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.