What Indonesia - Bali is all about ?

The validity of these assumptions is questionable or nil. This conclusion is based on 'the authors' observations at Bayung Gede, including interviews with inhabitants, two local priests, Made Kaler (Bateson and Mead's assistant and secretary during the two years of the study), and Professor Moerdowo (a scholar of Balinese culture, who is especially knowledgeable about, the aboriginal villages of Bali.The authors also drew on their medical training and expertise.

Made Kaler was interviewed in January and April 1989 at his home in Denpasar. He is one of the few living individuals who were associated with either Bateson or Mead and their study in Bali. He was with them almost continually during the two years of their stay.

Made Kaler spoke with lasting amazement and admiration about Bateson and Mead's energy and their long hours of daily work on observations and data. He said they inspired him to lead a life of hard work. He is credited with having founded the first elementary school which taught the English language in Bali, an institution that subsequently became a university. He retired 20 years ago from his life-long career as an educator. At the age of 78 he was wiry, alert, energetic, and intellectually keen, and he was still actively managing an inn he owns, which is connected with his home.

Cock-fights, traditional in Bali for centuries, continue to be staged today. In many villages, one can see cocks restrained in little bamboo cages. or being gently stroked and cared for by their owners in preparation for fights. These fights, attended by males only, are characterized by shouting and gesticulating by the audience during the betting, followed by intense concentration as they watch the cocks fight to a bloody, climactic death. Bateson and Mead also mentioned the 'climax' of a cock-fight.

The barong or witch dance is one of the most enduring and popular theatrical performances for all levels of Balinese society. From time to t1ine, it takes place in many villages. To cater to tourists it is also performed at several locations near the capital city of Bali through- out the year. Mead (1939) and Bateson and Mead (1942) described this performance in detail. Basically, it depicts conflict between good and evil spirits, the dragon and Rangda respectively; it includes comedy and exaggerated expressions of theatrical emotion. As Mead (1939) stated, it 'usually ends in a series of violent trances' and climax'. The barong impersonators, in 'climactic posture' (Holt and Bateson, 1970), bend back-Ward and press their krises (daggers) into the flesh of their chests, sometimes piercing the skin but usually not drawing blood, and finally fall to the ground rigid or limp, followed by revival through the sprinkling of holy water.

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