Covering the history of Bali from before the Bronze Age to the presidency of Megawati Sukarnoputri, this examination highlights the ethnic dynamics of the island and its place in modern Indonesia. Included is an analysis of the arrival of Indian culture, early European contact, and the complex legacies of Dutch control. Also explored are the island's contemporary economic progress and the environmental problems generated by population growth and massive tourist development.
This book tells the story of Bali--the "paradise island of the Pacific"--its rulers and its people, and their encounters with the Western world. Bali is a perennially popular tourist destination. It is also home to a fascinating people with a long and dramatic history of interactions with foreigners, particularly after the arrival of the first Dutch fleet in 1597. In this first comprehensive history of Bali, author Willard Hanna chronicles Bali through the centuries as well as the islanders' current struggle to preserve their unique identity amidst the financially necessary incursions of tourism. Illustrated with more than forty stunning photographs, A Brief History of Bali is a riveting tale of one ancient culture's vulnerability--and resilience--in the modern world.
This book tells the history of Bali—the "paradise island of the Pacific"—its rulers and its people, and their encounters with the Western world. Spanning the entire history of Bali since the beginning of recorded time, it stretches the culture and politics of the island as a backdrop to the dilemma hat now confronts the Balinese: the choice between economic decay or cultural decadence in the face of "cultural tourism"—Bali's only promising industry. Balinese history tells a fascinating story. For a thousand years, the peculiar splendor of Balinese–Hindu culture came very close to satisfying the social, religious and artistic needs of the people. The arrival of European visitors in the 1920s and 1930s soon made the island's magical charms known to the outside world, and forever changed the "real, unspoiled" Bali. This is the story about the vulnerability—and durability—of an ancient culture to the modern world. There already exists a wealth of literature on Balinese art and thought and the singularly beautiful Balinese way of life which often seems to outsiders like a lavishly costumed pageant continuously and merrily played out against a superbly scenic tropical backdrop. Except for several Balinese court chronicles, impenetrable to most foreigners, and a few other works, mainly in Dutch, by Western writers of the nineteenth or early twentieth century, there is almost nothing of any consequence with regard to Balinese history, economics, and politics, or the roots of the present dilemma. It is the aim, therefore of this account to provide a background sketch of historic events, to trace the complications of domestic and international politics, to depict the changing economic scene, and to introduce the key characters, Balinese and Western, of the island drama of the last millennium as it now comes to an especially significant new climax. Since all else in Bali cues to the cultural tradition, there is also a chapter dealing with the basic conceptual elements of a life–outlook best described as Balinism. A new introduction by Adrian Vickers, a professor of history at the University of Sydney, places the book into the context of the literature on Bali and the impact that the Western world and tourism are currently having on the island.
"Lela in Bali tells the story of an annual festival of eighteenth-century kingdoms in Northern Cameroon that was swept up in the migrations of marauding slave-raiders during the nineteenth century and carried south towards the coast. Lela was transformed first into a mounted durbar, like those of the Muslim states, before evolving in tandem with the German colonial project into a festival of arms. Reinterpreted by missionaries and post-colonial Cameroonians, Lela has become one of the most important of Cameroonian festivals and a crucial marker of identity within the state, Richard Fardon's reconstruction of two hundred years of history is an essential contribution not only to Cameroonian studies but also to the broader understanding of the evolution of African cultures."--BOOK JACKET.
Note: This title was out of print. Re-issued in its original form in 2010. The first comprehensive history of Balinese politics from the middle of the 17th century till the end of Dutch colonial rule in 1942. Based on extensive research in colonial archives in the Netherlands and Indonesia, a variety of Balinese historical narratives, interviews with former colonial officials as well as many Balinese, and fieldwork data concerning temples, rituals, and oral histories. Schulte Nordholt traces Balinese history by means of a collective biography of the Mengwi dynasty, describing the rise to power, the formation and expansion of a negara, the subsequent crises, and its fall in 1891. Between 1906 and 1942 Bali became part of the Dutch colonial state and experienced bureaucratic rule and processes that resulted in a ‘traditionalization’ of Balinese kingship and culture. The story of the Mengwi dynasty under colonial rule ended in a conflict between two factions. This conflict had an unexpected but devastating outcome.
