Ways of mankind II; Isle is full of voices

Ways of mankind. We are hard to understand but we are full of contradictions. As Islanders We live about shining the ocean bashful and modest to pass bare breasted phonetics for funerals who fear the dead equal in spirit but rank by contrast like the Indians bound to the wheel of rebirth. But we worship our ancestors like the Chinese. We look behind walls toward our privacy but seek out the clamor of crowds for company and music about us without work songs or whistling our food is cold but it burns your mouth. People are warm but they cheer your heart. This is the island of Bali was the

the. The the the I O is full of voices. A program in the serious ways of mankind presented under the supervision of Walter Goldschmidt anthropologist of the University of California Los Angeles by the National Association of educational broadcasters a series designed to show how human beings live together in different times and places. The aisle is full of voices is one of three programmes prepared to offer you the experience of living as the people of Bahrain live within the framework of their traditional culture. Once a year only that is silence in Bali in the dark of the

noon of the ninth month. We have driven away our demons. But in case they should return we try to make body unrecognizable by silence. This is right because Bali is the island of sound and music. Even small men little children play in the orchestras and night and day by rice field and forest. And if you didn't jungle the sound of our music shimmers in the. Our island lies just south of the equator and his therefore went on tropical. Our first home is right as you see nearly all the island is divided into rice terraces for meat. We eat pigs and ducks as this old man can no doubt tell us. I am on my way to prison to bring in the Ducks. What are they

waiting way over there by the flag I have placed to guide them. Sometimes the ducks are led to the fields by a boy sometimes by an old man all of whose children are married. But to be a herd for ducks is not a fitting task for a full fledged citizen. A married man in his prime. No indeed. And yet many Balinese descend into the trough of age losing their power and influence as the years go by. If there were all the ducks would be getting impatient. That man is near the end of this incarnation. I hope his next one will be fortunate. The ducks as you can see are waiting at the edge of the rice field where we grow the noblest of all plants. Is that not so. It is a proud task to grow rice to which all respect must be paid. When a woman enters the store house she should not do so in the dark. She should wear ceremonial costume and rinse out her mouth as if she were calling on divinity. Nor must there be talking in the

storehouse. No when the rice is being measured out. We pay all honor and respect to rice for from Rice is made the bodies of men and women who on the body is an island. But is like no other island in the world to the west and north of tigers and pythons and all the animals and birds and plant of Asia to the east and south of cockatoos and opossum and rails and all the animals and plants and birds of Australia in Bali. We have a little of both. As for our human animals we are short but we think handsome and others think so too. They admire our compass skins our upright carriage and our elegant movements talk to our children not by telling them. Not even showing them but by moving their little limbs into the right positions. We are a people of ease and grace.

Bali is an island. It has a population of one and a half million people 10 million dogs and 100 million demons. If you are at the moment since they have just been driven away in our island almost everything seems to come in layers. Look over here. Here is a man telling a story the tale of the creation of Bali and as is usual with us it is proceeding by question and answer. In the beginning there was nothing. No non therefore no sky. Then what then through meditation. The great serpent made the turtle a better one. And who is he. He is the foundation of the world. And what is on top of the turtle on top of the Turtle there lies a lid. The black stone and all this is the underworld. But who created the upper world created the upper world. And what lies upon it. First there lies a layer of water and on the layer of water. What on the Laird of water mud. This dried up and now

forms the earth and mountains and the earth. What on the earth. There lies the middle sky which is the air then hot then the floating sky full of clouds where sits the God of love. Then what then the dark blue sky where live the sun and moon. This is why they are above the clouds and above them the perfumed sky full of rare flowers. Little Bird chocked lives with the human face and the serpent the socket with the legs and wings and all the arm on Snake stuff falling star and above that is the flaming heaven of the ancestors and over of the great gods who keep watch over heaven and who special and the so everything lies in layers and everything on including body lies eventually on the back of the Great well. Sometimes there are shifts from down below and earthquake and then we all shout. We're still here we're still alive so that whoever is responsible will know the Balinese are still living on their island and will govern his behavior accordingly.

