Is Tourism Destroying Bali’s Sacred Balance?

Is Tourism Destroying Bali’s Sacred Balance?

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GK has just turned nine he dances the Baris  the Warriors dance his movements are amazingly precise dance a choreography  from another age at his age why   in Bali Customs are still transmitted  down the generations because the balones   believe so strongly in them tradition is  vital to them despite their constantly   changing environment despite a host of  pressures weighing them down Bali still resists Bali sits on an enormous volcanic  chain that stretches from Sumatra to New   Guinea about the size of Corsica Bali  would be just one more Island among 7,000   and others but it is a peaceful exception in  the heart of Indonesia Indonesia a country too   young and a history too filled with ethnic  conflict political crisis and economic Misfortune in the midst of this  turmoil Bali tries to keep its   balance Balan between the volcanoes and the sea volcano and danger are synonymous but also  fertility and wealth so the balones have made   volcanoes the place where their divinities  live they have shaped the mountain sides in   order to grow rice and to create their way  of life a life centered on the community the sea the Bales fear it it gets upset  so easily with the slightest puff of wind   so they've made it the place where their  demons dwell and the spirits of their dead preserving a balance between water and fire  between demons and divinities between their   age-old culture and modern times so  the balones live by offerings thanking   some gods for what they have received and  appeasing others the ones they must never neglect Pak laner is the music  master of his village he lives in   this small house and keeps the orchestra's  instruments his position is respected his   Village's worth is measured by  the orchestra's talent [Music] the laner family is already making the  offerings required to ward off small daily worries a few yards away the Sumptuous  residents of IBU anom iuam visits areas   of her house to honor each important place a  Banana Leaf a few grains of rice a flower with   a gracious movement consecrate these  offerings that will be replaced at sundown Bahasa Indonesia is spoken at  the Village School it was drawn from   Malaysian and was forced on dozens of millions  of Indonesians so that they could talk to each other this well- behaved little kid is called  gek gek speaks only balines at home his whole   life he'll have to juggle between his  parents tongue and the language of his country a challenge for his [Music] education 2 K away Ubud is the  Tourist Village in the heart of   the island there is a constant contact  with visitors who spend a lot of money here the entire local economy depends on this bounty terrifying local product sometimes  pile up in shops waiting for a wouldbe buyer a few offerings might as  well ward off evil as well as possible very near the Village Center  in a luxuriant garden very young pupils   learn music it's a rough job for  the teachers not to mention for the students pakan likes to spend time here to  help the kids practice the complex art of   the gamalon and master their instrument  but most of all to learn how to play [Music] together the technique seems hard but from  the cradle these future musicians are swaddled   in balan's rhythms a few more months of work  and the next generation will be ready [Music]   if GC is learning to dance if the  other kids are learning to play   the gamalon it's because their parents  encourage them to and because Bali must   show off its wonders bali's sights  each more beautiful than the last   rice patties temples mausoleums hills and  mountains they all seem chosen for their   Harmony and they are innumerable they illustrate  the diversity in which Bali has lived its entire   history a cliff becomes a mausoleum of Buddhist  Kings this Royal Palace becomes a funny Ode to the   old Demons of [Music] Mythology this hermit's  cave has turned into a bat protecting Temple [Music]   this Temple is devoted to a Divinity  of Hindu Origins but the giant Fus   recalls the first of Buddhist sermons [Music]   this hill Harbors a temple facing the volcano but  that the Watchmen are there to repel evil [Music] spirits 2 million tourists are drawn by  this overabundance of sites every year   more than there are balones living  on the island it is not enough to   come pray in the temples a whole daily  routine occurs there in all simplicity the faithful have come to consecrate  offerings but tourists have turned up   their curiosity and ignorance sometimes  grade on protocol or become too invasive   what difference does it make openness and  tolerance are daily fair for the Banes and sometimes in a most restful  Place some of them don't hesitate   to make the place even more magical in  the hopes of taking in a coin or two more Balan religion is turned  towards the heights towards the   volcano