Story of Bali, Indonesia

If one concentrates upon the change of external form, one may of course easily be led to the erroneous conclusion that in this case we are dealing with a degeneration of plastic art in the central Javanese era. But this question cannot be treated as simply as all that. In examining the visible change of form it must be borne in mind that we are dealing here with religious art, the essence of which can only be understood in conjunction with tile culture in which it exercised its definite function. In this light tile problem we-are confronted with can be outlined clearly. For in Java it is not a question of one single uniform culture, but only of two interacting cultural movements. The most important of these is the ancient indigenous culture of the Javanese people. a peasant culture, which has spiritually much in common with the Neolithic from which it sprang.

Ancestor worship, a Weltanschauung based oil myths, strong close communal bonds, and an almost unshakable traditionalism, - all these are characteristic features of this indigenous culture. Into this culture came an influx of new ideas from India. Indian civilization already had a centuries old history behind it, and reached Indonesia as something firmly established and alien. But the bearers of this culture exercised no influence whatsoever upon the masses of the population. Only tile kratons were open to the manifold attractions and values the new civilization had to offer. It was here that writing developed, as well as a literature stimulated by Indian masterpieces; it was here, in the powerful and wealthy kratons, that the material basis existed on which architecture could develop.

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