But wait wait. We are on the wrong direction. We should turn away from here. Although you cannot see it when I approach in the sea and we have a low opinion of the sea as I say everything is in layers in Bali and the sea is plainly the lowest layer. Just as the great mountain in the center of the island is the highest. This is why we always pay great attention to direction. We always sleep with our heads towards the height of the great mountain and away from the lowness of the sea. And if by any chance we lose our sense of direction we are much disturbed. This happened to you I think. Yes. Some time passed. Yes you were driving. No I was in the car but there was a white man driving. This can be most confusing. Yes. We drove too fast and the road was too windy. The top of the car was down. You couldn't tell which way you were going. I had not the least idea

which way was towards the mountain. I was very upset. It upset speed no. That is NOT speak of it further or I should go to sleep. You see what an upsetting experience it must have been. Look at that man now. He is already half asleep. That is something we Balinese do very often when there is something happening we do not much like. We withdraw ourselves. We daydream. Sometimes we even sleep. When a thief is on trial. I've often seen him fall asleep in the court. He does not like the situation so he gets away from it. We do this very often in a crowd for we like crowds. We like to be close to people's bodies but we do not like to be close to their hearts. We do not like intrusion on our spirits. We have no word for love. Look over here. There is a market going on and there are two orchestras playing at once different music.

All this noise and bustle makes us very happy. If there is a crowd we like to be in the midst of it. But look carefully you see this woman here. There are four children climbing over her. Are all these children yours. Are all these children yours. Listen to me. Are these children yours. I ask you if these children are all yours home. No no only this one. The others I borrowed from my sister. Why. Oh I don't know perhaps I was feeling lonely. You see she borrows children from her sister because she feels lonely and she comes into the middle of all this crowd and she sits in a trance and pays no attention to

anything. This is quite usual. Look at the man over there. No not that one the one over there beside the woman under the umbrella. The woman managing that man she is not his stuff so full of tobacco he cannot even close it and he is sitting daydreaming with that speech the moneylender right beside him. He has put up the walls of his spirit and yet he is in the midst of crowds and carnival of noise. An opera is a happy man. Bali is an island of layers. The society of men falls into layers. We have a system of concepts as in India but most of our people out of no caste There are a few of the priest cast a few of the Raja cast and a few of the warrior

caste. These people must be addressed in a special language and when they are seated they must be higher than their inferiors. Just as the great mountain is higher than the sea. I am a high caste woman and I remember when I was 10 years old. I was an expert and highly trained dancer and I was sent with another girl of the same age to dance with one of the same as orchestra clubs some distance from where I live. Of course the servant was sent along with us as a chaperone. When we reached the house where we were to spend the night nice beds had been made for us girls and we were just getting ready to go to sleep when we discovered a horrifying thing. The seventh had been given a place to sleep in the attic. Above all the heads. Now a person of cast cannot commit anyone to sleep or to sit higher than they are. So we to a little good news had to get out of our comfortable bed. And go up in the attic. There we spent the night on a very hard wooden

bridge while the seven slept on the floor. In this way everything was made right and the right order and proper level wear prison. Now I will not say that some of us do not think this attention to cost is a little overdone. After all most of the people are of no cost at all. Nonetheless the respect we pay to costs is carefully and fully observed. So sometimes I have seen it done with just a little tinge of irony. But all the same we always have a keen sense of layers. Let me show you for instance one way a mother can tease her children. We shall go this way past the grain fields. Hear the boys shouting they are keeping the birds and monkeys away by shouting and by pulling on strings to work a nice mechanical scarecrows we have that is about all boys have to do that and look out to the big blue water buffaloes there are some over there lying in the mud at just the tips of their noses and their eyes showing.

When the evening comes in by will twist their tails and shout at them and they will rear up out of the cool mud with a great smacking noise and walk quietly home beside the water buffaloes. We also have oxen which we use for plowing and oh oh look here on these beautiful eight Oh yeah it is eight of the nicest fighting cocks you could find anywhere and you have put them out in their cages by the side of the road. How thoughtful. Yes the birds like to see the people going by and it is a good thing to keep them happy and entertained. Then they fight well. All these are beautiful birds with us you know cockfighting is a great past time there is keen interest and much betting and even if your body is killed that is one consolation. At least you are left with a chicken dinner. My brother belongs to a kite flying club and he says there is nothing so exciting as ten or a dozen men all hanging on to the string of one great kite. But as far as I'm concerned the place for real excitement is the cockpit. And you can make

