Bali is an island in the Malay archipelago, in the group of the
Lesser Sunda Islands, as part of the province of the same name in
Indonesia. It is washed from the south by the Indian Ocean, from the
north by the sea of Bali of the Pacific Ocean. It is separated
from the west by the Strait of the same name from Java Island, from
the east by the Lombok Strait from Lombok Island.
The area of the island is 5780 km², its length is 145 km from east
to west and 80 km from north to south. The so-called Wallace line,
stretching east from Bali and Lombok Island, serves as the boundary
between the flora and fauna of tropical Asia and the natural areas
of Australia and New Guinea.
Bali is the westernmost of the Lesser Sunda Islands, which also
includes the islands of Nusa Tenggara (Indonesian: “Southeast Islands”).
Bali lies in the Indian Ocean between the islands of Java to the west
and Lombok to the east. Bali is separated from Java by the 2.5 km wide
Bali Strait, and from Lombok by the minimally 19 km wide Lombok Strait.
The north-south extent of the island of Bali is 95 km, from its western
tip to its eastern tip it measures 145 km.
The province extends
between 114º25′53″ and 115º42′40″ E. L. and between 08º03′40″ and
08º50′48″ S. Br.
Bali is considered a relatively young island.
The island is only separated from the Malaysian mainland by three
relatively shallow seaways. These have repeatedly dried up over time, so
that the fauna and flora of Bali do not differ very much from the
Malaysian mainland. The so-called Wallace Line runs in the Lombok Strait
between Bali and Lombok. This is the biogeographical dividing line
between Asian and Australian flora and fauna. This strait is up to 1000
meters deep and has existed for a long time, so the flora and fauna of
the two neighboring islands differ greatly.
Most of Bali's
mountains are of volcanic origin and cover around three quarters of the
entire island area. The Gunung Agung (“Big Mountain”) volcano is the
highest mountain on the island at 3,142 meters. For the Balinese it is
the seat of the gods. It is also the pole of the Balinese coordinate
system. The penultimate eruption in 1963 claimed 2,000 lives and
devastated numerous villages and fields. It last erupted in 2018. To the
west of Agung is the huge, ten kilometer wide volcanic crater of the
Batur massif, with the edge cone of Gunung Abang (2153 m) as the highest
elevation. The interior of the crater is filled by the young cone of
Gunung Batur (1717 m), which was active four times in the 20th century,
and by the crater lake Danau Batur.
The reason for the volcanic
activity is the subduction of the Sahul Plate (part of the Australian
Plate) under the Sunda Plate (part of the Eurasian Plate). It is also
responsible for volcanism on the neighboring islands to the east and
west. These, like Bali, are part of the so-called Sunda Arc, a volcanic
island arc that is generally typical of ocean-ocean subduction zones.
South of the Sunda Arc, the sea floor slopes towards the Sunda Trench.
Such deep-sea trenches are also typical of subduction zones.
Bali is the westernmost of the Lesser Sunda Islands. A mountain
range stretches from west to east of Bali - a zone of high volcanic
activity. Two large active volcanoes Agung (3142 m) and Gunung Batur
(1717 m) are located in the north-eastern part of the island.
Volcanic activity determines the high fertility of soils and affects
the development of culture. The major eruptions of the Gunung Batura
and Agung volcanoes that occurred in 1963 led to numerous
casualties, devastated the eastern regions of the island, forcing
many Balinese to emigrate.
Among other mountain peaks are the highest Batukau (2278 m) and
Abang (2152 m). This mountain range with a limestone plateau located
in the south, which is called "bukit" - hills, divides the island
into two completely different regions. Northern quite rises from a
narrow coastline to the mountain slopes. The climate here is
relatively dry, conducive to breeding a coffee culture. In this part
of Bali there are two rivers irrigating rice fields around Singaraja
and Seririta. The southern region is a terrace stretching from north
to south on which rice is grown. Numerous rivers flow along gorges
with lush vegetation. Southwest are small, well-irrigated areas of
land and arid lands of coconut plantations.
The climate in Bali is equatorial-monsoon, instead of the usual
dividing into 4 seasons, only two are distinguished here: dry (June
– October) and humid (November – March); the greatest amount of
precipitation falls in January – February. In some areas of Bali,
the difference between them is almost imperceptible. During the wet
season, precipitation occurs locally, usually at night in the form
of short-term (1-2 hours) thunderstorms.
The average annual temperatures fluctuate slightly around 26 ° C. In
the lowlands and resort areas it is warm day and night; the
mountains are pretty cool nights, and generally fresher than the
rest of the territory. The water temperature in the ocean is 26–28 °
C.
In Bali, 4 types of forests grow: tropical moist evergreen in the
west, deciduous in the northwest in hard-to-reach areas, savannah
forests and mountain forests. Wet evergreen forests are represented
in the Bali-Barat park (translated as “western Bali”). Here you can
find rare species of plants, huge century-old trees, which are under
protection. Many plants of the ficus family, fig and banana groves.
