To the east of Java lies the island of BÁli. This interesting spot exhibits the same mineralogical structure as Java, and probably at one period composed a part of the same island. Possessing the same climate and a similar soil, having mountains of a proportionate height, and streams equally fitted for the purpose of irrigation, it enjoys the same degree of fertility; but having an iron-bound coast, without harbours or good anchorage, it has been in a great measure shut out from external commerce, particularly with traders in large vessels.

Like MadÚra, it seems naturally situated for being a tributary to Java. But the most striking features in the character and institutions of its inhabitants are owing to that long independence on the greater island and its fortunes, which has preserved to them many traces of their original condition, many of their distinctive laws and religious rites.

The natives of BÁli, although of the same original stock with the Javans, exhibit several striking differences, not only in their manners and the degrees of civilization they have attained, but in their features and bodily appearance. They are above the middle size of Asiatics, and exceed, both in stature and muscular power, either the Javan or the MalÁyu. Though professing a religion which in western India moulds the character of the Hindu into the most tame and implicit subserviency to rule and authority, and though living under the rod of despotism which they have put into the hands of their chiefs, they still possess much of the original boldness and self-willed hardihood of the savage state.

Their general indifference to the oppression which they endure, their good humour and apparent satisfaction, together with their superior animation and energy, give to their countenances, naturally fairer and more expressive than those of the Javans, a higher cast of spirit, independence, and manliness, than belongs to any of their neighbours. They are active and enterprising, and free from that listlessness and indolence which are observable in the inhabitants of Java. To a stranger their manners appear abrupt, unceremonious, coarse, and repulsive; but upon further acquaintance this becomes less perceptible, and their undisguised frankness commands reciprocal confidence and respect. Their women, in particular, who are here on a perfect equality with the men, and not required to perform many of the severe and degrading labours imposed upon them in Java, are frank and unreserved. In their domestic relations their manners are amiable, respectful, and decorous. The female character, indeed, seems to have acquired among them more relative dignity and esteem than it could have been expected to have attained where polygamy has been long established. [Vol II Pg cxxxix]

The conduct of parents to their children is mild and gentle, and it is requited by unreserved docility and obedience. To their chiefs they show a respectful deference: among themselves they stand on a footing of equality, and feeling no dependence pay little homage. The abject servitude of Asia has not proceeded further with them than necessary obedience to indispensable authority. Their prince is sacred in their eyes, and meets with unreserved obedience; but their minds are not broken down by numerous demands on their submission, nor are their manners polished by the habit of being frequently with superiors. An European or a native, therefore, who has been accustomed to the polite and elegant manners of the Javans, or with the general courtesy of the Malayus, is struck with the unceremonious, rude, and uncivilized habits of the people of BÁli.

In the arts they are considerably behind the Javans, though they seem capable of advancing rapidly. They are happily not subjected to a frame of government so calculated to repress their energies, or to waste their resources. They are now a rising people. Neither degraded by despotism nor enervated by habits of indolence or luxury, they perhaps promise fairer for a progress in civilization and good government than any of their neighbours.

They are strangers to the vices of drunkenness, libertinism, and conjugal infidelity: their predominant passions are gaming and cock fighting. In these amusements, when at peace with the neighbouring states, all the vehemence and energy of their character and spirit is called forth and exhausted. Their energy, their modes of life, and their love of independence, render them formidable to the weaker states in their neighbourhood, and secure them against all attacks from any native power in the Indian Archipelago. What they now are it is probable that the Javans once were, in national independence, as well as in religious and political institutions.

The island of BÁli appears to be divided at present into seven different states, each independent of the other, and subject to its own chief.

The population of these states is estimated to amount in all to above eight hundred thousand souls. This estimate is formed from the numbers of males whose teeth have been filed, which in the different states stood in round numbers as follows:

As the operation of filing the teeth immediately precedes puberty, this list of course excludes all males who have not arrived at that period, as well as all females whatever. From the early age at which marriages are contracted, those who have undergone the operation may for the most part be considered as having entered into family connections[303], and a calculation of four to a family will give the same result. This great population has doubtless increased since the abolition of the slave trade.

