BALI GUIDE

BALI HISTORY

Geographically, Bali (bali indonesia) lies between the islands of Java and Lombok. Bali is small, stretching approximately 140 km from East to West, 80 km from North to South. The tallest of a string of volcanic mountains that run from the East to the West is Gunung Agung [Mount Agung], which last erupted in 1963. Lying just 8 South of the equator, Bali boasts a tropical climate with just two seasons, wet and dry, a year and an average annual temperature of around 28C. The wide and gently sloping southern regions play host to Bali's famed rice terrace among some of the most spectacular in the world. In the hilly, northern coastal regions, the main produce is coffee, copra [dried coconut flesh, processed for cooking oil], spices, vegetables, cattle and rice.

Bali island has been inhabited for a long time. "Sembiran", a village in northern Bali, was believed to have been home to the people of the Ice Age, proven by the discovery of stone axes and adzes. Further discoveries of more sophisticated stone tools, agricultural techniques and basic pottery found at "Cekik", in Bali's far west (bali travel), point to the people of the Neolithic era. At Cekik, there is evidence of a settlement, together with burial sites of around a hundred people, thought to be from the Neolithic through to the Bronze Age. The massive drums of the Bronze Age, together with their stone moulds have been discovered throughout the Indonesian archipelago, including the most famous and largest drum in Southeast Asia, the Moon of Pejeng, nearly two meters wide, which now rested in a temple in east Ubud. Both in East Java and Bali, there has also been a concentration of carved stone sarcophagi, which we can see in the Bali Museum in Denpasar (bali holidays) and Purbakala Museum in Pejeng.

Although there are no artifacts of records dating back to the Stone Age, it is believed that the first settlers on Bali (bali island) migrated from China around 2500 B.C. By the Bronze era around 300 B.C. quite evolved culture existed. The complex system of irrigation and rice production, still in use nowadays, was also believed to be established around this time.

Bali was inhabited by Austronesian peoples, who migrated originally from Taiwan through maritime Southeast Asia. Culturally and linguistically, the Balinese are thus closely related to the peoples of the Indonesian archipelago, the Philipines, and Oceania (bali tourism). Balinese culture was strongly influenced by Indian and Chinese, and particularly Hinduism, in a process beginning around 1st century A.D. The name "Bali Dwipa" [Bali island], has been discovered from various inscriptions, including the Blanjong pillar inscription, written by Sri Kesari Warmadewa in 914 A.D. and mentioning "Wali Dwipa". Some religious and cultural traditions still in existence today can be traced back to this period. The Hindu Majapahit Empire (1293-1520 A.D.) on Eastern Java founded a Balinese colony in 1343, and when the empire declined, there was exodus of intellectuals, artists, priests and musicians from Java to Bali in the 15th century.