanur bay with in purpose the eradication of the island’s independence.
On the 20th of September the colonial navy mounted the bombarding of Denpasar, in prepare of its final assault.
Outnumbered the Balinese royals and nobility, conscious of their inevitable defeat reconcile in the honorable path of a suicidal Puputan, the fight to death, unwilling to face surrender and exile consider the worst imaginable outcome.
Rituals of death are accomplished throughout the night.
In the morning, the palace is burned and then, dressed in white, adorned with their finest jewellery, waiving their ceremonial ‘kriss’ in pretend defense, hundreds of men, women, children, led by the rajah and its priests, march towards the Dutch army, disregarding of the gun’s fire, relentlessly stabbing themselves to death.
Nearly four thousand Balinese royals, nobility and their court died that day.
Later, Tabanan is taken without opposition, though the king and his son take their own life in their a couple of days later.
It will take another two years and a final Puputan for Klunkung, the last independent kingdom to capitulate1908.
Finally the Netherlands’s hold over the island is secured, and Bali becomes officially part of the Dutch East Indies.
There is little attempt at developing an exploitative economy in Bali and the common people do notice at first, little difference between the ruling of the rajahs and the Dutch.
Closer times…
The first half of the 20th century is also the birthing time of the island’s transformation into a highly desired tourist destination.
Most probably initiated by a slight culpability and the desire to be seen as a respectful protector of the indigenous culture within its acquired colonies; and most probably with a need for greater rentability, the Dutch government soon offers Bali as a most unique and desirable touristic destination.
Poetic accounts and imageries such as the illustrations W.O.J Nieuwenkamp and photographs of Gregor Krause, rapidly grace Bali with an attractive aura.
It is soon known as ‘ultimate paradise’ becomes the favored destination within the realm of an educated and wealthy international clientele.
Getting to Bali from either Europe or North America meant lengthy trans-oceanic voyages on steam ships, finally arriving at Buleleng, today known as Singaraja, which was already a trading port complete with Javanese, Arabs, Chinese and Europeans.
Some decide to make it their residence temporarily, and at times permanently, primarily in the vicinities of Ubud and Sanur, cultivating the myth still alive today of an ‘island of the gods’, where everyone is an artist.
Along with this development however Bali is also the theater of many dramas.
In 1917 an earthquake and the eruption of Mount Batur takes many lives. The same year, the Spanish influenza rummages through the island inflating the death toll.
The increasing economic pressure on the little people and rum sacked social structures by the colonial administration also leads to a growing discontent and thoughtful if not active yet, allegiance to the emerging ideal of a united and independent Indonesia.
In 1928 an association of student furthers the possible achievement of this dream, by giving to the idea of the use of one and unique language, uniting all the people of the archipelago.
The ‘Malay’ is chosen to be the main and founding base of ‘Bahasa Indonesia’, being already the common language uniting all people, regardless of ethnical background, within the commercial trading world throughout South-East Asia.
It became official in 1945 with the declaration of independence and has been taught in the schools since then.
In 1929 the former kingdoms of Bali are returned to their hereditary ruler as self-governing territories in a magnificent ceremony in Besaki.
In 1942 Japan invades the Dutch East Indies, forcing the Duch to flee or face imprisonment
On the 17th of August 1945 in Jakarta, 11 days after the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, Soekarno proclaims the independence of Indonesia.
Balinese militants move to seize weapons from the Japanese.
The Dutch however have other plans and return in March 1946.
A time of restless and violent dismay follows, throughout Indonesia in an attempt to evict the returning invader, to which the Balinese adjoin after the massacre of one of their hero Gusti Ngurah Rai.
Nations around the world are not sympathetic to the Dutch position and in 1949 they withdraw transferring at the same time sovereign power over the island, to the young Republic of Indonesia.
The Soekarno era, though introducer of democratic concept and principles, is the scene of many conflicts between the various ethnies and diverging political groups.
During the following years, Bali is overtaken by criminality, constant dramas and vendettas.
In 1958 however Soekarno grants it the status of being an independent province.
He furthers the gesture with the construction of the first major tourist resort complex, ‘The Bali Beach Hotel’ in Sanur, in lieu of attracting and encourage a tourism revival.
