Early History of Bali

Qiuestion: Discuss the history of Bali to about 1400 AD. What are the main themes of this history? What sources are available to us?

Balinese written history begins with the first copperplate inscription so far discovered on the island which is dated at 882 A.D; even so, from this date up until fourth decade of the 14th century its history remains sketchy and difficult to elucidate. Bali's prehistory is even more difficult to throw light upon mainly because of scant archaeological evidence - to date too few archaeological digs have taken place to provide anything like a continuous narrative. The sources available to the modern day historian are either very general, as in the case of the finds from archaeological digs or, as in the case of inscriptions, very specific.

This essay will examine the sources which historians are able to employ in their attempts to piece together a chronological record of what went on in Bali before the end of the 14th century and explain what themes these sources have so far helped to make known in relation to the history of that island.

Bali's climate, unlike say, Peru's dry mountainous climes or China's Taklamakan desert[1], is particularly destructive of substances such as paper and textiles on which records are often kept. Thus, whilst we have records from other cultures and regions of the earth dating back in some cases over many hundreds of years, centuries old written records from tropical monsoonal regions are almost completely lacking. In the Malay Archipelago most records were written on palm leaves and subject to the ravages of insects and bacterial decay.[2] To preserve the written word in this form required the copying of records every century or so in a part of the world subject to earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and, of course, warfare.

Archaeology, therefore plays a very important role in shedding light upon Bali's past events, not least because of the simple fact that it is able to unearth durable items. Inscriptions which have been unearthed or otherwise discovered both on Bali, or in other parts of the Malay archipelago but which refer to Bali, form the main anchoring points in a (so far) sketchy historical outline. For the most part, however, archaeology is incapable of furnishing us with sufficient detail because dating methods, such as the radiocarbon (carbon 14) method are not precise enough to enable the historian to accurately pinpoint past events.[3]

It follows that when there are gaps in the historical record, from time to time our view of the history of a place is "stood on its head" by a new discovery.[4] One must therefore be careful not to jump to conclusions when attempting to apply linkages obtained from the extrapolation of scraps of archaeological evidence to the known facts. In addition to the above it must be borne in mind that Bali is one of the most fertile places on earth. Its profusion of natural, tropical vegetation quickly covers neglected monuments, cities and the remnants of even large civilisations. Thus, Java which has been civilised longer than England[5] is practically devoid of records other than those in bronze and stone. The same must therefore apply to Bali which has very similar climatic conditions.

Modern scholars of South East Asian history have found that the pre Indic inhabitants of Bali were Austronesian speakers originating in Taiwan who, by the time they reached Bali, belonged to the Hesperonesian language sub group;[6] a conclusion arrived at by the study of glottochronology.[7] (see diagrams 1 & 2 on page 3)

The Austronesian speakers almost certainly drifted into Bali in small groups over a long period of time and did not coalesce into large groups with single identities for centuries. Rather, they would most likely have remained in scattered groups about the coasts and rivers whilst coexisting with the indigenous populations. The 200 or so languages within the Western, or Indonesian, branch of the Austronesian family attest to them having remained independent for a considerable period of time.

The length of time between the arrival of Austronesian speakers and recorded history on Bali (in stone or bronze), is in all probability upwards of four thousand years. At Gilimanuk in the west of Bali, stone sarcophagi have been excavated in contexts dating to approximately 1,500 - 2,000 years ago. Similarly, from sites close by, came bronze, gold, glass and carnelian items which have been C14 dated to between 200 BC and 300 AD.[8] During the centuries preceding these latter finds, it seems fairly safe to assume that the main theme running through Balinese history has been the transformation of small groups of Austronesian speakers from marine orientated societies to that of a more sedentary village life and the slow process of integration with neighbouring groups. This transformation would, perforce, have involved the domestication of animals and plants and the development of the technologies which go hand in hand with these practices - irrigation, selective breeding and so forth; it follows that small harbour kingdoms would eventually have emerged in the process.

