Cultural Life

Religion -- Over 90% of the population is Hindu, with the minority made up of Muslims, Buddhists, and Christians. Religious ritual plays into every facet of life. Balinese Hindus believe in the ascending (and confusing) pantheon of Hindu gods, as well as dharma and adharma, order and disorder, and the need for balance between the two and rituals to that end. The importance of karma, or the consequence of individual actions, plays into the peaceful daily rhythms, and forms of "making merit" are as many as the people who practice them. Whether placing daily offerings of flowers on someone's car or undertaking rigorous mountain pilgrimages, Balinese believe that, to achieve harmony, the forces of good must be saluted with offerings, while the forces of evil must be appeased. With an estimated 20,000 temples and shrines, Bali is known as the "Island of the Gods," and every village has at least one temple with buildings dedicated to Vishnu, Brahma, and Shiva (the Creator, the Preserver, and the Destroyer).

Celebrations -- Tooth filing is a rite of maturation, wherein the sharp front teeth, especially the canines, are filed down smooth (the idea being to differentiate humans from the animals). This can happen at any age, even after death, but is most often done to adolescents.

Weddings in Bali are unique, colorful affairs not to be missed, and cremations are surprisingly festive as well. Burning the body is the only way a soul can be freed of its earthly self and travel to its next incarnation (or to enlightenment), and death is a joyous occasion in Bali, full of floats and fanfare. Complicated towers (the higher the caste, the higher the tower) hold the body, carried aloft by cheering men who turn the tower in circles to send the spirit to heaven as they carry it to the burning ground. It's an extraordinary and wonderful event; there are even tours that will take you, or you can ask at any losmen (hostel) or at your hotel front desk. Cremations in Ubud are particularly noteworthy.

Compared to Western churchgoing, celebrations in Bali are very casual: Women gossip, children play, and dogs wander temple grounds freely, snacking on offerings. A priest chants, people pray and then get up, and others take their places. Ask before taking photos, and stay on your best behavior. Balinese are generally most welcoming and might even invite you for food or drinks.

Music & Dance -- The tones of the gamelan -- the bright-sounding metal percussion ensembles that accompany just about every celebration and ceremony here -- will first turn your head. Music is everywhere in Bali, from the raucous dangdut, or Indonesian pop pouring from restaurants and shops, to folk music and the refined classical music that accompanies the many staged dance performances and temple worship.

If you have a chance, don't miss a performance of traditional dance. Legong and Barong dances are intricate ballets depicting scenes from the epic Ramayana. Kecak dance is a circle of up to 100 men chanting rhythmically and telling the saga of a monkey king and his warriors. It's a colorful, fun experience. Many hotels hold shows; the Royal Palace in Ubud is a good choice. If you're lucky, you'll find a real, nontourist performance in an outlying village.

Wayang Kulit, or shadow-puppet plays, feature intricately cut leather figures that puppeteers use to project images against a screen. Wayang Kulit shows also depict tales from the Hindu epics and are accompanied by a gamelan ensemble and the voices of puppeteers (often injecting news, gossip, and bawdy jokes).

Arts & Crafts -- Decoration and craft are as seamlessly woven into the fabric of life in Bali as are dance, music, and ritual. Fine carving and craftwork can be found adorning the most humble dwelling. Craftsmen are highly revered, and skilled wood and stone carvers turn out authentic works in street-side studios all over the island (concentrated in Ubud). Visitors are sure to walk away with some beautiful, original finds in wood and stone.

Masks used in traditional performance, many of the bug-eyed demoness Rangda, make fine souvenirs. (Beware: Tradition has it that even tourist copies can be inhabited!) There's a lot of mass-produced clutter, and lots of these works have been "aged" by an artful banging around on the sidewalk; authentic antiques are rare, so be cynical of claims of authenticity -- though the copies can be quite good.

Ancient stylized paintings of deities and the delicately carved "lontar" palm-frond books are both still produced on the island. Expatriates have had as much influence on modern Balinese art as the ancients. As guiding patrons, men such as Rudolf Bonnet, a Dutchman, and Walter Spies, whose home on the site of the Tjampuhan Hotel in Ubud became central to the arts in Ubud, influenced local painters, opened societies, and brought the glory of Bali to the world at large. With a little searching, you can find some real masterpieces.

Etiquette -- Since the Balinese have been hosting foreign tourists for decades, they are fairly laid-back and accepting of Western habits -- but even the Balinese have their traditions that should be respected. The most important rule is to cover up your legs and shoulders when entering a temple; most hotels supply sarongs for temple visits. The Balinese also ban menstruating women from temples. When speaking with locals, avoid pointing with your index finger. If you must point, stick out your thumb and make a fist with the rest of your fingers.

Language -- The Balinese speak both Indonesian and Balinese -- the former when out in public, the latter at home. Aside from the tendency toward seemingly jaw-breaking polysyllabic phrases, Indonesian is not that hard to learn; pronunciation is pretty straightforward, and spelling is phonetic. Balinese is much more complicated, not least because there are three levels -- high, middle, and low -- depending on the class and authority of the person to whom you are speaking.

English is spoken widely, and if you've learned a few words of Malay, you can give them a try here as the languages are quite similar. For a list of useful Malay phrases, please see "Language" in chapter 8.