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History
of Bali
The Grandeur and Intrigue of
the Traditional Balinese Theater State
Miguel Covarrubias, the
famous Mexican amateur anthropologist and intrepid traveller,
wrote in 1937 in his classic work Island of Bali that
“it seems difficult to reconcile the soft-mannered,
peace-loving Balinese we know with the intrigue and violence
of their turbulent past.” And indeed the historians of
Bali's past thousand years tell tales that would put any
modern soap opera to shame: stories of the rise and fall of
kingdoms, of bloody battles waged and beautiful maidens won,
of princes gifted with magical powers warding off evil
demons disguised as fierce, fanged monkeys and vicious,
razor-beaked birds.
Bali’s written history
begins in the 8th
century, when Java’s Indianized kingdoms turned an eye
toward the island’s bounty. The Javanese, who had already
been introduced to the Buddhist and Hindu religions by South
Asian traders, spread these teachings to Bali, along with
the knowledge of writing in the Old Javanese language -
known in Bali as Kawi - which soon became the medium of
communication for Bali’s elites. By the 10th century,
Balinese art, religion and culture had taken on a decidedly
Indian appearance. One important relic of this era can be
found today in the midst of modern Sanur: the Prasasti
Belanjong, an inscribed monument dated 913 A.D. - making it
Bali’s earliest dated artifact - that tells the tale of a
Javanese king and his journey to Bali.
The 11th century saw the
birth of one of Bali’s most influential historical
figures: Airlangga, son of the Balinese Prince Udayana and
the Javanese Princess Mahendratta. Airlangga journeyed to
Java, where he ascended the throne of a dynasty that would
rule on that island for the next 300 years. During Airlangga’s
lifetime, contacts between Java and Bali grew increasingly
close. Out of this cross-fertilization of cultures came a
number of social features that would mark the face of Bali
for centuries to come: rituals presided over by Hindu
priests chanting holy mantras, temples devoted to the
worship of gods and divine ancestors, and the means to
effect magic, both good and evil, to harm one’s enemies or
heal one’s friends.
This period of Bali’s
history also gave rise to the mythic tale of good and evil
that continues to enthrall visitors with its fearsome power:
the story of Rangda and Barong. Legend has it that Airlangga’s
mother, Mahendratta, possessed among her many queenly
accomplishments a command of the dark forces of
transformation that enabled her to change from a beautiful
woman into a horrific witch able to rain disease and death
upon her enemies. When her husband found her dabbling in
these dangerous arts, he banished her to the forest, where
she remained, nurturing her evil powers, until her daughter
reached the age of marriage. Fearing Mahendratta’s black
magic, no one dared to marry the young princess, despite her
esteemed status and her lovely looks. Wild with anger and
driven to revenge, Mahendratta shifted her shape into that
of a hideous witch, armed with spiked teeth, a tongue of
fire and heavy, hanging breasts, to spread plague and
pestilence across the land. Today the story is reenacted in
the drama of Calonarang, where a mythological beast, the
lion-like Barong, protects the suffering villagers from the
demonic powers of the witch, known as Rangda. In the
performance, traditionally held in the dead of night in the
village graveyard, the followers of the Barong attack Rangda,
who uses her magic to send them into trance and make them
turn their daggers against themselves. The Barong’s power
protects them from the blades and helps them push the witch
back into the cemetery, restoring the balance between good
and evil until the next encounter.
The most critical turning
point in Bali’s history came in the 14th century, when the
Javanese kingdom of Majapahit sent an army led by the
revered general Gajah Mada to colonize Bali. Different
versions of the tale of Majapahit’s conquest exist, but
the basic story goes something like this: At that time, Bali
was ruled by a cruel and greedy king named Bedaulu. Although
he possessed great magical powers, he angered the gods by
forbidding his subjects to worship them, requiring instead
that they make their offerings to him. Bedaulu was so
arrogant that he once removed his head and sent it up to
heaven to show the gods what awesome spiritual skills he
commanded. Annoyed by this boastful display, the god Siwa
replaced Bedaulu’s head with that of a pig. Embarrassed by
his new animal appearance, the king ordered that none of his
courtiers was to look at him, and he had them build a high
tower where he would sit, presiding over his subjects free
from their curious stares. But Bedaulu still had not learned
his lesson. His evil grew to the point where he demanded
that all his food be spiced with human blood. Finally, his
desperate people sent word to Java, asking for aid from
Majapahit. Gajah Mada promised to help if the king did
indeed have a pig’s head, and he sent one of his soldiers
to investigate. In order to catch a glimpse of Bedaulu, the
cunning Javanese tricked the king by requesting the food
known as paku, a long, stringy green that is eaten by
lowering it from above into one’s mouth. Facing upwards
toward the tasty morsel, he was able to verify Bedaulu’s
beastly countenance, and called for Gajah Mada and his
troops, who conquered Bali and set in place a new king who
ruled from Samprangan, near Klungkung.
With the arrival of the
Majapahit empire came vast changes in the cultural,
religious and political landscape of Bali. Only the people
known as the Bali Aga, who kept themselves distant by
retreating to their isolated mountain villages, escaped
encompassment by the new social order. As the Javanese
installed their own nobles to preside over Bali, the island’s
population became drawn into a hierarchical system
controlled by warrior kings and learned priests and divided
into castes. Today, Balinese speak of history in terms of
the pre-Majapahit and post-Majapahit eras, and those who can
trace their genealogies back to the mighty rules and sages
of that time still claim high social status in the present.
When the Hindu Majapahit empire finally fell in the 16th
century, brought down by the rise of Islam across the
Indonesian archipelago, a new wave of priests, scholars,
nobles and artists sought refuge on Bali, which would remain
the last Hindu island in the land.
Over the next four hundred
years Balinese culture flourished around the royal courts.
Elaborate rituals were staged, and Bali’s famous cremation
ceremonies came into existence as a means of showing honor
and loyalty to the ruling lords. Art, dance and music
prospered, not as purely aesthetic activities but as service
on behalf of gods and kings. This era saw the rise of what
later anthropologists would describe as the Balinese “theater
state”: a complex combination of extravagant art and
ceremony designed to celebrate the power and majesty of the
royal families and to express the humble deference of their
followers. But this period was hardly a peaceful one. The
seat of the kingdom of Bali moved to Gelgel, and the king
who presided over it was given the title of Dewa Agung, or
“Great Lord,” a reference to both his worldly and
spiritual powers. One of these kings even managed to bring
parts of neighboring East Java and Lombok under Balinese
control. But the kingdom soon became fragmented by family
feuds, and Gelgel splintered off into a number of smaller
principalities, which remained in a state of constant war
and intrigue until the turn of the 20th century.
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