Another source of information about prehistoric South East Asia comes from study of the distribution and manufacturing points of bronze kettledrums and from this it is possible to glean some information about the history of Bali.[9] Four main types of drums have been found spread across vast expanses of South and South East Asia and are generally classified as Heger l, II, III, IV after F. Heger, an Austrian archaeologist. These highly decorative drums were cast in bronze and were much valued objects which were traded over almost the whole of South East Asia and travelled with people when they migrated. The Heger I (sometimes referred to as the migratory drum) was largely a product of the Vietnamese Dongsonian civilisation which reached its cultural apogee in 4th century B.C. and continued to flourish until the 1st century A.D.[10]

During this period, and for a variety of reasons, the Heger I drums spread throughout the Malay Archipelago and have been unearthed in many small and remote islands in the region. It is interesting to note that while no Heger I drums have ever been found on Bali, Balinese Pejeng type metal drums of the same age have been unearthed in Central Java. This would seem to indicate that Bali was already casting its own metal drums by the time that Heger I types were undergoing their southward migration. Further, the manufacture of Pejeng type drums employed a different technology to all four types of Heger drums in that they were cast (lost wax method) in two pieces whereas the Heger drums were all cast in one piece. [11]

The import of this information lies in the inference that on Bali during the five hundred years under discussion, there already existed sophisticated artisans capable of the independent development of a fairly complex casting technology in a society which had no need for the widely distributed - and therefore widely accepted - Heger style drums. The Pejeng drums, according to Bernet Kempers, ..."formed an essential part of pre-Hindu Balinese developments". Certainly, Pejeng type metal drums manufactured on Bali were not mere one-offs or prototypes; fragments of stone imprinting molds for impressing the decorative patterns upon the wax layer for the drums casting have been found on the island.[12] However limited, this bespeaks of a production run.

Any serious study of history must, of course, make use of an amalgamation of different kinds of evidence and in Bali's case this amalgam, thus far, comprises non specific archaeological finds, specific inscriptions (usually the results of archaeological finds) and documents from other, more distant, areas in the region which refer to Bali. Undoubtedly as more archaeological digs take place, more will be uncovered to add to the loosely woven fabric which today is regarded as Balinese history. However, some areas of study such as a comprehensive dating of potsherds are yet to be undertaken and others, such as the study of ancient textiles, can not be undertaken because the evidence has decomposed.

Inscriptions whilst being an invaluable source to the historian must also be examined with caution by the epigraphist. Reasons for producing inscriptions are manifold and do not necessarily relate to actual events or happenings; there being no reason why legends or myths can not be inscribed on bronze or stone. Inscriptions, when they do provide useful information, are not necessarily accurate throughout their narrative. Mpu Prapanca's panegyric Desawarnana - a primary source written in the 14th century begins with "hail to the King! Homage be to thee!" and goes on with a list of superlatives describing the Majapahit King, his master, who he describes variously as being Siwa and Buddha, a universal soul and lord of the lords of the world.

Undoubtedly the Desawarnana, whatever its intended general audience, was also written to be read by, or related to, the king and when Prapanca later describes the conquest of Bali he tells us that the king of Bali was evil and base. Had the king of Majapahit taken Bali by deceitful and treacherous means and the king of Bali been kind, considerate and in other ways an exemplary monarch, it is extremely doubtful that Prapanca would have recorded this information accurately.

