Bali Island
the
beginning there was nothing, all was emptiness; there was
only space. Before there were the heavens, there was no earth,
and when there was no earth, there was no sky. . . . Through meditation,
the world serpent Antaboga created the turtle Bedawang, on whom
lie coiled two snakes as the foundation of the World. On the world
turtle rests a lid, the Black Stone. There is no sun, there is
no moon, there is no night in the cave below (the underside of
the stone); this is the underworld, whose gods are the male Batara
Kala and the female Setesuyara. There lives also the great serpent
Basuki. . . . "
Kala created the light and
Mother Earth, over which extends a layer of water. Over this again
are consecutive domes or skies, high and low; one of mud (which
dried to become the earth and the mountains); then the 'empty'
middle sky (the atmosphere), where Iswara dwells; above this is
the floating sky, the clouds, where Semara sits, the god of love.
Beyond that follows the 'dark' (blue) sky with the sun and the
moon, the home of Surya; this is why they are above the clouds.
Next is the Perfumed Sky beautiful and full of rare flowers where
live the bird Tiak, whose face is like a human face, the serpent
Taksaka, who has legs and wings, and the awan snakes, the falling
stars. Still higher in the sky gringsing wayang, the' flaming
heaven of the ancestors! And over all the skies live the great
gods who keep watch over the heavenly nymphs." Thus we have
it that the island rests on the turtle, which floats on the ocean.
As the last Asiatic outpost
to the east, Bali is interesting to the naturalist as an illustration
of the theory of evolution. In 1869 Alfred Russell Wallace discovered
that the fauna and flora typical of Asia end in Bali, while the
earlier, more primitive biologi. cal forms found in Australia
begin to appear in the neighboring island of Lombok, just east
of Bali. Here the last tigers, cows,
This is
from the Catur Yoga, a popular manuscript which translated for
the sake of practice on the language. It consists of ideas on
cosmogony, mythology, legends of the creation of man, etc., ending
in a confused set of rules for crema tion and Balinese genealogies.
(Banteng), Monkeys, woodpeckers,
pythons, etc., of Asia are not to be found farther east, and the
cockatoos, parrots, and giant lizards predominate. Bali has the
luxuriant vegetation of tropical Asia, while Lombok is and and
thorny, like Australia. Wallace drew a line across the narrow
straits between Bali and Lombok, the deepest waters in the archipelago,
to divide Asia from Oceania.' Today, however, scientists are more
inclined to regard the islands as a transitional region.
As in all countries near
the Equator, Bali has an eternal summer with even, warm weather,
high humidity, and a regular variation of winds, but the unbearable
heat of lands similarly situated is greatly relieved by sea breezes
that blow constantly over the descending slopes of the four volcanoes
that form the island. The seasons are not distinguished as hot
and cold, but as wet and dry. It is pleasantly cool and dry during
our summer months, when the southeasterly winds blow, but in November
the north-west monsoon ushers in six months of a rainy season
so violent that it makes everything rot away, growing green whiskers
of mould on shoes that are not shined every day. Then the atmosphere
becomes hot and sticky and the torrential rains that lash the
island cause landslides that often carry enormous trees into the
deep ravines cut into the soft volcanic ash by the rivers, themselves
red with earth washed from the mountain. Brooks and rivers swell
into huge torrents (banjir) that rise unexpectedly with a deafening
roar, in front of one's eyes, carrying away earth, plants, and
occasional drowned pigs, destroying bridges and irrigation works.
It is not unusual for a careless bather to be surprised by a sudden
banjir and to be carried away in the muddy stream.
It is only natural that
in a land of steep mountains, with such abundant rains, crossed
in all directions by streams and great rivers, on a soil impregnated
with volcanic ash, the earth should attain great richness and
fertility. The burning tropical sun shining on the saturated earth
produces a steaming, electric, hot. house atmosphere that gives
birth to the dripping jungles that cover the slopes of the. Volcanoes
with prehistoric tree-ferns, pandanus, and palms, strangled in
a mesh of creepers of all sorts, their trunks smothered with orchids
and alive with leeches, fantastic butterflies, birds, and screeching
wild monkeys. This exuberance extends to the cultivated parts
of the island, where-the rice fields that cover this over-populated
land produce every year, and without great effort, two crops of
the finest rice in the Indies.
Despite the enormous population,
the lack of running water has kept the western part of the island
uninhabited and wild. The few remaining tigers, and the deer,
wild bog, crocodiles, great lizards, jungle cocks, etc., are the
sole dwellers in this and hilly country covered with a dusty,
low brush. Curiously enough, the Balinese regard this deserted
land (Pulaki) as their place of origin. They explain in an old
legend that a great city, which still exists, once flourished
there, but has been made invisible to human eyes by Wahu Rahu,
the greatest Brahmana from Java, who was forced to flee from the
capital, Gelgel, to save his beautiful daughter from the king
(by caste his inferior) and who found refuge in Pulaki by making
the city invisible to the wicked king and his followers.
Another and region in contrast
with the extravagant fertility of the island is the peninsula
of limestone called Tafelhoek (Bukit to the Balinese) which rises
to a height of 700 feet above the sea. This curious tableland,
which shows every indication of having once been at the bottom
of the ocean, is joined to the mainland by 2 low, narrow isthmus,
but its sides rise almost vertically from the sea, and on the
extremity of a long narrow rock, with a straight drop Of 250 feet,
is the fantastically situated temple of Uluwatu, one of the holiest
in Bali. This projecting rock is believed to be the ship, turned
to stone, of Dewi Danu, the goddess of waters.
The mountains with their
likes and rivers are the home of the gods and the sources of the
land's fertility, and they stand for everything that is holy and
healthy. To the Balinese everything that is high is good and powerful,
so it is natural that the sea, lower than the lowest point of
land, with the sharks and barracuda that infest the waters, and
the deadly sea-snakes and poisonous fish that live among the treacherous
coral reefs, should be considered as tenget, magically dangerous,
the home of the evil spirits. Few Balinese know how to Swim and
they rarely venture into the sea except to bathe near the shallow
beaches, and then they go only a few feet from the shore. There
are small settlements of fishermen who brave the malarial coasts
of Kuta, Sanur, Benua, and Ketewel, but in general fishing is
done on a small scale, either with casting-nets, or in beautiful
prows shaped like fantastic
Elephant-fish " (gajah-mina)
with elegant stylized trunks, and eyes to see at night. With their
triangular sails apex downward, they go far out to sea at sunset
to procure the giant sea-turtles required at the frequent banquets
of this feast-loving people. Most Balinese seldom eat fish and
remain essentially a rice-eating race. Their repugnance for the
sea may be due to the same religious fear of the supernatural
that prevents them from climbing to the summit of the great mountains.
The Balinese feel that the heights are for the gods, the middle
world for humans, and the depths and low points for the spirits
of the underworld. They dread the unholy loneliness of the beaches
haunted by demons and they believe that the coastline is under
the influence of Jero Gede Mecaling, the Fanged Giant, who lives
on the barren island of Nusa Penida. They are one of the rare
island peoples in the world who turn their eyes not outward to
the waters, but upward to the mountain tops.
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