Story of Bali, Indonesia

The Balinese may suppress anger and sadness and substitute other behaviors and emotions in their place, such as laughter. It is clear that they in no way inhibit or suppress laughter when among peers. An example of this was observed at a family ceremony involving embalming a deceased member of Suryani's family. The authors spent several hours together with extended family members during which there was quiet conversation, punctuated with cheerful comments but no evidence of sadness. However, when driving home the five family members in the car laughed and joked in the heartiest way for about 20 minutes as if in a situation of utmost hilarity. This reaction can be viewed as a healthy discharge of emotional tension.

The origin of the character trait called 'suppression 61 emotion' probably owes something to the child-rearing practices of Balinese parents. It is common for Balinese parents to instigate their children to be quiet at home and polite in public. Western observers frequently comment how well behaved Balinese children are in public places. Much of this behavior entails suppression of their emotional response. Children also learn to be quiet and polite by imitation, identification, and reinforcement. The whole community encourages the children to learn the culturally approved ways of handling anger, arguments, and fights; anger is to be suppressed.

In their epidemiological study to determine the status of physical and mental health and the prevalence of disorders in the elderly of one Balinese village in the mountain area of Kintamani, the authors found that a relatively high proportion of the elderly had symptoms of anxiety (18 per cent) and depressed mood (14 per cent) (Suryani et al., 1984). It was difficult to compare these data with Western reports. These subjects did not qualify for a diagnosis of depression and anxiety disorder. Prevalence of depressive disorders in the general population of the United States is 1-2 per cent (Myers, Weissman, and Tischler. et al., 1984). However, the authors' data suggested that elderly Balinese in this one village have significant problems related to these two manifestations of emotions.

In summary, the authors' studies of emotional expressiveness in Balinese indicated that emotions are expressed overtly to a high degree in interpersonal relationships and in many public events typical in the society. At times, emotion is also experienced as inner feelings ('in the heart) but not expressed overtly, either verbally or by touching.

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