All the dated information regarding Bali prior to the eighth century comes from Chinese sources[13] which were not written as geographical guides and often refer to places in descriptive terms relating to the products which were there obtainable. In T'ang historical records Bali is mentioned alongside the kingdom of Ho-ling as being a place from whence came embassies between the years 637-649 A.D.[14] Bali is also referred to by the Chinese as P'o-li, the ruler of which was a king of the Kaundinya family who sent embassies to China in the 6th century A.D.[15]

According to Hall the Balinese had embraced Hinduism by the 7th century AD, by which time Bali was visited, at least intermittently, by Chinese traders and Indian literati.[16] The Indianization of South East Asia probably began around the first century B.C. and by the fifth century A.D Indian culture was widely known in the region with relatively large Indianized states appearing in Java, Cambodia and Vietnam as well as in smaller districts such as Kalimantan and Sulawesi.[17] It is therefore probable that Hall's estimate regarding the Balinese and their first contact with Hinduism errs on the side of caution. Bellwood, however, writing in 1997 opined that archaeological evidence for Indian-Southeast Asian trade contact in the period from 200 BC to AD 500 was strong "especially for Thailand and Bali."[18]

An East Javanese source, the Kubukubu inscription, issued by the Javanese king Balitung in A.D. 905 appears to refer to Bali under the name Bantun. [19] This inscription comprising seven copperplates is a copy made shortly after AD 905 and makes mention of rewards given by King Balitung to two men because they were successful on an expedition to Bantan. The "expedition" referred to is generally taken to mean a conquest.

A later Javanese text also records a successful conquest of the island by the first known Central Javanese king, Sanjaya. This text puts the date of the conquest of Bali at A.D. 732 and also claims that Sanjaya conquered Sumatra, Cambodia and even India and China[20] - a claim dismissed by the majority of scholars. However, as this text was written at a much later date than the happenings it describes, it can not be regarded as reliable information. Neither is it known what motivated the author to write it.

Direct evidence of Bali's history from Bali itself does not appear until the earliest copper plate (bronze) inscriptions dated from A.D. 882-914 which mention the building of a hermitage at Sukawana on Mt. Penulisan and the laying of the foundations of a temple in the village of Trunyan.[21] Here begins the second major theme of what scant knowledge we have of Bali's history prior to the 15th century - one of a succession of invasions, usually associated with conquests, by the people of neighbouring Java and the absorption by the Balinese of a degree of Javanese culture.

The first dated inscription on Bali making mention of a king is that of Ugrasena (915-942) who was a contemporary of king Sindok of East Java. Ugrasena was the founder of the Warmadewa dynasty and was followed by three kings and a queen whose exploits and achievements are largely forgotten.[22] An earlier inscription (making no mention of royalty) records a Hindu Balinese society, different to that of Java, professing both Hinduism and Buddhism and speaking a dialect peculiar to Bali.[23]

Bali was conquered again in the late tenth century by the Eastern Javanese king Dharmawangsa (989-1087) who, after subduing the island, placed his sister (perhaps sister-in-law) Mahendradatta on the throne beside or above the Balinese king Udayana.[24] Balinese inscriptions from 989-1022 bear the names of Udayana,[25] and his queen, Mahendradatta, who was the great-grand-daughter of Sindok and the mother of Airlangga, who ruled Java from 1019 to c. 1049 and under whose rule many Javanese Hindus migrated to Bali.[26]

Conqueror as he was, Dharmawangsa is also said to have been a great enlightener who employed scribes to copy and translate parts of the Indian epic, Mahabharata into the Javanese language. Javanese priests added to existing Balinese shrines and temples as well as building great new temple complexes at Goa Lelawah, Gelgel, Sasih and Pejeng. The Balinese seem to have been both enchanted and enamoured by their conquerors and adopted much in the way of architecture, sculpture and art from the Javanese.[27]

Airlangga, the first Balinese or, at least half Balinese, personage of which we have a reasonable amount of evidence seems to have been a well respected and moderate ruler. A reasonable relationship between ruler and villagers may be seen in a Balinese inscription of 1025 that records the king's sale of his hunting land to a village after the villagers had complained of their lack of land. In the same inscription we are told that village elders sat with the officers of royal law in order to guarantee fair trials and verdicts reflecting the consensus of local opinion.[28] Airlangga married a Javanese princess, became king of Java and made Bali a part of his empire. Before he died his Javanese realm was divided and plundered leaving Bali free.

