Ajeg Bali - A Response to Danger and Conflict in Bali
Dr Mary Ida Bagus - Independent Scholar
This paper discusses the concept of ‘ajeg Bali', a growing movement of cultural differentiation within nation state Indonesia. Based around a model of ‘krama’(traditional) Bali, ‘ajeg Bali’ (Bali standing strong) particularly describes Bali as Hindu and therefore excludes other religious identities from this developing tradition. This process is particularly manifest in material culture. In West Bali, the proliferation of new temples and Hindu shrines monumentalises the idea of ‘ajeg Bali’. Framed within a parochial and standard response to danger and conflict, mobilisation around ‘ajeg Bali’ provides a conduit for agency in a time of confusion and social uncertainty.
