Bali Studies

Balinese 'Babad' and unhealthy reverence for the past

Balinese 'Babad' and unhealthy reverence for the past

I Wayan Juniartha, The Jakarta Post, Ubud, Denpasar

In a serious tone, the island's senior historian Anak Agung Putra Agung warned the attending participants of the 2006 Ubud Writers & Readers Festival (UWRF) not to interpret Babad in a literal way.

"It employs a lot of symbols, metaphors and allusion. Reading and interpreting it literally will only result in chaos and confusion," he said.

"Not to mention that many Babad contain numerous inaccuracies, hidden political agenda and unverified claims," noted writer Putu Setia added.

Putra Agung and Setia were speaking as panelists of the UWRF's "Defining Bali Through the Eyes of Babad" session.

Babad is a large body of Balinese traditional texts. It is estimated that there are over two dozen different Babad currently in existence. Combining narrations on supernatural powers and mythological events with hard, historical facts, each Babad tells the glorious past exploits of a certain clan and its leader.

Babad Dalem, therefore, details the victories and achievements of the Dalem clan, the ruling clan in the period following the conquest of Bali by the East Javanese Majapahit kingdom. On the other hand, Babad Pasek narrates the glorious achievement of the Pasek clan, the island's rulers prior to the arrival of the Majapahit.

"Babad exists in two forms, prose and poem. It is a valid source for a scientific study on the island's history. But we must examine it in critical and unbiased way," Putra Agung said.

By nature, Babad is not an objective text, and tends to glorify a certain clan while ignoring the significance of another.

While Putra Agung promoted a critical approach to Babad, Setia argued for skepticism; a large number of Balinese, however, revere Babad with blind conviction.

Such readers not only view their own clan's Babad as an historically accurate text, but also as the most correct version of Balinese history. Thus, when two Babad present two different versions of a single historical event, it usually results in two clans with conflicting views.

This unhealthy fixation on Babad and the uncritical acceptance of its claims, Setia warned, might divide Balinese into numerous, opposing clan-based groups.

"Let's not forget that most Babad are also filled with stories of victorious wars and humiliating defeats, of rising dynasties and falling royal families. The stories involve real persons, who are still revered by their living descendants," he said.

Babad, to some extent, could therefore foster hostility among various clans and royal houses in Bali.

"In this case, Babad could become the sole reason for the perpetuation of 'historical' animosity. A feud of the past is being inherited and nurtured by Balinese in the present. Babad is ... where they learn about the existence of such a feud in the first place," he stated.

One example of such animosity took place in 2005, when Badung regency held its first direct regental election. The most promising candidate was the crown prince of the House of Mengwi, the descendant of a mighty 18th-century dynasty that ruled a large part of Bali.

The Mengwi's then archenemy was the House of Pemecutan, a royal dynasty that controlled a large part of Badung and Denpasar. With its allies, the House of Gianyar and the House of Bangli, the Pemecutan launched a decisive attack in the early 1800s that put an end to the Mengwi kingdom.

Upon learning about the Mengwi prince's candidacy in 2005, several Pemecutan princes held a closed meeting in Gerenceng palace, western Denpasar.

"We can't let a Mengwi prince rule Badung. We have defeated the Mengwi before and we shall defeat the Mengwi again," a young prince declared at the meeting.

The meeting took place in 21st-century Denpasar and the aforementioned prince held an engineering degree from a respected East Javanese university. Yet, the motive and the tone of the meeting clearly showed that these princes were still living in the past.

Their opposition was not based on any sound, legitimate political reason, and instead stemmed solely from the "historical animosity" they had inherited from their ancestors.

Slight or otherwise, similar biases still exist among the various clans in Bali. The Pasek clan, which ruled Bali before the Majapahit annexation of the island, still holds a grudge against descendants of the Majapahit nobility and royals -- who are grouped into several Arya and Dalem clans.

Besides nurturing historical feuds, noted poetess Mas Ruscitadewi pointed out, the unhealthy fixation on Babad would also prevent contemporary Balinese from aspiring to or attaining their own, individual achievements.

"When you are too busy bragging about how great, powerful and influential your ancestors were, there is a big probability that you will forget to do something great with and for your present life," she said.

"That's probably the main reason why modern Bali is characterized mainly by a lack of great figures, great achievements and great thinking," she added.

Born into the royal Kesiman family, Mas herself could actually boast about several illustrious ancestors, including the last ruler of Denpasar and Bali's ultimate king and poet, Ida Cokorda Mantuk Ring Rana, who was killed by Dutch colonial forces during the Puputan Badung battle of 1906. Yet, Mas has refused to glorify his legacy.

"I respect my ancestors. I will show my respect by trying to do something great for Bali so as not to desecrate their memories," she said -- and why she loves to answer questions about her family's royal lineage with a mischievous smile and a memorable joke.

In the end, she quipped: "Well, I belong to the clan of Pithecanthropus erectus."

posted by andersonite @ 8:57 PM