The next king to take Bali (1284) was from the Singhasari kingdom and named Kertanagara; he invaded Bali and took away the king as prisoner.[29] Kertanagara, however, was killed in a court rebellion only three years later prompting the Balinese, once again, to expel their Javanese masters and under their own (Pejeng) kings, break away from Singhasari. So, by the turn of the century the most powerful force in Bali was, once again, a domestic one presided over by king Daiem Bedaulu based in, or near, Ubud.[30] Bali managed to cling to its independence until it was invaded by Majapahit forces in 1343 at which time it was ruled by Paduka Ashtasura Rata Bumi Banten.[31]

During Kertenagara's reign on Java he had behaved unwisely by slashing the faces of two Mongol messengers sent by Kublai Khan to demand tribute from the Singhasari kingdom. This prompted a Mongol invasion fleet to exact retribution but by the time the fleet arrived, Kertenagara was already dead and his throne was occupied by his son in law Raden Vijaya, later known as Kertarajasa, who used the Mongols to his own advantage against his principal enemy and then forced them to withdraw in confusion.

Raden Vijaya founded his capital at Majapahit so beginning an empire that was to conquer Bali and bring forth what became known as the Golden Age of both Bali and Java. For some years both Raden Vijaya and his son, who regarded themselves as successors to Kertenagara, had to suppress rebellions in Java and it was not until 1319 that Majapahit's authority was firmly established with the aid of the renowned soldier and statesman Gajah Madah.[32] The primary source for this information comes from the Desawarnana of Mpu Prapanca in which appears seven references to Bali.[33]

Gaja Madha was made mapatih, or prime minister, of Majapahit and it was whilst occupying this position that he planned and led the military expedition that conquered Bali.[34] An entirely successful expedition, it effectively crushed Balinese resistance and, under Hyam Wuruk's reign, the "Javanisation" of Bali intensified. Recognising what they determined to be a superior culture to their own, the Balinese rulers and nobility who had survived the conquest began to find ways of joining their family trees with Majapahit ministers and priests. Bali-Aga, "original Balinese", was no longer a term demanding respect as the Balinese readily accepted Majapahit culture - even down to another story of creation.

Hardly anything in Bali remained untouched by the new Javanese culture - ways of thinking, beliefs, customs, language7, technology, art, music, literature, and traditions. All that came from Majapahit was eagerly accepted and gradually changed beyond recognition. Javanese culture was absorbed and turned into a manifestation of classical Balinese culture as the Balinese came to think of Majapahit as being their culture of origin.[35] This absorption of other cultures has, in itself, been a major theme of Balinese history[36] despite the existence of a distinctly inward looking culture created from a mixture of animist and Hindu beliefs.

Thus it can be seen that there are three main themes running through the history of Bali prior to about 1400 A.D.; the transformation of the Austronesian seafaring immigrants into settled societies, the succession of invasions from neighbouring Java and the selective absorbtion of cultures from other places.[37]

The sources available to us in our quest for historical knowledge on the subject are, so far, inadequate in that they cannot provide the kind of sustained narrative sought. They are nevertheless valuable. Archaeology, inscriptions, the study of Austronesian languages and the geographic distribution of the Heger drums, early texts from other countries and what can be assumed or inferred from our knowledge of other Austronesian societies in the Malay Archipelago all play their part. Certainly, from what is known of the history of Bali prior to 1400 A.D. it is evident that there is much more that is not yet known.

Bibliography

Bellwood, P., Prehistory of the Indo-Malaysian Archipelago, Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press, 1997.

Bernet Kempers, A.J., Monumental Bali, Singapore: Periplus Editions, Inc, 1991.

Bosch, F.D.K., Selected Studies in Indonesian Archaeology, The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff, 1961.

Chatterji, B.R., History of Indonesia Early and Medieval, Meerut: Chandra Prakash for Manohar Sahitya Niketan, 1967.