money there too if you've got a good. Well we must dos and I promise to show how a mother teaches her children by way of lands. But Bonnie is a very crowded island and there is always something to see and to hear. I expect you have noticed we have very seldom far from the sound of music. And everywhere we go men and women are passing back and forth. The men carrying things on the shoulders the women on their heads. By the way have a chair eyes here. This is a woman whose bathing place by the road and although we Balinese usually wear only a sarong wrapped around the waist we are not his people and we do not send our eyes where they have no business. As I have told you we office to Dia's we do not like intrusions. I'm afraid the water to bathe in is rather

muddy but we do not bathe to get off the dirt. Rather it is because we like the cool liquid against our skin and because water even muddy water washes away the pollution of having come into contact with it. Now here's the house to which we are going. You notice like most Balinese houses it has a high wall around it and a kind of baffled at the doorway. This is not so that we cannot see in there we cannot in fact do so but it is to keep out demons who don't like to go around corners too much. The Chinese share our views in this. But here we are inside. Here's the husband by the gate. Hello hello. Oh that is very pretty a nice piece of work. I think so. This isn't the full cage of crickets. Have you caught the crickets already. Yes I have two or three wrapped in a leaf. I was just going to put one in. What a sweet tone that one has has in it. You don't often hear a cricket with such a delicate nose.

He looks quite happy don't you think. Perfectly happy. What is your family. My senior wife is over there weaving my junior wife is with the children. She is the one we wish to talk to. I leave the cricket cage in the shade and walk over with you. Hear the music from over that way. One of the little dancing girls was possessed by a goddess before dawn they can't get her to go back to Heaven again. The girl who was possessed was dancing as usual you know standing on a man's shoulders and everyone was yelling at her. Come along Madam goddess don't you think it's time you went home and things like that. I expect to get tired of it presently and take off all the child's ceremonial costume. Then things will become adjusted. Well wife what have you been doing nothing around over there. Never mind sharp answers. Give the child some food. You pass it to me then the cold spiced Rice is in that dish. You're feeding the baby solid food. Have been for several weeks. He's post his hundred five day birthday. I lie on his back. You pile up

the food on his mouth. Is that enough. No no no make a big stack so that when he opens his mouth you really get it filled. That's more like it. There he goes. He opened his mouth and got a real face full. Where is the small man. The other boy hiding behind me somewhere. Come on out that way nobody's going to hurt you. I'm Scared Of course you are. You'd be scared. But don't look scared. Let's see you tease him with a baby. That game said game you don't like the way I'm holding the baby above your head. How do you know I got it. Look at little babies right above you don't have your permission. How about them but that's not right that's not the way it should be when I'm older I should be about. You're teasing me Michael right now who didn't get me right he did me like

that. I think I'll go over to the market. What do you want to tease me for. Very well I'm going to make another cricket cake. All right. If you don't want to speak. We too must go. Goodbye. You see what has happened. Even a child can be teased by being placed out of his proper level and when the mother has got his attention she turns away and thinks of something else. Soon our children learn this and do not become too demanding. They learn not to commit themselves emotionally. Perhaps this is why they do the same when they grow up. Perhaps this is why we Balinese put up walls around ourselves as well as around our houses. It is beginning to be night now. The tropical day will soon pass into the tropical night. Now here is somebody who looks pleased and excited. Perhaps he's been attending a funeral. No I have been in a plowing race. It was very fine. There were

three orchestras playing there and large crowds all in bright colors. I was ploughing with a fine pair of oxen when we started off. I was in the lead but soon another team passed me then another and another two by the time the plowing race was over. I was last. But the judges awarded me the prize all the same. None of the animals stepped so well and so elegantly as mine in the plowing race. It is not speed that counts but elegance. This is often true in other things as well. We Balinese like to do everything beautifully except perhaps eat. I must admit we are rather clumsy eaters and shy and embarrassed about it as well. Usually going off by ourselves to eat. Perhaps this is because we learn to eat as you have seen by having food piled up on our faces. But in or else it is elegance and the festive Yes. Visitors to our island sometimes praise the way we do things and make things and say we are all artists. Well there is no word for artist in our speech. Perhaps

