Bali's Hindu culture: A dying phenomenon?

Bali's Hindu culture: A dying phenomenon?

By Putu Wirata

SANUR, Bali (JP): Karaoke, the newest form of music
entertainment on the local scene, has spread its tentacles as far
as Bali, where no less than five establishments on Jl. Raya
Ngurah Rai, Sanur, are doing brisk business. Coming under the
names Barcelona, Korean Karaoke, Lenny Garden, Bali Rama and
Angin Mamiri, these sumptuously constructed entertainment places
offer karaoke singing sessions in the company of pretty and sexy
ladies, whose customers are comprised mostly of Korean and
Japanese male clients.

Karaoke has been the most popular form of entertainment in
Bali for the past two years, after the opening of the Denpasar-
Korea-Taiwan air route made Bali accessible to thousands of Asian
tourists. It did not take long for local establishments in the
entertainment business to discover that most Asian tourists are
just mad about karaoke, even more so if this singing fun were to
be combined with a certain amount of sex appeal.

Tourist demand for this kind of entertainment has spawned
instantaneous construction of more than 20 karaoke
establishments, massage parlors, bars and discotheques in the
region. The establishments flourished, even if this meant that
they had to break the rules of trade, as most are operating
without licenses.

Though cover charges are kept at minimal rates of between Rp
10,000 and Rp 15,000 (US$6.38 and $4.25), the establishments'
main sources of income come from the sales of drinks and customer
services. General customer spending per visit is reportedly Rp
100,000, comprising an entry charge, a song, drinks and snacks,
female company and a service tip.

At the New Primadonna bar, karaoke singing was spiced up with
striptease dancing. The program was short-lived when New
Primadonna had to close down in July 1995, after the authorities
discovered that the establishment had been running without a
license. Striptease dancing then disappeared from the karaoke
scene, but entertainment and pleasure continue quietly undercover
in Kuta, Sanur and Denpasar, as disguised havens for
prostitution.

When news of this reached top leaders of Forum Pemerhati Hindu
Dharma Indonesia, a Hindu religious organization, members of the
board were not at all amused.

"Sex tourism is of no use to the Balinese," commented I.D.G.N.
Swastha, a lawyer and chairman of the organization, during a
session of Bali's House of Representatives.

"If the government isn't doing something about this, pretty
soon Bali will become like Hawaii and Thailand," added Ida Anak
Agung Gde Agung, an elder on the board of the organization.

Negative effect?

What detrimental effects would karaoke, or pub life, pose to
the Hindu culture of Bali? There are no simple answers to the
question, since Bali has shown a strong sense of responsibility
in shaping its cultural image. A shining sample of this can be
observed in the ideas of the governor of Bali, Ida Bagus Mantra,
when he created The Bali Culture Fest in 1978. His idea grew into
a cultural fortress with the purpose of stemming the influx of
foreign cultures, which were making their presence felt with the
arrival of thousands of tourists on the island. The project was
called "tourism culture". Its concept was based on the assumption
that tourists visited Bali mainly to enjoy the island's scenic
beauty. Thus, tourists did not need to be served with their own
cultures.

With this concept in mind, it is not too difficult to
understand why Ida Bagus Mantra has been against sex tourism from
the start. A decision was issued by his office in 1985,
permitting operation of two nightclubs only: the Subec
Discotheque in Sanur, and the Peanut Club in Kuta.

Yet it is a far cry from today's entertainment affairs. Bali's
entertainment scene is now a fertile ground for mushrooming
nightclubs under Governor Ida Bagus Oka, who is enjoying his
second term in office. Clubs are spreading everywhere, from Nusa
Dua, Sanur, Kuta, Denpasar, to Lovina in Buleleng regency,
despite the fact that the former governor's decree is "still in
force". Prostitution is also furtively rampant.

As was earlier mentioned, several discotheques and karaoke
bars offer singing sessions in the company of attractive women.
The duration of the female accompaniment can be extended to the
intimacy of the customer's bedroom, depending on the
compatibility of both parties.

Services of the Karaoke New Primadonna waitresses on Jl. Raya
Kuta range from Rp 75,000 to Rp 150,000, applying to brief sexual
encounters as well as to the striptease shows.

A sex trade of lesser grades thrives in Sanur, Kuta and
Denpasar, where pleasure is sold at prices ranging as low as Rp
35,000 to Rp 50,000 for a brief sexual encounter.

The blatant presence of prostitution everywhere on this
"island of the gods" has become a matter of grave concern for the
culture-loving people of Bali, who shake their heads in wonder
and ask themselves what effects all this might have on the image
of their traditional culture.

Putu Suasta, 35, a young Hindu intellectual, is strongly
opposed to prostitution.

"If we go on tolerating this situation, it might evolve into
something like Surabaya's Dolly district, the largest red-light
area in East Java's capital. Dolly started with a few cottages,
which increased in number to its present situation," he said.

He is of the opinion that Hindu institutions should be more
vocal in defense of their own culture. He expressed his fears
that Bali might become like Thailand, where sex has been proven
to be the main attraction in tourism.

"I heard that more than 80 percent of Japanese, Korean and
Taiwanese tourists visiting Thailand are in search of sex," Putu
said.

Ketut Sumadi, 34, another Hindu intellectual of the Hindu
Institute, Dharma Denpasar, suggested that the government work
together with the council of village customs to eliminate this
growing evil.

"If the council is still effective, they might succeed in
eliminating the problem," he said.

Former governor Ida Bagus Mantra likened these village customs
as a cultural fortress of sorts for Bali. The government also
made use of village customs councils to introduce several
government programs to the islanders. The most successful of
these programs were family planning, a village credit foundation
and a family legal service.

Based on his long-term observations, Sumadi believes that the
service of the council has mainly been deployed for the purpose
of Hindu rituals. Meanwhile, council members should be paying
more attention to social matters.

"If every village council were able to stand firm against this
problem, prostitution would not be allowed the slightest chance
to persist," said Sumadi.