Development in Bali

This is in response to the letter by Michael Beer in The Jakarta Post on April 11 titled Rituals are not good enough.

Your elaborate complaint about the situation in Bali is not new, but that is the high price the Balinese have to pay for "development". Obviously they need hard cash to fund their costly rituals and are saving for their ngaben or cremation ceremony for themselves and their families, whether deceased or still living. It is partly their religion that dictates to them to build bigger malls, more restaurants and boutiques in order to earn more money.

However, at the end of last year I visited Bali and a good friend (she is a Balinese lawyer) took me to her husband's village in the mountains one hour's drive from Denpasar along a good asphalted narrow road. I was surprised to still see lush paddy fields, amid beautiful, totally unspoiled surroundings. The elderly women still walk around bare breasted and the village is totally Balinese -- mostly wooden or bamboo homes, beautiful handcarved doors, nobody locks their homes and everybody was busy making intricate rice cookies (red, pink, yellow and white) to be sold in Denpasar and Ubud for the daily holy rituals.

Although numerous developers over the past 20 years (from Japan, Hong Kong, Australia etc) have approached this community to purchase land from them, these people have refused and are still not attracted by the big money offered. The village still has a holy spring and tiny river where both men and women bathe together every day and prepare for their rituals. The only modern construction is the new temple (although the old one still exists) and stage to be used for their holy rituals, to train children the intricate steps and movements of sacred dances as well as to play badminton or volleyball.

I felt honored to have seen this. There is hope yet for this genuinely, unspoiled part of Bali. Unfortunately, the Balinese have to work hard and find ways to protect themselves from the lure of big money as we cannot do it for them. We could protect Bali by stopping the flow of tourism, but this is of course impossible.

So, Michael Beer, whether you like it or not, do not forget that your presence there is also one of the reasons for the "ugly development" in Bali.

LYNNA VAN DER ZEE-OEHMKE

Bogor, West Java