WELCOME TO BALI
Taksu: The divine soul of the arts

Introduction – Bali

The island of Bali is part of the Republic of Indonesia, the largest archipelago in the world with over 18,000 islands.
Population 3,325,000
Capital City Denpasar
Languages Bahasa Indonesia (official), English, Dutch and many local dialects.
Official Currency Indonesian Rupee (IDR)
Land Area 5,632 sq km (2,174 sq miles)
Time Zone (GMT +8)

Bali is an island of incredible mystery, beauty, enchantment, culture, hospitality, variety, and serenity. Bali's spectacular beaches, volcanoes, lakes, temples, and terraced rice fields -- combined with its deeply artistic roots and its legendary hospitality -- have made it one of the most visited places on earth. The religion and culture of Bali are unique in the world, and the Balinese have preserved their traditions in spite of the Island’s growing tourist industry.

Balinese people are descendants of a prehistoric race who migrated through mainland Asia to the Indonesian archipelago, presumably first settling around 2500 BC. The end of the prehistoric period in Indonesia was marked by the arrival of Hindu people from India around 100 BC as determined by Brahmi inscriptions on potsherds. The Hindu Majapahit Empire (1293–1520 AD) on Eastern Java island founded a Balinese colony in 1343. The empire collapsed slightly before 1500 due to assaults, causing an exodus to Bali.

Europeans first discovered Bali when Dutch explorer Cornelis de Houtman arrived in 1597, though a Portuguese ship had foundered off the coast of Bukit as early as 1585. The Dutch soon established a trade post, and the Dutch East India Company (VOC) started trading from early 17th century. Dutch control of the island was firmly established after a series of colonial wars (1846–1849). These wars were so fierce (with the entire royal court of the Raja, women and children, plunged into battle armed with kris and spears, preferring to kill each-other on the battlefield rather than be taken captive) that afterwards the Dutch governors exercised relatively little influence over the island, generally allowing local control over religion and culture to remain intact. After being conquered by Japan during World War II, Bali became part of the Republic of East Indonesia, and in 1948 became part of United States of Indonesia.

In 1965, after a failed coup d'etat against the national government, Bali was the scene of widespread killings of members and sympathizers of the Communist Party of Indonesia (PKI) by right-wing militias, along with several other parts of Indonesia.

Indonesia, so Bali is passing through a time of rapid and historic social and political change. The authoritarian New Order government of former President Soeharto was toppled in May 1998, following a mass popular uprising in Jakarta and other centers and a collapse of confidence in President Soeharto amongst the Armed Forces (ABRI) and the political elite. The political collapse was triggered by massive economic problems brought about by the Asian financial crisis of 1997.

On October 12, 2002, there was a car bomb attack in the tourist resort of Kuta, killing 202 people, mostly foreign tourists. Another series of bombings occurred nearly three years later at Kuta and nearby Jimbaran. This rrecent terrorism attacks in Bali and other areas of Indonesia have stifled western tourism rather dramatically.

Geography

Located 8 degrees south of the equator in the midst of the 8,000 islands of the Indonesian archipelago, Bali measures approximately 140 km by 80 km and has an area of 5,620 square kilometers. Immediately east of Java, Bali is the first of the Sunda Islands, bordered by the Bali Sea and the Indian Ocean.   Its mountain range consists mostly of dormant and active volcanoes, with the highest, the active volcano Mount Gunung Agung, reaching 3,142 meters. Stretched to the south and north of these volcanoes, Bali's fertile agricultural lands produce abundant crops of rice.

The thinly populated West is the only non-cultivated area and includes Bali's National Park, a deeply forested area with many varieties of plants and birds. The eastern and northeastern slopes of Gunung Agung are arid, as is the extreme south of the island. The climate of most of the island is hot and humid, with an average temperature of 28 Celsius, but the higher altitudes can be quite cool. The rainy season lasts from October to March, and the humidity fluctuates between 75% and 80% depending on the season. Winds tend to blow from the West during the rainy season and from the East during the 'dry' season.

Government of Bali

Bali is one of the 26 provinces of Indonesia. Within Bali there are eight ‘kabupatens’ or districts, which under the Dutch were known as regencies. They are, with their district capitals:

Badung – Denpasar
Bangli – Bangli
Buleleng – Singaraja
Gianyar – Gianyar
Jembrana – Negara
Karangasem – Anmlapura
Klungkung – Semarapura
Tabanan - Tabanan
                                                                         
Badung in the south is the most populous district. Each district is headed by a government official known as a bupati. The districts are further subdivided into the sub districts called Kecamatan headed by a camat, the perbekels, headmen in charge of a desa (village) and finally, an enormous number of banjars, the local divisions of a village.