Deciduous forests grow in the northwestern part of Bali. They change
their foliage depending on the season, among this flora sapot trees
predominate. Mountain vegetation is rarely located above 1500 m
above sea level; these are mainly casuarins and phylaos. Banana
plants in Bali are sacred, they grow very well, propagated by the
roots, and feed many animals: monkeys, squirrels, bats. A rare cave
crab Karstama balicum is listed in the IUCN International Red Book.
Palm trees are especially well represented in Bali. The leaves of
borassic palms, dried and pressed, go to the manufacture of
"lontars" on which they write sacred texts. From the leaves of sugar
palm trees make bouquets that are brought to the temples as ritual
offerings. There are other types of trees, for example, ebony, or
ebony, as well as balsa, extremely lightweight - a convenient
material for traditional masks. There are many bamboo trees, some
species of which reach 30-40 cm in diameter. They can be found
almost throughout the island, bamboo is also a universal building
material for the Balinese.
Garden architecture has become a real industry. An abundance of
labor and fertile soil, on which everything that is planted easily
takes root, contributes to the development of gardening, especially
in the south of the island and in the Bedugul area. Red, pink and
white hibiscus, jasmine, bougainvillea, white and pink laurels,
water lilies, lotuses and quite exotic plants such as angsoca,
champaka (yellow magnolia), manori and orchids.
After the recognition of independence, tourism was rather poorly
developed, and the infrastructure was in its infancy. Even during
the hippies that flocked here from around the world, there were only
small bungalows without electricity on the beaches of Kuta, cheap
rooms without amenities and seafood for a few cents. Nevertheless,
in Sanur, tour operators have already mastered tourism for the rich.
The Indonesian government, whose economy was very dependent on oil
exports, needed to find other sources of income, and it greatly
contributed to the development of the tourism industry.
At first, these efforts were aimed at changing in the eyes of the
entire world community the unsightly image that had strengthened
behind the ruling elite of Indonesia after the military coup.
A professional analysis of the situation in Bali and a tourism
development plan was made in 1969. The project was funded by the UN
under the guarantee of the World Bank. Particular emphasis was
placed on the Bukit Badung area. In 1978, the Balinese governor Ida
Bagus Mantra invited interested parties to pay attention to the
island’s rich culture. Since that time, music, dancing, religious
holidays, sculpture and painting play the same role in the tourism
business as the continuous improvement of infrastructure. The
airport was reconstructed, luxury hotels and modest inexpensive
hotels are being built to cover the entire social spectrum of travel
lovers. Rice fields are being drained and water pipelines are being
built in the driest regions. Replaced inexpensive came elite
tourism. Now, world-famous stars come to Sanur at a wedding
ceremony, and European ministers spend their holidays at the
Mediterranean Club in Nusa Dua.
The development of surfing, diving, environmental and beach tourism.
The number of tourists visiting Bali is growing rapidly. In 2015,
4,001,835 foreign tourists visited Bali. In 2018, the number of
tourists increased to 6 511 610 people. Each year, the flow
increases by about 10%.
The first immigrants are believed to be people from southern India
who arrived in Bali around 1500 BC. The first kingdom is documented for
990 AD. In 1478, the Hindu upper class of the Majapahit Empire moved
from Java to Bali, displaced by Islam. The king of the resulting dynasty
(Gelgel dynasty) ruled Bali from Klungkung. In the period that followed,
the provinces of Bali became independent. Their rulers, the Rajas, now
became kings of their own kingdoms. The Dutch occupied Bali in stages
from 1846 to 1908. Faced with the unstoppable invaders, the Rajas of
Denpasar and Pemecutan nevertheless refused to submit. They burned down
their palaces and marched into the hail of bullets from the colonial
power in their finest clothes with their families, court, priests and
warriors. 4,000 Balinese people died. The rule of the Dutch lasted until
1942. During this time, the opium monopoly provided the Dutch state with
income that significantly exceeded the expenses for the conquest and
maintenance of the colony.
The island was then annexed by Japan
until 1945. On August 17, 1945, Indonesia was proclaimed. Bali has been
part of the country ever since.
In 1963, Gunung Agung erupted,
killing thousands. Economic chaos followed, prompting many Balinese to
relocate to other parts of Indonesia.
General Suharto's
leadership brought a wave of violence to Bali in 1965. The victims were
the members of the Communist Party (PKI) and minorities, especially the
economically successful Chinese immigrants. Ordinary civilians took part
in the massacres.
On October 12, 2002, 202 people were killed in
bomb attacks on two nightclubs in Kuta. Three years later, on Saturday,
October 1, 2005, three explosive devices exploded, killing 26 people.