Of this heptarchy, KlÓngkong is admitted to be the most ancient sovereignty. Its princes are said to have originally emigrated from Java, and a period is recorded when the whole island of BÁli acknowledged their authority. Even still they retain evidences of their former dignity, and traces of their former influence. Among the regalia are still preserved a kris, and other articles that belonged to MajapÁhit, and the other princes of the island recognize them as the stock from whence they sprung, though they limit their fealty to general respect, and jealously maintain their own independence.

BÁli is generally supposed to have been originally peopled from different parts of Celebes. The first person who is said to have established the religion and government which still exist, was DÉwa Agung KÁtut, son of RÁtu BrowijÁya of MajapÁhit in Java. The cause of his quitting Java is related by the Balians as follows.

"The father of BrowijÁya was informed by his head BramÁna, that it was written in a sacred book that after the expiration of forty days the title of RÁja of MajapÁhit should be extinct: to which the Raja gave such implicit credit, that at the expiration of that time he caused himself to be burnt alive. His son, not daring to disobey the sentence of the book, removed to BÁli with a number of followers, and established his authority at KlÓngkong, taking the title of supreme sovereign, which title still continues hereditary in the Rajas of KlÓngkong."

The inhabitants of BÁli, like those of Java, are principally employed in agriculture. The fertility of the island may be inferred from the number of people maintained on so limited a spot. Rice is the chief produce of the soil, and of course the chief article of subsistence.

From the mountainous nature of the country, advantage cannot so easily be taken of the periodical rains for the purpose of the rice irrigation, but the lands are irrigated by an abundant supply of water from streams and rivers. In some places, as in KÁrang Asem, two crops of rice are obtained in one year; but over the greatest part of the island only one. In the dry season the sÁwahs yield a crop of maize. The natives reckon from fifty to sixty fold of increase in the rice cultivation no extraordinary produce. The women are not employed, as in Java, to plant the pÁri: their assistance in the field is only required to reap it. The implements of husbandry are of the same simple construction as those on Java, and nearly similar in form.

Bullocks of the BÁnteng, or wild breed, and of very fine quality, are[Vol II Pg cxli] almost invariably used in husbandry. The price of a pair of oxen of this kind, fit for the plough, is generally about six Spanish dollars, and seldom exceeds eight. The ordinary price of a pikul (133¼ pounds English) of rice, is about three-fourths of a Spanish dollar.

The tenure by which land is held differs widely from that which exists at present in the native provinces of Java. The sovereign is not here considered the universal landlord; on the contrary, the soil is almost invariably considered as the private property of the subject, in whatever manner it is cultivated or divided. It may be sold, let, pledged, devised, or otherwise disposed of, at the option of the proprietor, and without any reference to the will of the superior. The divisions of this property are generally very minute, and the mode of measurement not very defined, and there are instances of great irregularity, even in the application of the same mode of measurement.

The measure of land is expressed by the quantity of seed required to sow it, and said to be so many tÁnas. Some proprietors possess fifty tÁnas, while others hold not more than one or two. The private estate of the elder Raja of Bliling did not exceed a few hundred tÁnas, nor did that of the younger much surpass it.

But though the prince is not considered as actual proprietor of the land of his dominions, he receives a certain share of the produce in the way of tax. This tax is either paid in a small Chinese coin, called kÉpeng, or in kind, at the rate of about five tÁnas of produce for every tÁna of seed sown.

Though in the lower districts the food of the people is universally rice, in the higher and more mountainous parts they subsist principally on sweet potatoes and Indian corn. The principal animal food that they use is swine flesh, which is found in great abundance. The price of a grown hog seldom exceeds a dollar, and scarcely ever amounts to a dollar and a half.

The habitations of the BÁlians differ from those of the Javans, in being generally constructed of mud walls and surrounded by walls of baked or unbaked bricks; in consequence of which, and the peculiar formation of the entrances and doorways, the principal towns are said to resemble the Hindu towns on the continent of India.

The arts are little practised. Though the island produces cotton of the most excellent quality, and in great abundance, the natives have not generally learned the art of painting or printing the cloth, which they manufacture from it. The women here, as on Java, are the manufacturers of all the cloth used by their husbands or families. Their principal manufacture is in krÍses and warlike instruments; they make fire-arms, and ornament the barrels, but purchase European locks.

