Story of Bali, Indonesia

Not only were Mead and Bateson in some respects uncomfortable, fearful, worrisome, and strange to the Balinese of that era, but because of their high status they evoked feelings of embarrassment or shame, what is called lek by the Balinese. This uncomfortable feeling was well described by C. Geertz who translated it as ,stage fright'. It may also be manifested by quietness, restrained emotional expression, and often by turning away from the person.

About two months after his arrival in Bali, Bateson was struck by behavior which, in the authors' interpretation, fits the description of lek. He stated, the most striking thing about these people is their nervousness-always expecting that someone is going to bite them when they are some sort of uncultured situation (e.g., in their contact with us). Ibis leads to other appearances-of impenetrable dullness.

At Bayung Gede the authors often observed the gathering crowd during interviews and the people's frequent turning away when the camera was focused on them. Children, gathered to watch the interviews but as soon as the camera was directed at them they turned away, hid, or fled, shrieking in-excitement, only to return slowly to watch again.

The reaction apparent fear and shyness sometimes suggestive of a children's game was noticed to some extent in the plains villages and was more obvious to Jansen am to Suryani because of their differences in skin and. hair colour (light versus dark) and because of the element of foreignness. Bateson and Mead published several pictures of cfii*en and .adults who reacted with fear and discomfort to the cameras and to being in their presence at their house. Made Kaler stated that they were always a little shy of Bateson's cameras.

Mead's and, to some extent Bateson's combined attributes of Rangda, balian, and strange high status 'European' (Dutch), the camera, nyeh (tension), and lek could all have affected the impressions they gained, and contributed to their interpretations and conclusions about Balinese withdrawal of emotional expression.

It is evident from Bateson and Mead's published data that they were generally excellent observers and collectors of data. Although they were careful in observational notes, they made some factual errors which may reflect carelessness.

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