This attempt got lost within the archipelago instability through the ‘60’s”, along with a series of natural catastrophes also weighed clouding the Balinese sky: rat and mouse plagues, insect infestation, crop failures.
In 1963 the island misfortune came to a culminating point with the violent and catastrophic eruption of ‘Mount Agung’.
The mountain exploded during the holiest of Balinese ceremonies, Eka Dasa Rudra, a purification rite in which harmony and balance in people and nature are restored in all 11 directions.
The ceremony, held only once every 100 years, had been moved 10 years prior to its due date, under the request of president Soekarno, possibly to impress a convention of travel agents.
Midway through the opulent proceedings, the volcano began to shower the whole area with smoke and ashes, finally exploding with its most violent eruption in 600 years.
Earthquake toppled temples, hot ash ignited thatched roofs, volcanic debris rained upon the earth.
As the molten lava moved toward them, Hindu priests prayed hopelessly though in vain to appease the angry god.
1600 Balinese were killed, 86,000 left homeless, and 100,000 hectares cultured land condemned to abandon.
A layer of hot choking dust lay over the whole island for a week, covering fields, houses, and streets. One-quarter of Bali was turned into black lava dessert.
In 1965, a general by the name of Suharto seizes power.
He will be ruling President of Indonesia for over 30 years.
His “New Order” regime, constructed a strong central government with militarist lines.
A certain ability to maintain stability through radical practices and a strong anti-Communist stance won him the economic and diplomatic support of several Western governments in the cold war era.
It assured significant economic growth and industrialization in Indonesia.
His ruling, however, led to political and ethnic purges incurring the deaths of millions of Indonesian.
It is believed over 100 000 balinese lost their life over that period.
Within our time…
By the 1990s, however, his authoritarians and increasingly corrupted administration became a source of much discontent.
After internal unrest, diplomatic isolation began to drain his support.
Suharto was forced to resign from the presidency in May 1998 after 32 years, following mass demonstrations and handed the presidency to Habibie who further organized a democratic election.
Abdurahman Wahid was elected though his contract did not last long and he was replaced by Megawati, daughter of former and first president Soekarno, who had been his very valiant and popular opponent during the presidential campaign.
In 2004, at the end of Megawati’s term, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono was elected as President of Indonesia.
Leading to what is today…
Bali’s introduction to mass tourism really started in the ‘70’s’.
The magnificent surfing breaks of Uluwatu and white sand beaches of Padangbai and Candi Dasa, incontestably positioned Bali on the hippie and surfing trail.
Kuta beach was the epicenter of it all, with its bamboo guesthouses and warungs catering, on a basic level to a growing clientele.
Slowly however extension of knowledge through the traveling crowd gave birth to an array of hotels, restaurant and shops to accommodate a more discerning visiting population.
Tourism numbers reached their peak in 1998 and from then on the development of the tourist industry on the island focused mainly on a higher end and luxury oriented market.
On the 12th of October 2002 a terrorist attack in the busy nightlife area of Kuta killed 202 people.
In addition to the tragic losses, the effect on the tourist industry was tragic, leaving the local economy in great suffering stance.
Warnings and travel bans were issued from the major western countries.
Many local businesses went bankrupt.
Furthermore on October 1st 2005 another terrorist attack killed 20 people, injured another 129 and deepened the state of despair and misfortune.
Today...
In retrospect Bali seems to have maintain its irresistible and luminous qualities.
Local and foreign investment are at a constantly increasing high.
The tourist industry has regained most of it past shine, with noticeable change however within its clientele.
Luxury seems to be the ruling order once again these days, and few places around the globe are able to provide it as kindly and generously as the Balinese land.
The island holds amongst it many appellations a well suited one:
‘Morning of the world’.
Indeed its regenerating ability are simply magnificent, restlessly welcoming new beginnings.
2007 was an abundant year for the tourist industry in Bali and was crowned by the hosting of an internationally attended conference on global warming.
It raised the issue resulting with a necessary and common need to appreciate our assets and global mismanagement of our uniting home, the ‘Earth’, and welcome a renewed interest and awareness towards the ‘island of the gods’.
2008 is trusted to reach an all time high.
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