Durant, W., The Story of Civilization: 1. Our Oriental Heritage, New York: Simon & Schuster, 1954

Encyclopaedia Britannica Inc. Britannica [CD] 97. New York

Grolier Multimedia Encyclopaedia. Entry under "Indonesia" California 1995

Grant, B., Indonesia and Islamic Southeast Asia, Carlton: Melbourne University Press, 1996.

Hall, D.G.E., A History of South-East Asia, 4th edition, Basingstoke: MacMillan Education, 1981.

Internet site: www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/Lobby/7374/INDONESIA.HTML. ASIA WEB

Internet site:http://www.askjeeves.com/FinalAnswer.asp?qCategory=GEOG&Link=http%3A% 2F%2Flcweb2%2Eloc%2Egov%2Ffrd%2Fcs%2Fidtoc%2Ehtml&Title=Library+of+Congress+Country+Studies&Answers=1&ajparam_list1=38&ajparam_fillers=%7C38%5B963%5D%7C&ajparam_qid=426&site_name=Jeeves&scope=web&ask=Where+can+I+find+extensive+historical%2C+economic%2C+and+political+information+about+the+country+Indonesia%3F

Internet site: http://history1900s.miningco.com/library/weekly/aa051698.htm Indonesian History

Internet site: htp://www.gimonca.com/sejarah

Jones, A.M.B, Early Tenth Century Java From The Inscriptions, Dordrecht: Foris Publications, 1984

Lamb, A., "Indian Influence in Ancient South-East Asia", in A.L. Basham (ed.), A Cultural History of India Oxford : Clarendon, 1975.

Mrazek, R. & Forman, B., Bali The Split Gate to Heaven, London: Orbis Publishing, 1983.

Osborne, M.E., Southeast Asia: An Introductory History, Sydney: George Allen & Unwin, 1979.

Prapanca. M., Desawarnana (Nagarakrtagama); transl, (from the Javanese) by S. Robinson, Leiden: KITLV Press, 1995.

Reader, L. & Ridout, L., Bali & Lombok: The Rough Guide, London: Rough Guides Ltd, 1996.

Rickleffs, M.C., A History of Modern Indonesia Since c. 1300, 2nd ed., Basingstoke: Macmillan Education, 1993.

Vlekke, B.H.M., Nusantara A History of Indonesia, The Hague and Bandung: W. Van Hoeve Ltd, 1959.

Wayland Barber, E., The Mummies of Urumchi, in The Australian Magazine March 13-14, 1999.

Zainu'ddin, A., A Short History of Indonesia, Melbourne: Cassell Australia Limited, 1968.
[1] E. Wayland Barber, The Mummies of Urumchi, in The Australian Magazine March 13-14 1999. Wayland Barber tells us that in the Taklamakan desert Chinese archaeologists have recently uncovered graves of Tokharian people so well preserved in the salt sands that the fingerprints of their naturally mummified bodies are easily read, that the textiles they were buried in still retain their colour and their facial features, in some cases, are so well preserved as to make them identifiable. These mummified bodies are 3,000 years old.

[2] A.J. Bernet Kempers. Monumental Bali. (Singapore 1991), p. 35

[3] Encyclopaedia Britannica Inc. Britannica [CD] 97. "The carbon-14 dating method was developed by the U.S. physicist Willard F. Libby about 1946. It has proven to be a versatile technique of dating fossils and archaeological specimens from 500 to 50,000 years old. The method is widely used by Pleistocene geologists, anthropologists, archaeologists, and investigators in related fields."

[4] Perhaps good examples of this are Schliemann's discovery of Homeric Troy in 1874 or Bouchard's discovery of the Rosetta Stone in 1799. A latter day Schliemann excavating in Bali at some future point could, in one excavation, conceivably change the course of what we now perceive to be the history of that island.

[5] B. Grant. Indonesia and Islamic Southeast Asia (Carlton 1996) p. 2.

