Story of Bali, Indonesia

Mead believed that the mother tells her child not to act aft-aid or to be afraid (da takut and da jerih, respectively) but does not follow through with enough reassurance to dispel the fear. This translation of the words takut and jerih is incorrect, and the error may have led to her misconceptions about the role of fear in Balinese life. In Bayung Gede, as in the plains villages, da takut means 'do not worry', and is a comforting expression that would, for example, be said to someone before he goes into the forest da jerih also means 'do not worry', but this would usually be said after someone returned from the forest Neither term means 'fear' or 'afraid' in this context nor in the context of mother-child interaction presented by Mead. It is easy to mistranslate takut from Balinese to English because there is no single English word that corresponds exactly with it. Balinese frequently use the word takut without meaning fear in ways similar to the Westerner's use of the English word fear. It often means worry or concern. In a recent study on the emotions of northern Balinese (Wikan, 1987), interpersonal fear was reported to be pervasive and 'ubiquitous' in the culture.

It is curious that lack or presence of climax, in the sense described by Bateson and Mead, has not been reported as characteristic of other cultures the question arises as to whether it I, as been seriously considered by other ethnographers.

The authors disagree with such reports or interpretations and attribute them to misconception of the words for fear and worry; both Westerner and Balinese can easily misunderstand each other on the concept of fear because of the incorrect or inaccurate translation.

Fear of strangers is a normal developmental stage in infancy (Bowlby, 1973). The authors have observed parent-child interactions that may have significant bearing on the child's fear of strangers. In Bayung Gede, a parent may respond to the authors' presence outside the household -compound by directly picking up a small child playing alone. If the parent conveys fear by this action, it could reinforce a child's fear of strangers. On the other hand, some parents at Bayung Gede and in the plains allowed the child to play freely and independently in the author's presence without intervention.

The authors have often observed a small child in his mother's arms react to their friendly approach, even just looking and smiling, by fretting and turning to the mother for reassurance or comfort. The mother then responded by cuddling the child and frequently by turning or moving away. The authors, in interpreting this situation, have attributed the child's behavior sometimes to shyness and other times to fear of strangers. In contrast, most older children, youths, and adults were attracted to the authors and often gathered around them on the roads, in households of villages, and at ceremonies.

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