Bali's Animism


The province of East Java borders the Java Sea to the north, the Bali Strait to the east, the Indian Ocean to the south, and the province of Central Java to the west. According to a linguistics expert from Udayana University, Prof. Dr. I Wayan Jendra, SU. Before the arrival of Hinduism & Buddhism, the indigenous people of the archipelago practiced various types of animism.

Even though some families come from Majapahit, they are a minority, and they have full control over all matters of state life, including bringing Hinduism. People accepted it & combined it with the pre-Hindu mythology they believed in. The theological basis of Balinese Hinduism comes from Indian philosophy while animist beliefs are the basis of various rituals.

It is thought that the previously existing animist beliefs were mixed with Hinduism and produced a new type of fusion of Hinduism which contained unique characteristics and therefore made it different from Hinduism in India. Hinduism became mixed with animist beliefs that already existed in the archipelago & because of that, we can still find a diversity of Hindu beliefs today. During the period of growth & development in Indonesia in the text of the Pataka, the Hindu Dharma religion is also mentioned as having its own form because elements of this ancestral belief were incorporated into the religion.

They maintain animist traditions. For example, in traditional ceremonies & marriage traditions, distinctions are still made based on the ancestral lineage that led to the dynasty of the past. The most important characteristic of animist beliefs is the belief in the existence of spirits.

An important belief of Balinese Hinduism is that natural events are influenced by spirits. Therefore, offerings, which are made from agricultural products, are offered to spirits. They also believe that this universe has various powers that wait/reside in mountains, hills, rivers, seas, trees & plants as explained by Cinta Baliku, this animist belief is said to be passive in the natural environment / in other words nature about influencing humans.

Mount Agung is believed to be the home of the Gods and ancestors of the Balinese people. For groups that still practice animism, this is a serious problem because animism is not a religious choice given by the Indonesian government. This community tends to choose Hinduism as part of their identity card because Hinduism is more flexible in including elements of animism compared to other religions.

Some examples are the Tana Toraja tribe in Sulawesi, the Dayak tribe in Kalimantan & the Batak Karo tribe in Sumatra.

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