the more roots on a cenot the more  important was the deceased in the pecking order hierarchy is still strictly  observed in Bali a place of casts   and clans hard to contravene each person has  a specific place which is vital for overall Harmony The Village temples themselves  are represented in the highest   temple on the side of the volcano  the Mother Temple is in Baki the   largest and the most venerated the one  that symbolizes all the temples on the   island and the union of the balones  in their beliefs and their convictions [Music] each Temple must be honored at least once a year  when its birthday is celebrated not a day goes   by without a Village's temple being visited and  decorated so there are more feast days in Bali   than there are days in the year and the faithful  are there at every [Music] birthday at about 400   p.m. life in the village just stops everyone  has taken the time to produce wondrous sugary   Confections and fruit and flowers families  file into the heart of the temple carrying   their offerings for a ceremony that only lasts  a few minutes the offerings don't stay there the   divinities don't indulge in the real thing only  in their Essence so the villages return home and feast at the birthdays of major temples families   wait in line for hours before  getting in for the blessing mythical characters like the barong  The Village protector are carried in   great pomp to give the celebration  even greater circumstance [Music] for a few years now the celebrations  have become more and more lavish the   faithful more numerous and the offerings  more beautiful because the Bolognese due   to outside pressures want to stress  their difference and confirm their specificity dozens of assistants lend the priests   a helping hand for ritual aspersion  and to handle the growing devotional [Music] fervor in the evening when the endless procession   files out of the temple the  magnitude of the fervor is evident Bali draws new strength  from it perhaps to hide its [Music] frailties Hinduism and Buddhism have  lived together for a long time now then   Along Came Islam the balones accepted it  but in the world's largest Islamic State   ethnic minorities disturb things different  beliefs disturb things successful tourism   in Bali disturbs things so the msen  chant blares out a little louder each   day from the tops of the growing number of  minets a page in bali's history is being turned four generations have come together in  IU an Nom's house to prepare for the school fed   the Min stars are being  dressed and made up before the [Music] rehearsal p laner is there  to weave a musical background [Music] grandmother Anam a celebrated dancer in the 50s  and her daughter choc rati a dancer herself chip   in to give the little kids an idea of what  they have to do and let them try out their moves a few miles away GK has come to  the dance Master's house for his weekly [Music] lesson Pak tutur imparts his final  instructions before starting the course [Music] speeech back to tour takes hold  of the boy to guide his every movement there is little room for improvisation  in the dance each position each movement is [Music] [Applause] [Music] codified the dancer's skill is  judged by the Precision of his   execution at only 9 years old getek  is quite simply amazing [Music] [Music] the tegas gamalon is famous throughout the region  paner teaches us the basics of Balan music first   of all there's the trong which is composed  of gongs and is played by three musicians then the other theong they play  with B note melody in alternating pairs then is the Gat come in and are  played in synchronized or alternating tws the drums are played together  with support from the Bas [Music] gong then there is the Rhythm  instrument very fast the symbols that play and finally the fluts very sweet that  play [Music] this music is incredible in its   dexterity and synchronization JC was dazzled  by its Purity the tegas gong is known for the   quality of its instruments and the fluidity of  its play 32 notes a bar are dashed out by farmer   musicians who laugh among themselves without  seeming to pay much attention to the [Music] score gck is about to make his  entrance in the theater Temple   of his village in front of his kin  who won't miss a beat of his [Music] performance the bars dance the dance  of the warrior calls for confidence   and rare self-control at 9: and with no  obvious stage fright the kit is brilliant [Music] [Music] GK also loves to dance because there are  more and more shows in [Music] Bali The   Villages most visited by tourists put on  shows which means the presence of a big   troop this is great for the village amateur  who hone their talent and earn a little money   so tourism takes part in preserving [Music]  tradition certain shows are embellished Balan style even if the plot of the show is dramatic   tragic humor and a comical twist  are part of the local character but for all that the shows lose