Examining representations of Balinese culture in complex contexts of Indonesia's colonial history, Hindu ritual practice as opposed to Islam, and comparative Indo-European hierarchies, Boon offers a powerful critique of doctrinal approaches to culture, religion, literature, politics, and the history of ideas and disciplines.
Under the Volcano is dramatic history written by a master storyteller. Travellers come to Bali looking for paradise. Nehru called it “the morning of the world”. Yet this small island has seen much bloodshed - from the ritual suicides of Balinese warriors fighting the Dutch, to the massacres of 1965-66 and the bombings of 2002 and 2005. In Under the Volcano, Cameron Forbes looks at the blood and beauty of Bali through interviews, legends, reporting and history. He tells the stories of explorers, colonisers, surfers, artists, jihadists and drug-runners and above all of the Balinese themselves. In doing so he brings the island paradise into vibrant and disturbing focus.
The Island of Bali--a true paradise is explored in this classic travelogue. From the artists and writers of the 1930s to the Eat, Pray, Love tours so popular today, Bali has drawn hoards of foreign visitors and transplants to its shores. What makes Bali so special, and how has it managed to preserve its identity despite a century of intense pressure from the outside world? Bali: A Paradise Created bridges the gap between scholarly works and more popular travel accounts. It offers an accessible history of this fascinating island and an anthropological study not only of the Balinese, but of the paradise-seekers from all parts of the world who have traveled to Bali in ever-increasing numbers over the decades. This Bali travelogue shows how Balinese culture has pervaded western film, art, literature and music so that even those who've never been there have enjoyed a glimpse of paradise. This authoritative, much-cited work is now updated with new photos and illustrations, a new introduction, and new text covering the past twenty years.
Sultans, Spices, and Tsunamis: The Incredible Story of the World's Largest Archipelago Indonesia is by far the largest nation in Southeast Asia and has the fourth largest population in the world after the United States. Indonesian history and culture are especially relevant today as the Island nation is an emerging power in the region with a dynamic new leader. It is a land of incredible diversity and unending paradoxes that has a long and rich history stretching back a thousand years and more. Indonesia is the fabled "Spice Islands" of every school child's dreams--one of the most colorful and fascinating countries in history. These are the islands that Europeans set out on countless voyages of discovery to find and later fought bitterly over in the 15th, 16th and 17th centuries. This was the land that Christopher Columbus sought, and Magellan actually reached and explored. One tiny Indonesian island was even exchanged for the island of Manhattan in 1667! This fascinating history book tells the story of Indonesia as a narrative of kings, traders, missionaries, soldiers and revolutionaries, featuring stormy sea crossings, fiery volcanoes, and the occasional tiger. It recounts the colorful visits of foreign travelers who have passed through these shores for many centuries--from Chinese Buddhist pilgrims and Dutch adventurers to English sea captains and American movie stars. For readers who want an entertaining introduction to Asia's most fascinating country, this is delightful reading.
Monumental Bali describes a formative period in Balinese history through a study of the island's fascinating antiquities. This classic work provides the key to understanding Bali's most famous monuments, including the "Elephant Cave" near Ubud, the "Royal Tombs" at Gunung Kawi, and the spectacular "Mother Temple" at Besakih. A comprehensive Guide to the Monuments section contains: Detailed Maps Site Diagrams Over one Hundred Beautiful Color Photographs In 1956 Dr. and Mrs. Bernet Kempers returned to the Netherlands and began working in both Indonesian and European studies. Between 1958 and 1971, Dr. Bernet Kempers was director of the Netherlands Open Air Museum in Amhem, and was for a time professor of European Ethnology at the University of Amsterdam. Between 1970 and 1948 he revised Indonesian (including Bali) regularly in connection with research into ancient monuments and archaeological preservation. Monumental Bali will not only be informative, but will also take the reader into the history behind each fascinating place found in province and islands of Bali.
