The
art history of Bali runs parallel to the history of the island
itself. When Bali became a colony -of Java, the conquering aristocracy
brought their art with them and every political event in Java
has had a powerful influence in the development of Balinese culture.
Thus,
the early classic period of Javanese art corresponds also to a
classic period in Bali, and when the mother country suffered disturbances
and transformations, these were reflected in Balinese art, until
Islamism and political chaos severed all connections between the
two islands, and Hinduism had to find refuge in Bali. As the island
became the center of A, new empire and no longer a province of
Java, the Balinese natives took over the art of the exiled aristocracy,
transformed to suit their taste, and a typical Balinese art came
into being.
Nothing
definite is known of the art of pre-Hindu Bali, but we know that
the old Indonesian had a culture of its own, perhaps like the
present one of the people of Nias and the Bataks of Sumatra, to
whom the Balinese are in many ways akin. They worked metals, especially
iron for the. making of magic krisses cultivated rice, had a well-organized
administration, kept domestic animals, and made splendid textiles.
Outside of a sarcophagus, some bronze bracelets and arrow-beads
found" Petang, probably belonging to people of Hinduistic
affiliation no material traces of their megalithic monuments remain,
or have yet been found, perhaps because archaeological excavation
has hardly begun in Bali. But a great deal of the old Indonesian
spirit has remained in the daily life of the people, not only
among the Bali Agas, but also alongside the Hinduism of the ordinary
Balinese. As we shall see later, there are definite traces of
what could have been the art of pre Hindu times found today in
the offerings, in the patterns of textiles, in certain sculptures,
and the like.
Antiques
are scarce in Bali, although there are thousands of mossy and
battered statues all over the island., often of a more primitive
style than the usual contemporary art. But a newly made statue
appears of great age after six months of exposure to the damp
climate of Bali, and, on the other hand, many ancient statues
resemble those made in recent years. Many of the innumerable remains
found in the temples, in jungles, or imbedded in the trunk of
a waringin may easily be contemporary.
We
made a sport of going out with Walter Spies into, remote districts
to find objects of what we called " native " Balinese
style, and often located figures in wood, stone, and evea clay
that showed no trace of Hindu influence. There were demons, girls,
primitive animals, and alarm-drums with faces carved on them that
were reminiscent of Dyak, Batak, and Polynesian art. Spies is
an enthusiast for the "' megalithic " art and he has
discovered many strange stones with primitive carvings, . such
as the stone in Bebitera, or the magnificent stone altar in Batukandik
in the little island of Nusa Penida: a pyramid twelve feet high
surmounted by the torso of a woman with large breasts, supporting
on her head a, stone throne like those from Nias, with two roosters
standing on her shoulders, their heads resting on the palms of
her hands. The style of the monument is decidedly Indonesian and
so are the two little shrines, also in the same village, with
well-defined signs of being one male, the other female. I was
invited to accompany Assistant Controler Grader and Spieg on an
expedition into the wilds between the mountains Batur and Bratan;
descending slippery ravines, into jungles, and up steep hills,
we found many old statues overgrown with vegetation, some of which
seemed from early Buddhist days, while others looked as if Hinduism
had never penetrated into those districts. Particularly interesting
were the pyramids and strange carvings in wood in Sanda and Selulung
or the Polynesian-looking statues in Batukaang and Pengadjaran.