Here is an interesting paper on healers in Bali that is written Hoyt Edge. The paper is entitled “Healers in Bali”.

Healers in Bali are a good example of practitioners of magico-medical knowledge. Their medical diagnosis and practice needs to be understood within the magical, animistic worldview of Bali in which spirits permeate reality. Understanding healing practices in Bali necessitates an examination of this worldview, as well as the particular practices and negotiations that the healers engage in with patients.

The concept of healers (Balian in Balinese, Dukun in Indonesian) is a broad one, with practitioners ranging from traditional healers of mental or physical illnesses, to bone setters, massage therapists, mediums, and clairvoyants. Balians are ubiquitous in Bali. McCauley (1964) estimates that there is one healer for every 500 people while Muninjaya (1982) estimates that there are one for every 1000. According to Prof. Luh Katut Suryani (personal communication) the number of traditional healers has increased in Bali in the decade from 1988-1998 from 2500 traditional healers to 3500.

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The development of Balinese civilization has a quite long history. The first evidences of human appearance in Bali date back to the Stone Age, tens of thousands years ago, with the founding of few artifacts that are believed to be reminiscent of small bands of hunter-gatherers. From that time civilization in Bali develops, and survives until present days. It is obvious that during thousands years of development many outside influences have great contribution in shaping the Balinese civilization, and among many sources of significant outside influences, the sages from Java gave significant contribution to religious, social, and political aspect of Balinese civilization.

Many Javanese sages came to Bali but only three of them gave significant influences to Balinese civilization; they were Rsi Markandya, Mpu Kuturan, and Danghyang Nirartha.

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Here is an interesting article on environment in Balinese Hindu by T. Nirarta Samadhi:
Two core conceptions within the Balinese Hindu thoughts which the respondents from seven desa adat in Gianyar regarded as addressing the existence of nature and environment are the psycho-cosmic concept of cosmoses relationships and Tri Hita Karana or literally “three causes of goodness”. They are among the core Bali Hindu conceptions of space and also serve as fundamental philosophical principles which underlie the socio-cultural and natural worlds of Bali (Samadhi, 2000).

PSYCHO-COSMIC CONCEPT
The psycho-cosmic concept is a Balinese Hinduism conception, which can be explained through symbols of the spiritual world within the sphere of physical world (sekala) and its relation with the metaphysical world (niskala) in a way similar to the relations between the bhuwana alit (microcosm) and the bhuwana agung (microcosm). As such, the human body is regarded as the world of microcosm which is differentiated from his immediate environment or universe (macrocosm).

The psycho-cosmic concept, being the most general conception of all is implicitly mentioned in many articles within the law. The philosophy of Balinese Hindu urges that a man as a bhuwana alit (microcosm) should harmonize himself with the universe as a bhuwana agung (macrocosm), because the human body and the universe are originated from the same elements, the element of Panca Mahabhuta or five basic elements (Puri, 1995) i.e. pertiwi (earth/solid substance), apah (water/fluid substance), teja (fire/light/heat), bayu (air), and akasa (space/ether). Thus, in regard to man-environment relationships within the Balinese Hindu conceptual framework, the maintenance of balance or harmonious relationships is one of the religious goals to be attained.

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Here is an interesting piece of writing on Balinese Giant Demon Puppet (ogoh-ogoh) taken from Scott A Johnsen’s thesis which is entitled From Royal House to Nation: The Construction of Hinduism and Balinese Ethnicity In Indonesia.

Another aspect of the ogoh-ogoh debate having implications for the use of custom / culture / religion categories concerns the fact that some makers of these figures include realistic genitalia in their depictions of demons. A massive government campaign was underway during my fieldwork to stamp out pornographic video CDs and other examples of porno. Hindu Council officials were instructing gathered local officials that ogoh-ogoh should not be made with genitals, and furthermore that this was the responsibility of the entire village (desa), not simply the ward (banjar) making the ogoh-ogoh. I only saw one example of a “porno” ogoh-ogoh, in a village in Gianyar; however, this was well into the campaign to educate the public.

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What makes a person a Balinese? Answering this question will need a closer look on the characteristics of the Balinese. With no further ado, I present you, the Balinese.

Balinese are bound by their family, local banjar (community), their desa (consists of a few banjar), various temple organizations, rice growing groups, a multitude of special interest groups, and even the ancestors. Balinese are not independent people, they are connected to various social and religious organizations; and these connections define who they are. It is not just that Balinese are influenced by their connections, but that they form a part of the Balinese. A Balinese is composed of all his relations. There is even a saying that when someone marries a Balinese man, she not just marries her Balinese lover but also marry his whole family and community, since she will also help her husband in fulfilling his role in his community, family, desa, temples, etc.

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Pura (temple), the sanctuary of Hinduism in Bali now undergoes a serious drawback on architectural diversity and environmental conscious architecture. The renovation and restoration of Pura (temple) all over Bali show an annoying uniformity in architecture and building material. The Pura (temple) from Karangasem on the east to Jembrana on the west, from Buleleng on the north to Badung on the south imitate the architectural design of The Besakih temple (the mother temple of Bali) which used black lava stone from mount Agung as a main building material.

It is understandable that the culture is changing from time to time, and the architecture of Pura (temple) cannot escape from this change. But an important Balinese value, Desa, Kala, Patra (place, time and circumstance) is missing in midst of this architectural uniformity. The Balinese culture has a great diversity based on the Desa, Kala, Patra (place, time and circumstance) concept, each village has its own way and interpretation in implementing the Hinduism and Balinese culture, frankly speaking each village has its own culture that is different from the others. This diversity is also found in temple and building architecture, each Pura (temple) in Bali represents the characteristic of that particular area. The Bukit area is well known for its limestone, this stone is used as a main material for temples around the Bukit.

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