Story of Bali, Indonesia

Suryani grew up as a member of the lowest caste in the regions of both north and south Bali and married a man of the Ksatria caste from the last ruling family of Klungkung (in south Bali) and lived in that royal family household for some time. Suryani made in-depth studies of villages in north and south Bali. These experiences gave her an intimate knowledge of these areas- and castes.

Of the eight former kingdoms on the small island of Bali, the members of the royal family of Klungkung were universally regarded as having paramount status. Even today the ordinary citizens of Klungkung are still very respectful towards the members of the palace (pun). When the last king of Klungkung died in 1965, all Klungkung males, both those residing in Klungkung and those outside the district, spontaneously shaved their heads in mourning. This gesture of respect has, in large measure, been based on the belief in the extraordinary powers of the royal family.

Thus, when confronted with a natural disaster or an epidemic the people have always expected the members of the puri to visit the area affected and to be able to intervene with the gods for the alleviation of the catastrophe. For the same reason, all the adult members of this puri are still addressed as Dewa Agung or Dewa Agung Isteri (your highness, lord/lady, but literally 'an elevated godly being) and the children are called Cokor Dewa in-the case of boys and Cokorda Isteri in the case of girls.

In April 1989, a group of 20 Balinese and foreign scholars convened in Denpasar to receive and discuss the results of the author's studies. The dialogue between the Balinese and foreign discussants with regard to the ways Balinese handle aggression, arguments, and conflicts illustrated cultural gulf: the Balinese did not respond directly to repeated questions by Westerners about how Balinese experience and resolve conflict.

Each year in March, the Balinese celebrate a period of several days referred to as the New Year celebration, which culminates in Nyepi, a day of silence. Nyepi is a day when people stay in their homes, cars are not allowed on the streets, no electric lights are used, and there is very little noise except for roosters crowing in the morning and frogs croaking at night. However, in the afternoon of this day, the children gather on the deserted main streets and play, as if to exercise the rare' privilege of being free to go where ordinarily cars, trucks, motor bikes, and buses are busily traveling. On the day or two preceding Nyepi, adolescent boys in the city set off firecrackers and sometimes home-made bamboo canons which make enormous booms at unpredictable intervals to chase away evil spirits. Women will start cooking for Nyepi on the day before because no cooking can be done on Nyepi.

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