because whatever we do we always do as beautifully as possible. Look over here for example. Here the drama is in progress. The end the the end the this is a story from the Mahabharata to the great Indian at the rebound Anees borrow from many places in this particular one the actors are puppets and we watch the shadows move from a tightly stretched screen. The opera or drama or dance for it is all three films how the five holy brothers acquired the magic strength to wage the holy war and fight to better against the armies of darkness. A battle so great

that it made the river stand still the sun paved and the mountains trimmed. As you see there are plenty of children in the audience even though it is late. They will stay there until dawn. Perhaps taking naps from time to time. We are very fond of the drama in Bali and a fine classical puppet piece tike this may go on for days if the weather holds out. If it starts to rain of course then the performers can very quickly scamper their way through what remains of the plot threads the one who's done this thing often enough. So that the workers entered into their liver and they can do it without tick that has moved away a little from the splendid performance for there is something I must tell you eat that man said something very important. He said that the drama tonight was from the Indian Mahabharata and then he said we Balinese borrow from many places.

Oh how true this is our island is east of Java and I'm an apron insula points towards it. Some things like our caste system our opera plots and our highly spiced food come from India. Others like our language our clothing and the knife we carry the crease are part of the very old tradition of the East Indies. Yet others like our kite flying our cricket cages are duck farming. That demon baffles come from China so also does an ancestor worship our religion as you know is one of reincarnation. It is very Indian but along with it is this reverence for our ancestors which is perhaps Chinese or may even be a relic of a very old body. Whatever it is it is certainly here. And when the rumors of the village meet The Mad Men all of whose children are not yet old enough to be married when these people meet there is often an invocation to the ancestors. Oh and sisters who begot us see what the village is doing for you

here all ancestors are all our married men assembled in the council. Before each man there lies a heap of parched rice surrounded by a ring of beans. Or wear ceremonial dress and or wear the crease. Therefore the secret and sisters we beseech you favor us with your presence. Partake with us of the feast enlighten our deliberations with your divine sagacity that the affairs of the village may prosper and that we may show ourselves worthy descendants of such powerful beings as yourselves. Grandfathers of the village come to us the week. But although we have borrowed many things from many places there is only one body. We have a long history behind us many waves of invaders have passed over us and from each we have taken something and built it into

Balinese life. Even our white skin Congress even you have given us something for our culture. Look carefully at our temple carvings as well as oxen. They show automobiles and there are other changes. I have told you several times about demons. Well we have witches tool and wizards and sometimes men say they turn themselves into animals and prowl the night. Well not so long ago a young man was coming home very late. And do you know what he saw. A bicycle. A bicycle riding about in circles all on its own. It had no rider. I crept up to it quietly in the moonlight. And I saw a dreadful sight. The tires of that circling bicycle were pulsating swelling and contracting like a person's chest. They were breathing it was alive. Softly I drew my crease. My knife. And crept upon it. Then suddenly I slashed those throbbing tires to ribbons and fled into the night. I

was terrified. And the next morning. On the same spot. There lay the dead body of a woman long suspected to be a witch. And she had been slashed to death with the blows of a crease. She was quietly buried and nothing more was said about it. But I do not go that way at night again. This then is Bali. It is a beautiful place and our men and women are good looking too but aloof. We are all contradictions in small things as well as in Great. Like the Indians bound to the wheel of rebirth. If we worship our ancestors like the Chinese. Our food is cold but it burns your mouth. Ah people I work on. But they chill your heart. That island as we live. But shining the ocean

phonetics for funerals who fear the dead. Bashful and modest who pass bare breasted equal in spirit but ranked by caste. We live behind walls toward our privacy. But seek out the clamor of crowds for company and music abounds without work songs or whistling music about us and our life is music. The threads are numerous but on our world the motions a country but the movements are together the parts are in discord but the whole is in harmony. In the series ways of mankind presented under the supervision of Dr. Walter Goldsmith associate

professor of anthropology and sociology of the University of California Los Angeles. You have heard the aisle is full of voices. One of three programs designed to offer you the experience of living as the people of Bombay live within the framework of their traditional culture. Carla McPhee selected and made available they recorded music from the island of Bali. The script was written by Lester Sinclair and was produced by Andrew Allen in the studios of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation Toronto. These programs are presented by the National Association of educational broadcasters and are made possible under a grant from the fund for adult education an independent organization established by the Ford Foundation. This program was distributed by the national educational radio network.