Effects of rapidly changing culture in Bali discussed

Effects of rapidly changing culture in Bali discussed

By Benito Lopulalan

SYDNEY (JP): Bali is not an island in itself. It has inspired
many writers, photographers, dancers and last, but not least,
anthropologists. Many books have been written which describe or
analyze Balinese culture.

"Culture is not dynamicless," says professor Ngurah Bagus, a
prominent academic in Balinese studies.

According to Bagus, culture has something dynamic within it
which could ensure its own survival. The dynamism of Balinese
culture and its survival need continuous attention and moreover,
people's consciousness, otherwise it could be wiped out.

"This dynamicness of culture could ironically also endanger
culture itself, especially in places like Bali where rapid
economic growth is highly visible," Bagus said.

The way anthropologists are looking to history or observing
what is happening in present day Balinese culture became the
major focus of the third International Bali Workshop held at the
University of Sydney, Australia between July 3 and 7. The
workshop, which saw thirty two papers from Indonesia, Australia,
America, England, France, German, Japan, Switzerland and Belgium,
attracted eighty participants.

Some papers discussed the historical aspects of cultural
change in Bali. I Wayan Ardika, an archeologist from Udayana
University, for instance, observed the formation of a
"prehistoric gateway" in some Balinese communities.

"Archeological research now indicates that ranked or social
stratification might have already existed in Balinese society
during the Early Metal Period, and were related to external trade
routes." In spite of the importance of this kind of research,
many anthropologists are tempted to concentrate on what is
currently happening in the development of Bali.

"What does it mean to become modern in Bali, is an
increasingly important question," says Dr. Adrian Vickers, a
prominent Australian historian, whose book Bali, A Paradise
Created, has attracted a great deal of attention. Vickers raises
the question because, in recent years, many aspects of life in
Bali have radically changed because of tourism. "It is not only
important for Bali, however," says Dr. Mark Hobart, from the
University of London, "the question can also be raised and
directed to such places as Malang or Yogyakarta."

In many articles about Bali, especially from the beginning of
this century and even in recent times, describing Bali has become
synonymous with describing the Balinese people and their culture.
However, in contemporary times Bali has been considered as
something of a "golden island" which has attracted people from
all over Indonesia, and indeed all over the world like a cultural
or economic magnet. "This tendency towards heterogeneity has
changed many aspects of culture in Bali," says Gede Pitana, a
Canberra-based Balinese Anthropologists.

In brief, many anthropologists now concentrate on the question
of tradition and modernity in contemporary Bali. The importance
of this reflection is demonstrated in the remarks of many of the
Balinese anthropologists who attended the workshop.

"Balinese-ness finds a new way of expression by using its own
sensitivity," says Degung Santikarma, a Denpasar-based
anthropologist.

In his paper, Santikarma observed the usage of many living-
idioms that have found new meaning in modern Bali, such as Koh
Ngomog (passive commentary), which is particularly seen in both
newspaper headlines and in satirical cartoons. As well as Prof.
Bagus, Santikarma emphasizes the importance of anthropological
research as a tool of reflection for the Balinese.

Some papers strongly represented reflections of Bali. Nyoman
Dharma Putra, a Denpasar based anthropologist and journalist,
whose paper cited twenty pieces of poetry about Bali, remarked,
"while there are many paintings and cartoons, on which Bali is
the main theme - poetry also reveals Bali in an explorative way."

Reflections

Within the artistic sense of words, according to Putra, people
can feel many perceptions from outsiders as well as indigenous
perceptions of Balinese about culture, nature and society. Some
of these perceptions can be romantic in their beautifying of Bali
or the Balinese. Others reveal Bali's tiredness, buffeted as it
is by the waves of change and modernity. In there own artistic
way, however, these representations can be adopted by other
societies in Indonesia. In this way "poetry, with its levels of
meaning can be interpreted as an alternate source of reflection
both in Bali and across the archipelago," says Putra.

Another paper, presented by cultural observer Dr. AAM
Djelantik, entitled Is there a shift taking place in Balinese
aesthetic?, supposes to be inward-looking, from a Balinese whose
activities often regard many aspects of culture. In his paper,
Djelantik reveals how the changes in society can also be seen in
many carvings and sculptures.

Unlike some art-observers, who are worried about the use of
cement rather that soft-stone paras in Bali, Djelantik emphasizes
that Balinese artists in general do not feel that the use of
cement as a material affronts their aesthetic. Djelantik remarks,
"The introduction of new technology, particularly cement casts,
has not changed anything fundamentally."

The theme of this workshop was "Bali in the late twentieth
century global communication, national identity and local
connections". What role the global culture has in Bali is
reflected in Dr. Mark Hobart's observation on television-
viewing. He insists that this new culture has implicated the
Balinese notion of time, work ethic and relations with other
cultures.

Television

"By watching television, many Balinese encounter a different
culture," Hobart says. By the same token, many villagers realize
that they are part of a nation, that is part of Indonesia, and
part of a global world. Hobart insists that television has become
an alternative source for many Balinese who in the past have
observed traditional performances as their primary cultural
experience.

Economically, encounters with "outsider economic actors" has
also created a particular middle class culture in Bali. Putu
Suasta, himself an active entrepreneur and social observer, puts
forward these conditions. Apart from the cultural questions
above, Made Suarnatha, a member of the Denpasar-based Wisnu
Foundation, made some important remarks on their environmental
burden in Bali. According to Suarnatha, the condition of
development generates a misleading cultural perception about
Subak (village-based community organization on irrigation), which
then changes the Balinese's perception of land and nature.

Since the era of Walter Spies in the 1930s, Bali has attracted
many observers and anthropologists. This workshop reflects this
situation as Westerners dominated the conference. Hildred Geertz,
Professor of Anthropology at Princeton University in the United
Stated, says that anthropology should hold neutral views about
culture.

Santikarma remarked, "The encountering between cultures,
anthropologists and Balinese, is a culture in itself."

Santikarma believes that observing Bali can be considered
fruitful for both the Balinese and the anthropologists who study
Bali. That is as long as Bali is not considered as a "human zoo",
merely observed below an anthropological microscope as an object
of academic interest.