nothing of their  religious Beginnings when they finish with the   fight between borong and his enemy rang da a  priest must be present to calm everything down [Music] tourism has Unleashed a much more  Twisted effect the Boom in local crafts the cataloges of Exotic Furniture all   come from these beehives and yet the  workers have a hard time making ends meat over the past 20 years this activity  has taken on hallucinating proportions   hundreds of workshops have been opened  thousands of workers have been hired   hundreds of tons of raw materials are  swallowed up every month Latin bamboo   Fabric and lava stone wind up on  the shelves of shops around the world but more often than not the workshop  owners are not even banese on the other   hand their employees mostly are so who  benefits from the inflow of currency the workshops produce thousands of items a  day things vaguely bines but also copies of   African Australian or european artifacts  they make anything anything demanded by   the market place in order that's  all the shops are overflowing with   stuff to the point where tourists no  longer know where to or if they should buy certain artists execute oversized sculptures  for good hardwood the matter is a closed book in   Bali there simply isn't anymore so it has to be  imported from sui or New Guinea and the stocks   are getting seriously depleted but the Banes  themselves want nothing of all this craftsmanship   they are only interested in  those objects that serve in their temples even the traditional art of the miniature  the extraordinary game of patients with diluted   ink played in batan doesn't attract The Bolognese  only the world's museums and collectors seek out   and preserve this age-old traditional technique  yet it constitutes a major part of Bales artistic   knoow ironically Indonesian does not even  have a word or artist they simply talk about workers these two former Woodworkers  have teamed up and become sculptors   of masks for the topang theater  as one of them was also a dancer   they have become topang dancers a  sacred art that is part of every ceremony each mask is a minor masterpiece   their proportions the choice of varnish or  their ability to change expression depending   on the dancer's posture these art objects only  take on their real personality when they are [Music] danced a ceremony is underway weang has   added a costume to the mask  and he is now the minister [Music] it's a tooth filing ceremony  as custom dictates all the village   families have been invited as the families  arrive one by one bearing gifts for their hosts offerings and gifts are consecrated  at the entrance by an officiating priest small or large each offering has a  shape a meaning and a precise role in the ritual IU could not refuse the invitation  because of her rank in the village she   must honor all ceremonies and offer gifts  worthy of her rank a ruinous obligation that   almost cost her father the family house  over anxious as he was to respect his [Music] obligations pakan  here and the Tas gong are [Music] there the idea behind the tooth  filing ritual is to even up the   six upper teeth of teenagers and thus  rid them of the six deadly sins the   main question is to know which sin  has been dropped from the balines list this ceremony is a little special the father  belongs to the wesa cast The Merchant cast and   each ceremony has to be organized on par with the  family's rank the father had to wait until the age   of 52 to gather the funds and invest the price  of a small house all for satisfying a tradition first of all the ceremony has a virtual  side to it the officiating priests gently   Taps the kids in scissor teeth who  as it by Miracle are more reassured [Music]   but at dawn the next day the father and  his brother are the first to appear and   there is nothing virtual about this right [Music] [Laughter] this immemorial practice gets the Island's  dentists hopping mad but what can they do   tradition is the stronger [Music] weang the topang dancer has dawned another mask he  is playing the role of a character with religious functions the former woodworker blesses the participants art and religion  are indistinguishable [Applause] [Music]   IU an does indeed have a lot of obligations  present in the morning at the tooth filing   here she is now with her friends of the elders  Club giving a free show to the Village [Music] [Music] despite their venerable age  these Show Pops and grandmas   perform dance is more suited for 20  year olds and the audience loves it [Music] [Applause] a few hours a few minutes later  in the same Village IBU Anam had   just enough time to change and  take part in a ceremony at the   main Temple she has to be there even  if her fatigue is starting to show [Music]   our friends the topang dancers are there too the  topang is present at every ceremony if only one   dance could survive in Bali it would have to be  the topang it combines the secular with the sacred