There were 122 injured, including two German nationals. Two of the bombs
exploded on Jimbaran Beach and another exploded in front of a restaurant
in Kuta Beach. The police assume suicide attacks and suspect the radical
Islamist organization Jemaah Islamiyah was behind the attack.
The
traditional structures of Bali are based on three groups, which ensure
that no isolated units (except the Bali Aga) can form:
the Banjar as
the lowest administrative unit on a geographical level
the Subak for
determining the irrigation modalities of the rice fields
the Pemaksan
to regulate religious rituals
These have higher levels that are
structured in a self-similar way. The administrations of the Rajas
(kings) used to be supplementary and partly complementary, and their
place is now taken by the Indonesian state.
When Indonesia was founded in 1945, Bali was part of the Nusa
Tenggara Barat province. Since August 14, 1959, it has been one of the
34 provinces of the republic together with its immediate neighboring
islands (see location). All of Indonesia's provincial regions are
administered by a governor who reports directly to the president. The
governor of Bali, I Wayan Koster since 2018, is based in the capital
Denpasar. The province of Bali is (since 1992) divided into eight
kabupaten (government districts) and one kota (the city district of
Denpasar), whose bupati (district council) or walikota (mayor) report to
the governor. These Kabupaten are divided into 57 Kecamatan (districts).
The number of desa (villages) has remained unchanged since 2011 and is
716. They are each governed by a kepala desa (village head). The
villages, in turn, are divided into banjars (village districts), which
are administered by a klian.
The addition adat means traditional,
i.e. Balinese-Hindu. A few villages deliberately remain in the cultural
stage before Hindu influence. These are mainly in the east and on Lake
Batur. They are called Bali Aga (Old Bali). There are also individual
kampung islam, places with an Islamic population, and desa kristen, with
a Christian population.
Bali is the only region outside of India, Nepal and Mauritius with a
Hindu majority. Most Balinese adhere to the Hindu Dharma religion, the
Balinese form of Hinduism. Hinduism came to Bali in the 8th to 9th
centuries. Religious rites and festivals accompany people from birth to
death and beyond death. They are the basis of the cohesion of the family
and the village community. Religious rites become effective in the
founding of a village, they regulate family life and are the ethical
guidelines of the entire people. Holidays, popular entertainments and
gatherings are always preceded by a temple ceremony.
Bali is
called the “Island of a Thousand Temples”. Each Hindu banyar is home to
three temples: the Pura Puseh (Temple of Origin), the Pura Desa (Temple
of the Great Council) and the Pura Dalem (Temple of Death). In some
villages, Pura Puseh and Pura Desa are combined in one temple complex.
Such temples are usually elaborately designed, even in remote regions,
and are hardly inferior to the island's important temples in terms of
design effort. In addition, every house and every subak has its own
temple and at prominent points (road intersections, town entrances,
banyan trees, etc.) there are small temples or at least an offering box,
which in extreme cases can be a simple stone.
In addition to the predominant Hinduism, animistic traditions of the
old ethnic religions still determine the entire religious life of the
island. According to this, gods are present in all appearances.
Everything in nature has its own power that reflects the power of the
gods: rocks, trees, a dagger, even clothing can be inhabited by spirits
whose power can be used for good or evil. Rituals play a major role and
are far less determined by holy scriptures than, for example, Indonesian
Islam. This ritualization of life and the self-control that goes with it
is an essential part of the religious customs of the people.
Particularly in the shadow play with the priestly figure of the Dalang,
strong remnants of an old shamanism can still be seen, which can also be
seen in initiation rituals, spiritual guides, healings, etc. The same
applies to analogous ceremonies in Malaysia, Cambodia and Thailand.
The underworld is in the sea, the gods live on the volcanoes and the
ancestor cult is strong. There are thousands of healers and shamans who
offer everything from healing to fortune telling to love spells. There
is also a “white (good) and black (evil) shamanism”. The basic idea is
always to restore the disturbed harmony within the universal polarity,
which here, as in the other East Asian religions, is not seen as
oppositional, but as complementary. Domestic sacrifice is common.
Only 0.68% of Balinese are Buddhist, most of whom come from China. There are five Buddhist temples in Bali, of which the Viharaya Dharmayana in Kuta is one of the most visited. It was founded in 1876.
The main languages spoken in Bali are Balinese (basa Bali) and
Indonesian (bahasa Indonesia). As a non-Indonesian language, English is
also widely spoken due to tourism. Depending on the main tourist origin
on site, Dutch (Sanur), Japanese (Ubud) and occasionally German,
Russian, Italian or French are also spoken, as long as this is necessary
for dealing with tourists. In addition to the languages mentioned,
Mandarin is also taught in private schools.
Marital status
Single 42.98%
Married 51.62%
Divorced 1.12%
Widowed 4.28%
Share of the total population.