[6] P. Bellwood. Prehistory of the Indo-Malaysian Archipelago (Honolulu 1997), pp. 107 - 121.

[7] Britannica Inc. Entry under Glottochronology. "The study of the rate of change occurring in the vocabularies of languages for the purpose of calculating the length of time (time depth) during which two related languages have developed independently. Glottochronology rests upon statistical comparison of the basic vocabulary shared by two or more related languages and on the assumption that the rate of vocabulary replacement is constant over sufficiently long periods of time. A number of linguists do not accept the methods or findings of glottochronology, for two reasons: the difficulty of compiling a culturally unbiased basic vocabulary list and the belief that the rate of linguistic change is not the same for all languages and is not constant for any single language.

....Glottochronological estimates indicate that diversification of Austronesian languages began around 4,000 to 5,000 years ago in the New Hebrides, in New Caledonia, and in the Solomons, and earlier still in the region of New Guinea.

The classification of Western Austronesian languages is not completely agreed upon.... The name Hesperonesian has recently achieved some acceptance as a convenient label for this grouping. Disagreement centres around the place of the Austronesian languages of Taiwan and east Indonesia, including the western end of New Guinea. Many linguists regard these languages as being most closely related to Hesperonesian, and, in particular, treat the Formosan languages of Taiwan as a branch of Hesperonesian .....The Hesperonesian group is generally regarded as dividing into two main branches, Western Indonesian, includes the languages of Malaya, Sumatra, Java, Madura, Bali, and Lombok, south Borneo, Madagascar, and probably the Chamic group of Vietnam and Kampuchea. The other, Northern Indonesian, encompasses the Philippine languages, some of the languages of north Borneo and the northern Celebes, and possibly the Formosan languages. "

[8] Bellwood, Prehistory, p. 295.

[9] Bellwood, Prehistory, pp. 277-281

[10] Bernet Kempers, Monumental Bali, pp. 18-22

[11] Ibid. pp. 16-17.

[12] Bellwood, Prehistory, P281.

[13] A. Zainu'ddin. A Short history of Indonesia. (Melbourne 1968), p. 20.

[14] B.R. Chatterji. History of Indonesia Early and Medieval. (Meerut 1967), p. 7.

[15] Chatterji, History, p. 35.

[16] D.G.E. Hall, A History of South-East Asia, 4th edition, (New York, 1981), p. 351.

[17] A. Lamb, "Indian Influence in Ancient South-East Asia", in A.L. Basham (ed.), A Cultural History of India (Oxford 1975). P. 444

[18] Bellwood, Prehistory p. 276

[19] Bernet Kempers, Monumental Bali. p. 37. Bernet Kempers states that the name Banten, in the context of this inscription (The Kubukubu inscription from East Java), obviously refers to Bali and not to Banten or Bantam in West Java.

A.M.B. Jones. Early Tenth Century Java From The Inscriptions. (Dordrecht) 1984. P. 166. Jones is not as certain as Bernet Kempers. She states that Bantun (called Banten by Bernet Kempers) could well be Bali but this is not certain due to the paucity of information.

[20] R. Mrazek & B. Forman. Bali The Split Gate to Heaven. (London 1983). p. 19. Mrazek and Forman dismiss Sanjaya as being mythical. However, Kempers in Bernet Kempers, Monumental Bali. p. 37 tells us that this information comes from the Carita Parahyangan text and that "...indigenous sources in both Cambodia and the then Chinese province of Tonkin actually do record Indonesian intervention in local affairs during the 8th century."....

[21] Bernet Kempers, Monumental Bali, p. 35.

[22] Mrazek & Forman, Bali The Split Gate, p 19

[23] Chatterji, History, p. 35.

[24] Mrazek & Forman, Bali The Split Gate, p. 20

[25] ASIA WEB Internet site: www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/Lobby/7374/INDONESIA.HTML. Udayana, father of Airlangga, was born in A.D. 990.

