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The
South:
Badung Regency
Badung,
the southernmost regency of Bali, is the most
heavily populated area of the island - with
an average density of more than 1,000 persons
per square km. Partly this is because Denpasar,
the island's capital and principal metropolis
is here. Also, Bali's major tourist resorts
are all in Badung, and the tourist boom of the
past two decades has fueled a rapid economic
expansion and population influx to this traditional
southern court center.
Extending
north-south from the lofty central volcanic
ridge of the island to the rich rice-growing
plains around Denpasar, the regency of Badung
is geographically defined by a distributor network
of rivers and streams fed from the Plaga rain-catchments
area in the north. The clubfoot-shaped Bukit
Peninsula in the far south stands apart - its
limestone formations, thin topsoil and lack
of water make it poor and sparsely populated.
Ill-favored
as it is, the Bukit peninsula nevertheless demarcates
the Benoa bay and harbor area through which
southern Bali traditionally maintained contacts
with the outside world. Ships coming from the
Bali Strait would sail along the white beaches
of the western shore, round the inhospitable
cliffs of the Bukit, and anchor in the reef-sheltered
cove behind Kuta. Alluvium now clogs up the
back channel to Kuta, but a land bridge has
been built out into the bay to create the new
Port of Benoa here. Having reverted to marshlands,
the coast is now being developed into fishponds.
Badung's
historical role is due to its pivotal position,
allowing control over the three major elements
of Balinese economic life: irrigation, rice
and the sea. Indianization took Place early
here, as evidenced by the Prasasti Blaniong
inscription, dating from the 10th century. Besides
Bugis settlements, there are also Chinese tombs
and dances named after the Chinese - such as
the famed baris cina of Semawang and Renon.
The
town of Denpasar, also known as Badung, did
not enter the limelight until the last century.
The early island kingdoms were all farther east,
in Gianyar and Klungkung. But soon after the
Javanese conquest of the 14th century, western
princes arose and for a time Mengwi held sway
over the whole of western Bali. After the 18th
century, as foreign merchants and warships became
more intrusive, power shifted to the sea. This
was an historic opportunity for Badung's Pemecutan
clan, who defeated Mengwi in 1891.
Pemecutan's
rule was short-lived. The Dutch were at this
time expanding their territories, and having
subdued northern Bali in the mid-19th century,
they pushed their claims of suzerainty south
with increasing confidence. Many pretexts were
used rights of trade, recognition of the Dutch
crown and flag, ritual suicide of widows (suttee).
One eventually drew blood.
It
started as a common event a ship ran aground
on the reef off Sanur. The Chinese crew survived,
but the cargoes disappeared. The Dutch demanded
reparations but the raja refused and two years
later, in 1906, Dutch troops landed at Sanur.
The king chose death over surrender. Dressed
in white loincloths, row after row of kris and
spearwielding Balinese hurled themselves into
the Dutch gunfire. For them, this was an honorable
road to Indra's heaven, abode of fallen warriors.
Its
palaces destroyed, its king and warriors dead,
Badung surrendered. From the ruins of the palace,
a young boy was saved the last survivor of the
proud royal house of Pemecutan. Today, the royal
line continues. On July 15th, 1989, the boy's
grandson was installed as the new Cokorda or
King of Pemecutan. The new king is a businessman,
his palace a hotel.
More about the Badung area
-| Nusa Dua | Kuta
Legian | Sanur | Denpasar
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