History

The Hindu religion and culture was brought to Indonesia about 2,000 years ago, probably by Indian traders. Early inscriptions show that many areas of present day Indonesia including Sumatra, Kalimantan and Java came under the influence of the new beliefs. But it was in Central and Eastern Java where the greatest of the Hindu Kingdoms arose and nearby Bali naturally came under their influence. In the 15th century these kingdoms declined and with the spread of the new religion of Islam, large numbers of priests, nobility and craftsmen, of the last of the great Hindu kingdoms moved to Bali. From this time on and because of various factors, the Balinese were successful in resisting influences from outside the island and preserving their culture, in fact up to the present day. The Balinese have always been strong in resisting military conquest and later Javanese attempts to secede the island, always met with failure. Due to a lack of good harbors and to the small volume of trade, the Moslem religion never succeeded in taking a firm hold in the coastal area as it did for example in Java. The Dutch administration was content to have the local Balinese kingdoms virtually untouched because of the absence of many important exportable commodities. It was only in 1906 that the island was finally brought under colonial rule and the succeeding administration remained only nominal. Local social structures and religious practices were not changed or influenced to any extent. Indeed it could be said that the Dutch administration took almost a paternalistic attitude towards the people, the culture, the religion and the traditions which had remained unchanged throughout the cultures.

For these reasons, the customs and traditions of present day Bali are a living link with the past, drawing their origins from a time when the world was young, when the human race looked out on the world with the clear bright eyes of childhood and saw pleasure and happiness in everything around it.

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