[26] The 1995 Grolier Multimedia Encyclopaedia. Entry under "Indonesia" (California 1995)

[27] Mrazek & Forman, Bali The Split Gate, p. 21

[28] Grolier, Entry under "Indonesia Government and politics" tell us that " From 1017 to 1019 he lived with hermits, probably practicing asceticism. In 1019 he was hailed as ruler of the small principality of Pasuruan near the Brantas delta, but he could not take the military offensive until 1028 and his final success was not before 1035. His victories gradually established his claims to divine power. Airlangga dispatched his last enemy by provoking an uprising against him in the manner taught by Kautilya, the master of Indian statecraft who recommended the use of subversion against an enemy. In his "Calcutta" inscription Airlangga expressed the hope that all in the land would now be able to lead religious lives................... Officials made a circuit of the country and visited village elders. Royal rule was probably not harsh; the protests that have been preserved were probably prompted by unusually weak government."

In Internet site Op. Cit. ASIA WEB. We learn that "1025.Airlangga takes rule in eastern Java, founds Kahuripan kingdom, makes peace with Srivijaya, protects both Hindus and Buddhists. He extends his rule over central Java, eastern Java, and Bali. Airlangga is remembered in today's Indonesia as a model of religious tolerance.

A further account is given in: Internetsite:http://www.askjeeves.com/FinalAnswer.asp?qCategory=GEOG&Link=http%3A%2F%2Flcweb2%2Eloc%2Egov%2Ffrd%2Fcs%2Fidtoc%2Ehtml&Title=Library+of+Congress+Country+Studies&Answers=1&ajparam_list1=38&ajparam_fillers=%7C38%5B963%5D%7C&ajparam_qid=426&site_name=Jeeves&scope=web&ask=Where+can+I+find+extensive+historical%2C+economic%2C+and+political+information+about+the+country+Indonesia%3F

"Meanwhile, the island of Bali was ruled by King Airlangga, known as a wise and strong ruler. He had water-works built along the Brantas River that are still in use today. Before his death in 1409 AD he divided his kingdom into the kingdoms of Janggala and Daha or Kediri. These were to be ruled by his two sons."


[29] Chatterji, History, p. 37.

[30] L. Reader & L. Ridout. Bali & Lombok: The Rough Guide. (London 1996). p. 346.

[31] Bernet Kempers, Monumental Bali, p. 166.

[32] Grolier, Entry under "Indonesia-The Majapahit era."

[33] Prapanca. M., Desawarnana (Nagarakrtagama); translated, (from the Javanese) by S. Robinson, (Leiden) 1995. p. 44, canto 28 appears to show Bali as a vassal state: "When he [the Javanese King] had been some time in Patukangan, The officials from Bali and Madura arrived....Out of devotion they brought gifts, competing with each other...."

p, 76, canto 70 refers to the year 1363 ...."When the King returned...he was concerned with the illness of the minister...Gajah Mada.... [who] had been his companion in bringing about an increase in Java's power in the past; In Bali and in Sadeng was the proof of his success in wiping out enemies."

[34] Prapanca, Desawarnana, P. 59. Canto 49:

"Further, in the Saka-year...(1265, AD 1343)
The king of Bali was evil and base-
He was attacked with an army, broken and completely crushed
Every kind of evildoer was fearful, and made off quickly....

[35] Mrazek & Forman, Bali The Split Gate, p. 23.

[36] Bernet Kempers, Monumental Bali. p. 33. According to Bernet Kempers " As a people the Balinese engaged everything with which they came into contact, carefully choosing what they wanted and rejecting what they did not want after trying it out, thus creating a civilisation of their own. They apparently did this repeatedly; besides the western connections there were also relations with the north and with Neolithic Japan..."

[37] It is interesting to note that the Balinese did not absorb cultural baggage from all and sundry. They did not for example, take anything from Islam, found no need to import the Heger drums and do not seem to have taken in anything worth remarking upon from China.