The Balinese, anthropologists suggest, are an amalgamation of a number of people. The Chinese coming from the North, the Indian and the Arabs from way West, and other groups coming directly to Bali or by way of Java. Centuries past, and they become what is now known as native Balinese. They are blessed with well-developed bodies, golden-bronze skin, long, glossy black hair, and charm and mystical smiles, happily living in a rich and complete yet dynamic culture.

There are pockets of villages in which fraternization with outsiders is completely restricted, resulting in a people and a culture that the Balinese called Bali Aga (Old Bali), which may curiously be the tunnel that allows us to periscope into the culture of Bali in the past centuries.

People, Religion, and Temples

A person in Bali cannot exist in solitude. Balinese society is very community oriented. The first invitation to attend the next village meeting is delivered to you practically as a wedding present. If ignored, it will result in a warning; if three invitations are ignored, then the village may take actions against you. Since land is usually owned by the community, the village may revoke your privilege to till the land. Much of the rituals require massive effort, which usually the village shoulder in cooperatively. You will have to shoulder it yourself, should you decide to be an outcast. Along with other families in the village, you participate in meetings. You may play an instrument in the orchestra, or dance in the ceremonies. The women prepare the offerings, for their little shrines or for the village's offering to the Mother Temple of Besakih. If a child in a family is having his tooth filed, the rest of the village's women will help cook and prepare, and the men help erect a stage and decorate the house. In short, life in Bali is never alone.

You can observe this even in little children. As their parents go to plant rice, the children - all seem to be in their best behavior - play with their age group. The older ones will care for the younger ones. Fights rarely occur, and loud screams or cries are even scarcer. As if they have been taught to be at harmony with their surroundings.

The Balinese also has a built in population control mechanism through their naming structure. In Bali, all first child is named Wayan, second child is Made, the third child is Nyoman, and the fourth, or the last, is Ketut. If you have more than four? Well, the Balinese seem to have understood modulo arithmetic, so it's back to Wayan, Made, Nyoman, and Ketut, repeat. But implicitly, the culture discourages having more than four children.

Though originating from India, the brand of Hinduism known and practiced in Bali differs significantly from the one found in India. Instead of mysticism or philosophy, the emphasis of Bali's Hinduism is more in rituals and dramatic features, allowing the religion and its practice to be incorporated into daily life of Balinese peasants. These rituals and dramatic features have been intricately woven into the lives of Balinese to the extent that one cannot separate the religious life of Bali from its daily life. In fact, one can say every little action of a Balinese has some religious connotation; stone and wood carvings, cremation ceremony, trance dances, vibrant music - all are intended to please the gods and the goddesses. These rituals most often take place in a temple, the most important structure in the Balinese culture.

Food

Another aspect of religious life in Bali is the belief that the gods and the goddesses appreciate the mundane pleasures as much as the mere mortals. Feasts and festivals color everyday life as they function to please the people as much as they please the gods. Dances, music, and performances will of course be present. And endowed with such fertile and arable land, the Balinese also practice their creativity with the food and offerings presented in these feasts (which, one can rightfully expect, transcend into similar kinds of food and fruits consumed in normal daily living...)