International Journal of Indonesian Studies Volume 1, Issue 3 | Page 20

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF INDONESIAN STUDIES
SPRING 2016
the island in the era of globalisation. The investigation has focused on the historically
important site of the Tabanan palace, which forms the geographic and symbolic focus of the
ceremony, and constitutes a historically essential element in the civic and religious life of
the community.
The ancestral relationship between the descendants of the Tabanan king, and other
members in the banjar community, still exists as the main support for the cremation rituals.
Participation in these rituals demands much time and manpower and the tradition is
sufficiently strong to maintain a continuity of funeral practice, without any obvious internal
conflict between participants and stakeholders. However, several external factors are
beginning to have a negative impact on securing the future for these important public
events, as highlighted below:
- The arrival of migrants from other islands in Indonesia, who become residents in
the banjar, has created some tensions in the otherwise harmonious relationship
among community members.
- The lack of proper employment laws means that taking time off work, to
participate in these ceremonies, is becoming more difficult.
- Since openness and accessibility of land is a fundamental aspect of Balinese Hindu
culture, the conversion of agriculture land to commercial use is leading to an
unbalanced environment.
- Globalisation and the impact of modern lifestyles continue to impose new
challenges on the culture and traditions of the Balinese people.
Though tourism has been the prime driver of economic growth in Bali, most tourist
businesses are actually owned by non-Balinese. This fact has made it difficult to claim that
tourism in general has empowered the Balinese, in terms of maintaining or enhancing their
culture and traditions, as well as their environment. The government and other
stakeholders, responsible for protecting and maintaining these vital assets of Bali, remain
focused on enhancing government revenue through unchecked development of the tourism
industry, without considering the carrying capacity of the island. The case of the cremation
ceremony, and its role in Balinese society today, highlights the fragility of the situation, and
the need to identity policies that will secure its survival as a lived tradition.
Acknowledgement
The majority of this article derives from a historical and empirical study. We would like to
thank Tabanan Government for supporting additional documents. Also special thanks to the
School of Art, Design and Architecture, and School of Human, and Health Sciences at
University of Huddersfield for their Writing Retreat Workshop Programme to encourage the
completion of this article, as well as the Directorate of High Education of Indonesia Republic
for their support.

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