The principal exports are rice, birds'-nests, coarse cloths, cotton yarn, salted eggs, dÍnding, gÁmbir, and oil: the principal imports are opium (which the inhabitants are unfortunately much addicted to), kÁyu pÉlet, betel-nut, ivory, gold, and silver. The BÁlians dislike a seafaring life, and hold the profession of a merchant in disrepute. Their fairs and[Vol II Pg cxlii] markets are few and little frequented. The trade that was at one time carried on with the greatest success was the traffic in slaves. The usual price of a male slave was from ten to thirty dollars, of a female from fifty to one hundred. This disgraceful traffic, it may be hoped, will soon be entirely annihilated. While it existed in its full vigour, all prisoners taken in war, all who attempted to evade the laws by emigration, all insolvent debtors, and a certain class of thieves, were subjected to the sad condition of slavery. These laws still subsist, and are enforced, as formerly, for the purpose of procuring the home supply; but the diminution of the foreign demand must limit exceedingly their exercise, and in a short time ameliorate the state of the unhappy individuals who had suffered by them[304].

But the most interesting character of the BÁlians arises out of the frame of their government, the code of their laws, and the system of their religion. I have, in one part of this work, particularly described, and in others repeatedly alluded to, the traces of Hinduism on Java; and if these traces had not been decided and manifest in themselves, their interpretation would have been rendered manifest by what occurs in BÁli.

In BÁli not more than one in two hundred, if so many, are Mahomedans, and the great body of the people profess the creed and observe the institutions of a religion which has become extinct in the rest of the [Vol II Pg cxliii]Archipelago. On Java we find Hinduism only amid the ruins of temples, images, and inscriptions; on BÁli, in the laws, ideas, and worship of the people. On Java this singular and interesting system of religion is classed among the antiquities of the island. Here it is a living source of action, and a universal rule of conduct. The present state of BÁli may be considered, therefore, as a kind of commentary on the ancient condition of the natives of Java. Hinduism has here severed society into casts; it has introduced its divinities; it has extended its ceremonies into most of the transactions of life; it has enjoined or recommended some of its severest sacrifices, such as the burning of a widow on the funeral pile of her husband: but yet the individual retains all the native manliness of his character and all the fire of the savage state.

By this system the BÁlians are divided into four casts: 1. The BramÁna, 2. Rusi or Satria, 3. Wisia, and 4. Sudra. The princes of the island are generally, but not always, of the BramÁna cast: the present Raja of Bliling is of the second class. The government is despotic, there being no check on the will of the chief nor any sharer of his power[305]. He is assisted in his internal administration by a head ParbÁkal; and in the general affairs of his government, the management of foreign correspondence, and the superintendence of his foreign relations, by an officer called RÁden TumÚng'gung.

The system of village government is established here as on Java. The constitution of each village is the same. The head, or chief, is termed ParbÁkal, and the assistant KalÍan TÉmpek: these officers are invariably selected from among the people of the village which they are appointed to govern. The office of ParbÁkal is considered hereditary, if the successor is competent; and on a vacancy occurring, the ParbÁkal recommends the successor of a KalÍan TÉmpek.

Under the head ParbÁkal, who is termed ParbÁkal RÁja, are several inferior ParbÁkals, as assistants to that officer in conveying his orders to the heads of villages; and under the RÁden TumÚng'gung is placed a similar establishment, consisting of about a hundred persons, with the rank and title of KalÍan TÉmpek.

Many of the ParbÁkals of villages in Bliling have the title of GÚsti, which descends in their families, and which serves to distinguish them as nobles. These probably originated in their conduct in war. The command of the military is at present vested in a chief of the BramÁna cast, styled RÁja BÁngen SenapÁti; BÁngen being the district which contains the principal Braminical establishment. He seems to receive honours and respect next to the Rajah himself.

The heads of kampongs in which foreigners reside are termed Pang'gÁwa; and in speaking collectively of the heads of villages, the Raja uses the term Papang'gÁwa.

