- Title
- From the margins of history: a long Babad of Jembrana, Bali
- Creator
- Ida Bagus, Mary Jane
- Relation
- University of Newcastle Research Higher Degree Thesis
- Resource Type
- thesis
- Date
- 2006
- Description
- Research Doctorate - Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
- Description
- The island of Bali, as the 'Hindu' region of Indonesia, has been well studied by anthropologists, historians, and archaeologists from all corners of the globe. The results of this intense focus have served the purposes of various regimes of power that have swept over an often silenced population. From the colonial Dutch, to post colonial nationalism, to the neo-colonial New Order, powerful hegemonic forces contributed to shaping a Bali that was displayed to the world as a unitary Hindu domain in a sea of contrived Indonesian diversity. The current powerful discourse that represents Bali as a philosophical vassal of Indian Hindu origin, removed as this is from general everyday practice, has come to be accepted as yet another layer of praxis that shrouds complex understandings of Balinese identity. Further, this very discourse has often been harnessed and refined to redefine Balinese histories. One area of Bali significantly excluded from these histories is the region of Jambrana in West Bali. Variously conceived as a 'gateway', 'buffer zone', interstitial zone', 'liminal zone' and 'empty field', Jembrana has been denied any serious representation as a place that displays Balinese history. This is clearly due to close proximity with Bali's binary other, Java, as well as the mixed ethnic and religious population that inhabits the Jembrana landscape. Historic positioning in Bali revolves around centralised powerful courtly cultures and fans out to the regions in ever-weakening expressions of power and influence. The invisibility of Jembrana is itself historical and has been essential in telling the stories of ventral Balinese post-Majapahit power relationships. The unfolding of Balinese identity as grounded in derivative cultures tells of a series of successful colonisations that have been encapsulated in a powerful master discourse in spite of conflicting local practices. This thesis reunites Jembrana with Balinese history as a place occupied by historical subjects. Dismantling the dominant discourse reveals processes of history. Subaltern experiences from the margins of Jambrana contribute to understanding the complexity and fragmented nature of Balinese experience, and provide a new framework for the analysis of religious and cultural diversity and conflict in Indonesia, and from anthropological theories of marginal experience and places.
- Subject
- Bali; Indonesia; Jembrana; Hinduism; history; colonial history; subaltern
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/1959.13/1312412
- Identifier
- uon:22382
- Rights
- Copyright 2006 Mary Jane Ida Bagus
- Language
- eng
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| Thumbnail | File | Description | Size | Format | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| View Details Download | ATTACHMENT01 | Thesis | 199 MB | Adobe Acrobat PDF | View Details Download | ||
| View Details Download | ATTACHMENT02 | Abstract | 9 MB | Adobe Acrobat PDF | View Details Download |