it is barely 5:00 a.m. in kusamba the  market has already set up the working   day is long and tiring so they Moonlight  to pick up a bit of extra cash on the   side it is mostly women at this early  hour trying to improve their daily lot at 5:30 a voice is heard the Weds in calling  all Muslims to prayer an intrusion that is   repeated four times a day both communities live  side by side with nothing in common they just   have to live with the same reality which  gets a little bit harder each day [Music] this immense volcanic sand beach is in a less  touristy part of the island shows and tourism   are not on the [Music] agenda three fishing  villages maintain a fleet of Dugout canoes   prahus they're called pretty frail Vehicles  not ideal for confronting a capricious sea   the slightest gust of wind and  you'd wish you'd stayed on [Music] [Music] land here one doesn't go  to Sea one is pushed pushed by   the need to exploit the few resources  that this part of the island offers [Music] the sea and fishing are not a Balan strong   point they're too afraid of the  demons that have taken shelter there the heads of elephant fish that decorate the   prow are not enough to avoid the evil  eye even less for finding a miracle [Music] catch but as there are a lot of fish in  local Waters half of the boats of these fishermen   come from Java or lombok causing more than a  few here to say that foreigners are stealing   the livelihoods of the [Music] Banes what  can be done here to earn at least a minimum wage at one end of the beach men and women  lug tons of seaw water to produce gray salt water is spread on the sand then left to dry   a few hours in the sun where it turns  gray and is gathered on the surface these surfs of the sea extract a few shovel  fulls of this highly prized salt a day half   a dollar per pound $1 a kilo such is  the price of this consensual slavery [Applause] tenanan is a very old village where their beliefs  are different four centuries ago tenanan Villages   resisted the arrival of the princes and kings  from java they maintained their original beliefs   remaining faithful to the divinities of  vedism even older than those of [Music] Hinduism here they live very well off of  Tourism The Village's very unique shape and   weaving techniques explain why it receives so  many [Music] visits the weaving is called eat   each thread of the weft is dyed before the warp  is weaved the threads of the warp must therefore   perfectly match the weft in order to compose  the final patterns weeks of work are required   from The Villages old women to make even just  one [Music] scarf tenanan still abides by the   Traditions one of them is amazing the sacrifice  of a young Buffalo it is a big loss for the village a youth has been designated for  the task but he doesn't look very short   of himself he hesitates a long time to give the  first [Applause] blows mockery flies from all   sides and the right is slow to [Applause]  evolve the sacrificer lacks experience   and maybe conviction too he is being asked to  kill a tireless companion of the rice patties offering to the divinities giving in  order to honor to appease giving also   in the hopes of receiving you have  to do it even when it breaks your heart at the [ __ ] fights too they sacrifice what  they love best balan's passion for Roosters is   clear the birds are trained and massaged every day  before being thrown into the ring to fight to the [Applause] death for the last 25 years [ __ ]  fighting has been banned in the country but   the balines countered that it is part of  their religious ritual a sacrifice to the gods fights are again tolerated but only in Bali so the passion for the ritual and for gambling   is back in [Applause] [Music]  [Applause] [Music] [Applause] force although most ceremonies are extremely   expensive compared to incomes few  balones would want to give up their Customs they may live in jeans and  t-shirts but young Banes want to   marry as their parents did with ceremonial  robes makeup and protocol which reassure all generations culture and tradition are becoming the  rampart against threats to Balan identity because   the balones fear that one day they won't be able  to control the consequences of their situation   they seek the answers to what most deeply  worries them in their past and in their customs some of these fears are assuaged in ritual the  fear of the spirits needs no more describing   here but when it comes to the soul of  a family member fear becomes anguish   no ceremony is followed more attentively  than cremation a widow of a Brahman has   just died and the soul of someone so  highly ranked must be sent off quickly [Music] for a nobleman cremation costs a  fortune the higher the cast The   More The ceremonious Complex the higher the  tower the more beautiful The Cremation animal   and the more guests have to be invited and  there has to be a priest with a powerful SP   Spirit to send the soul well into the Beyond  