The administration of justice is generally conducted by a court, composed of one JÁksa and two assistants: in addition to whom, in the determination[Vol II Pg cxliv] of any cause of importance, several BramÁnas are called in. Their decisions are guided by written laws. The civil code is called DegÁma, the criminal code AgÁma. Before these courts three or four witnesses are required to substantiate any criminal charge. Their witnesses are examined on oath, and people of any cast are competent to take such oath and to be so examined. The form of administering the oath requires of the person who takes it to hold a bason of water in his hand, and after repeating, "may I and my whole generation perish, if what I allege is not true," to drink the water.

The form of procedure requires the prosecutor or plaintiff to be heard first on oath: his witnesses are next examined, then the prisoner or defendant and his witnesses, after which the court decides on a general view of the whole of the evidence submitted to its consideration. No torture is employed to procure evidence: mutilation is unknown. The usual punishments are death, confinement, and servitude. The laws, in some instances, are severe, in others lenient. In the execution of the punishment awarded by the court there is this peculiarity, that the aggrieved party or his friends, are appointed to inflict it: for though the judge steps in between the prosecutor and person whom he pursues, so as to restrain the indiscriminate animosity of the one and to determine the criminality of the other, the BÁlians have not advanced so far in the refinement of criminal justice, as to consider criminal offences in the nature of offences perpetrated against the state, and punishable by its officers.

Theft and robbery are punished by death inflicted by a krÍs; murder and treason are punished in some cases by breaking the limbs of the convict with a hatchet, and leaving him to linger some days in agony till death ensues. Adultery is punished with death in the man and perpetual servitude to the prince in the woman. This severity restrains the crime; but in the small state of Bliling there occur sometimes several trials for it during the year.

The Raja must confirm every criminal sentence before it is executed, and every civil decision that involves the servitude of the party. Confiscation of the culprit's property follows capital punishment only, the amount of which is divided between the prince and judges. In other cases there is no confiscation.

The laws of BÁli differ from those of Java with respect to marriages and divorces. In the former island, divorces are permitted under no circumstances whatever; in the latter, almost every caprice is sufficient to procure one. In BÁli the husband generally buys his wife by paying a sum of money to her parents: thirty dollars is the common price. If unable to pay this sum, he becomes, as in the patriarchal times of scripture, the servant of the party to whom he thus becomes indebted, and resides along with his wife in the house of his father-in-law. His services are received in diminution of the dowry; and if he acts so as to please the family of his wife, the exaction of it is either in part or in whole remitted.

Without entering into any theory concerning the history of the religious system of BÁli, or any detailed comparison of it with systems in India, the following notices may be thought interesting. [Vol II Pg cxlv]

The inhabitants, as before stated, are divided into casts, named BramÁna, SÁtria, WÍsia, and SÚdra. The BramÁnas are of two descriptions, BramÁna SÉwa and BramÁna BÚda. The former are most respected, and refrain from eating all animal food, except that of ducks, goats, and buffaloes: hogs' flesh and that of the cow are forbidden. The BramÁna BÚda eat indiscriminately of animal food.

The BramÁna SÉwa are said not to perform worship in the temples: this is left to the lowest orders, generally the SÚdras. The worship of the lower orders, as performed in the temples, cannot be called Hindu. In these temples, which are very numerous, mud figures are placed, representing the tutelar deities of each particular country.

The BramÁnas of all descriptions are held in great respect, and never condescend to pay compliments to any person whatever. The respect in which they are relatively held, seems to be in proportion to the age of the person, and his supposed learning and accomplishments. A BramÁna may eat from the hands of another of a similar age, but not from those of a junior.

The BramÁna are said not to worship idols, nor do they perform public worship in the temples, but in their private houses only.

A BramÁna may marry a woman of an inferior order, but the offspring of such a marriage is called BujÁnga, which forms a distinct class.

There is in BÁli a class of outcasts, called ChandÁlas, who are not permitted to reside in villages; are generally potters, dyers, dealers in leather, distillers, and retailers of ardent spirits. The dancing women are of the Wisia and Sudra castes.

A BramÁna cannot be in any servile occupation. He cannot sit on the ground, nor perform obeisance to any other class.

