Bali
Island
the
beginning there was nothing,
all was emptiness; there was only space. Before there
were the heavens, there was no earth, and when there
was no earth, there was no sky. . . . Through meditation,
the world serpent Antaboga created the turtle Bedawang,
on whom lie coiled two snakes as the foundation of
the World. On the world turtle rests a lid, the Black
Stone. There is no sun, there is no moon, there is
no night in the cave below (the underside of the stone);
this is the underworld, whose gods are the male Batara
Kala and the female Setesuyara. There lives also the
great serpent Basuki. . . . "
Kala
created the light and Mother Earth, over which extends
a layer of water. Over this again are consecutive
domes or skies, high and low; one of mud (which dried
to become the earth and the mountains); then the 'empty'
middle sky (the atmosphere), where Iswara dwells;
above this is the floating sky, the clouds, where
Semara sits, the god of love. Beyond that follows
the 'dark' (blue) sky with the sun and the moon, the
home of Surya; this is why they are above the clouds.
Next is the Perfumed Sky beautiful and full of rare
flowers where live the bird Tiak, whose face is like
a human face, the serpent Taksaka, who has legs and
wings, and the awan snakes, the falling stars. Still
higher in the sky gringsing wayang, the' flaming heaven
of the ancestors! And over all the skies live the
great gods who keep watch over the heavenly nymphs."
Thus we have it that the island rests on the turtle,
which floats on the ocean.
As
the last Asiatic outpost to the east, Bali is interesting
to the naturalist as an illustration of the theory
of evolution. In 1869 Alfred Russell Wallace discovered
that the fauna and flora typical of Asia end in Bali,
while the earlier, more primitive biologi. cal forms
found in Australia begin to appear in the neighboring
island of Lombok, just east of Bali.
Here the last tigers, cows,
This
is from the Catur Yoga, a popular manuscript which
translated for the sake of practice on the language.
It consists of ideas on cosmogony, mythology, legends
of the creation of man, etc., ending in a confused
set of rules for crema tion and Balinese genealogies.
(Banteng),
Monkeys, woodpeckers, pythons, etc., of Asia are not
to be found farther east, and the cockatoos, parrots,
and giant lizards predominate. Bali has the luxuriant
vegetation of tropical Asia, while Lombok is and and
thorny, like Australia. Wallace drew a line across
the narrow straits between Bali and Lombok, the deepest
waters in the archipelago, to divide Asia from Oceania.'
Today, however, scientists are more inclined to regard
the islands as a transitional region.
As
in all countries near the Equator, Bali has an eternal
summer with even, warm weather, high humidity, and
a regular variation of winds, but the unbearable heat
of lands similarly situated is greatly relieved by
sea breezes that blow constantly over the descending
slopes of the four volcanoes that form the island.
The seasons are not distinguished as hot and cold,
but as wet and dry. It is pleasantly cool and dry
during our summer months, when the southeasterly winds
blow, but in November the north-west monsoon ushers
in six months of a rainy season so violent that it
makes everything rot away, growing green whiskers
of mould on shoes that are not shined every day. Then
the atmosphere becomes hot and sticky and the torrential
rains that lash the island cause landslides that often
carry enormous trees into the deep ravines cut into
the soft volcanic ash by the rivers, themselves red
with earth washed from the mountain. Brooks and rivers
swell into huge torrents (banjir) that rise unexpectedly
with a deafening roar, in front of one's eyes, carrying
away earth, plants, and occasional drowned pigs, destroying
bridges and irrigation works. It is not unusual for
a careless bather to be surprised by a sudden banjir
and to be carried away in the muddy stream.
It
is only natural that in a land of steep mountains,
with such abundant rains, crossed in all directions
by streams and great rivers, on a soil impregnated
with volcanic ash, the earth should attain great richness
and fertility. The burning tropical sun shining on
the saturated earth produces a steaming, electric,
hot. house atmosphere that gives birth to the dripping
jungles that cover the slopes of the. Volcanoes with
prehistoric tree-ferns, pandanus, and palms, strangled
in a mesh of creepers of all sorts, their trunks smothered
with orchids and alive with leeches, fantastic butterflies,
birds, and screeching wild monkeys. This exuberance
extends to the cultivated parts of the island, where-the
rice fields that cover this over-populated land produce
every year, and without great effort, two crops of
the finest rice in the Indies.
Despite
the enormous population, the lack of running water
has kept the western part of the island uninhabited
and wild. The few remaining tigers, and the deer,
wild bog, crocodiles, great lizards, jungle cocks,
etc., are the sole dwellers in this and hilly country
covered with a dusty, low brush. Curiously enough,
the Balinese regard this deserted land (Pulaki) as
their place of origin. They explain in an old legend
that a great city, which still exists, once flourished
there, but has been made invisible to human eyes by
Wahu Rahu, the greatest Brahmana from Java, who was
forced to flee from the capital, Gelgel, to save his
beautiful daughter from the king (by caste his inferior)
and who found refuge in Pulaki by making the city
invisible to the wicked king and his followers.
Another
and region in contrast with the extravagant fertility
of the island is the peninsula of limestone called
Tafelhoek (Bukit to the Balinese) which rises to a
height of 700 feet above the sea. This curious tableland,
which shows every indication of having once been at
the bottom of the ocean, is joined to the mainland
by 2 low, narrow isthmus, but its sides rise almost
vertically from the sea, and on the extremity of a
long narrow rock, with a straight drop Of 250 feet,
is the fantastically situated temple of Uluwatu, one
of the holiest in Bali. This projecting rock is believed
to be the ship, turned to stone, of Dewi Danu, the
goddess of waters.
The
mountains with their likes and rivers are the home
of the gods and the sources of the land's fertility,
and they stand for everything that is holy and healthy.
To the Balinese everything that is high is good and
powerful, so it is natural that the sea, lower than
the lowest point of land, with the sharks and barracuda
that infest the waters, and the deadly sea-snakes
and poisonous fish that live among the treacherous
coral reefs, should be considered as tenget, magically
dangerous, the home of the evil spirits. Few Balinese
know how to Swim and they rarely venture into the
sea except to bathe near the shallow beaches, and
then they go only a few feet from the shore. There
are small settlements of fishermen who brave the malarial
coasts of Kuta, Sanur, Benua, and Ketewel, but in
general fishing is done on a small scale, either with
casting-nets, or in beautiful prows shaped like fantastic
Elephant-fish
" (gajah-mina) with elegant stylized trunks,
and eyes to see at night. With their triangular sails
apex downward, they go far out to sea at sunset to
procure the giant sea-turtles required at the frequent
banquets of this feast-loving people. Most Balinese
seldom eat fish and remain essentially a rice-eating
race. Their repugnance for the sea may be due to the
same religious fear of the supernatural that prevents
them from climbing to the summit of the great mountains.
The Balinese feel that the heights are for the gods,
the middle world for humans, and the depths and low
points for the spirits of the underworld. They dread
the unholy loneliness of the beaches haunted by demons
and they believe that the coastline is under the influence
of Jero Gede Mecaling, the Fanged Giant, who lives
on the barren island of Nusa Penida. They are one
of the rare island peoples in the world who turn their
eyes not outward to the waters, but upward to the
mountain tops.
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