so that it never returns to haunt the living   at each intersection the tower Twirls around so  that the soul can never find its way back to the house the Bears sag under the weight and  the heat they've also been drinking they   wear headdresses they are afraid afraid  the soul may get entangled in their hair [Music] the procession comes to The Cremation  venue the bowl that will be used to   burn the body is opened to  make room for the REM remains [Music] the family has gathered around the  coffin to place precious objects inside [Music] [Laughter] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Music]   in just a few minutes a sizable  portion of the inheritance Goes   Up in Smoke to successfully complete  the ritual honor the departure of an   elder and to send the soul along  as far as possible away from this world not a tear not a sign of sadness in the  eyes of the celebrants today is a real Feast Day a Deliverance half an hour later the gas burners  have done their job for the ceremony to be   successfully completed the close relatives  must carefully gather their remains into an n the ashes have to be taken to the Sea  the places where so many harmful demons   live but the sea is the future of the Dead [Music] the procession winds its way to the beach at  Sor one of the tourist's favorite places what   difference do it make if the holiday  makers are willing to live so close   to the demons for this family senur is  above all the place where its mour must end a few hundred yards away  there's another tourist Beach CA   in 1970 CA Beach was a small fishing Community  the worst sorts of spirits were gathered there   it was said CA and its inhabitants were  almost banished from the map today CA is   a huge seaside resort where anything goes or  almost an excessiveness a nonsense in Balan   morality except for those born poor and banished  in CA but lucky enough to own a bit of land they   have adapted and are now surfing on the wave  of the great God dollar drawn by the Boom the   Javanese came running and bought up land built  shops they now rent it all for a fortune with the   stock to the Balan Bak laner has come into town  hell for him everything he feels to be dangerous   is there noise crowds short tempers destabilize  the balines like him and wrench them from their habits but what's to be done before this  flood of noisy stumbling modernness all   these fascinating Novelties attract  the young and others to a lifestyle   they don't control very well but it  works Fascination is at its height even if the morning Market looks like the  one in his village only bigger and even if   the women still make offerings laner would  never live in town or let his children the   Zeal of the stall Keepers their haste to  sell their push for gain seems palpable to   him these farmer stall keepers have  to accept all these modern expenses   with the same income as 20 years ago how could  they behave differently so laner heads back   towards the mountain to peace and quiet towards  the reflection of another part of balan's [Music] reality he returns to the rice patties where  every day is an effort so that normal life   can continue so that the riches of the earth  water and the V volcano develop and benefit the   community here people's daily lives are linked  with those of their neighbors the words Mutual   Aid sharing solidarity have not yet lost their  meaning because on one's own it is impossible to   maintain the miles of low walls that separate the  rice patties because it is Unthinkable to use the   water that nourishes each plot as each person  sees fit without risking flooding or drought   because it is impossible on one's own to replant  the thousands of rice shoots needed for a good   harvest because it is impossible to harvest an  entire rice Patty alone balan's lifestyle and   social structures have evolved over centuries  they have learned to live and work together   and to protect their Traditions based on a  hierarchy but also through interdependence and sharing today the pressures Weighing on them  are turning Society inside out it's divide and   conquer but it is impossible to live alone here  the balones still try to live together Gathering   whenever they can to mark their differences or  for Comfort to resist the Injustice they more and   more turn to violence violence an unimaginable  word in the local vocabulary just 30 years ago   in October 2002 violence struck Bali claiming  200 lives and causing indignation since then   the Banes no longer know what to do to ward off  this curse the tragedy went beyond their capacity   for tolerance and moderation they are trying to  overcome this new threat with rituals offerings   and incantations but will that be enough enough to  reins Harmony on the island enough to find within   themselves a new subtle balance balance between a  Divine volcano and a demon see who knows [Music]

2025-01-17 23:33

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