| Religious
beliefs, rites and festivals guide a Balinese from birth to death and into the
world there after. Religious customs in Bali define the plan for a town, the construction
of a home and the distribution of responsibilities with Bali's communities. Holidays,
entertainments and social gatherings in Bali are all determined by the religious
Balinese calendar and occur within the context of ritual observances. Some might
find such a life style confirming, for the Balinese it is an essential, rich source
of inspiration.
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| Bali,
a masterpiece of nature formed by an east-west range of volcanoes providing exceptional
fertile soils, was confronted with major cultural invasions in the past. The Balinese
were always able to manage such intrusions, simply by integrating and adapting
the foreign elements into the Balinese flexible living traditions. A striking
evidence of this polyglot is the Balinese art displaying Indian, Hindu-Javanese,
Chinese, Islamic and even some European elements. One may assume, especially with
regard to the Balinese tourism industry, that Bali's century-aged culture is vanishing;
nothing could be farther from the truth.
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