The religion of BÁli has been considered as of two descriptions, that of Budh and that of BrÁma. The Budhists are said to have come first to the country. Of the BramÁnas of SÉwa nine generations are said to have passed over since their arrival. The name of the principal BramÁna of the caste of SÉwa, who first settled on BÁli, is said to have been WÚtu RÁhu: he came from TelingÁna, and on his way is said to have touched at MajapÁhit.

The Rajas of BÁli are generally of the Satria caste; but this does not always hold.

From information obtained at Bliling, it would appear that the greater part of the population of BÁli follow the worship of SÉwa. The Budhists are said to be rare, and the names of three districts only could be stated, where the Budhist religion is supposed to prevail.

The sacrifice of the widow on the funeral pile of her husband is frequent. All classes may perform this sacrifice, but it is most common with the SatrÍa. Force is said never to be had recourse to on these occasions. The number of women who sacrifice themselves is extraordinary:?—the father of the present Raja of Bliling was followed by no less than seventy-four women. The dead body is usually preserved in these cases for many months, and even for a year. The corpse is preserved by daily fumigations with benzoin.

The bodies of the dead are burnt, except in the case of children before[Vol II Pg cxlvi] they have shed their teeth, and of all persons dying of the small pox: as in the latter case the body cannot be preserved, and it is usual, even with the lower orders, to keep the body for two months. Among some, however, it is said to be usual to throw the dead bodies into the sea.

The flesh of the cow is eaten by all except the BramÁnas who have led a life of austerity: these refrain from eating even rice, and live wholly upon roots and fruit.

The Budhists are said to be so little scrupulous in their diet, as to eat not only the flesh of the cow, but even that of dogs and all other animals. Milk is never used as an article of food.

These particulars respecting the religious observances of the BÁlians were obligingly communicated to me by Mr. Crawfurd, who visited the island in 1814. In the following year I visited Bliling myself; but my stay was too short to obtain any very detailed information on this interesting particular, further than a collection of their different manuscripts, which have been brought to this country, and already adverted to under the head of Javan literature.

On inquiring into the rank of their deities, they replied at once:

• The first is BatÁra GÚru.
• The second BatÁra BrÁma, emblematical of fire.
• The third BatÁra WÍsnu, emblematical of water.
• The fourth BatÁra SÉwa, emblematical of air.

Besides these they have several other deities, not however termed BatÁra, as:

The deity MahadÉwa is known and mentioned in the religious books, but is not an object of worship.

BatÁra GÚru is considered as the highest object of worship below the divinity. Sang yang TÚng'gal (the Lord who is one).

I shall close this account of the religion of BÁli with the following literal translation of an account of the Hindu religion, furnished to me by an intelligent Mahomedan, a native of the island.

"The religion of BÚdh, as it exists on BÁli, is divided into SakÁlan and NiskÁlan. The first regards all worldly concerns, such as the orders of the prince, the laws of the land, &c., including the common affairs and transactions of life; the second comprehends all the duties and ceremonies of religion, the conducting of which is in the hands of the MaperwÍta, or learned Brahmins called PadÉnda.

"The different kinds of worship attached to this division of the religion, are those of BatÁra Permisti GÚru, Batara NarÁda, Batara Sang yang TÚng'gal, and all his descendants; of all of whom images are made,[Vol II Pg cxlvii] some of gold, some of silver, some of bell-metal, and some in iron; and to whom are dedicated temples and places for the reception of their images on GÚnung Agung, GÚnug BÁtu, GÚnung Baturkahu, and GÚnung Predung; but it is GÚnung Agung that is the famous place for them; and those figures are the objects of worship to all the princes of BÁli.

"When there happens to be a mabÁntan, which signifies a festival on some grand occasion, all the Rajas, with their families, descendants, and subjects, repair to GÚnung Agung and invoke all the deities, the MaperwÍta BramÁna being summoned to attend and conduct the ceremonies.

"On occasions of less importance, those images only of the deities which are behind their houses are worshipped, a MaperwÍta BramÁna being called to attend and officiate.

"At the PembÁkaran, or place where the bodies of the princes are burned, there are also figures of the different deities, in places made for their reception.

"Marriages (mabandÁngan) are sanctified by their being borne witness to by the MaperwÍta BramÁnas, as well as all the deities who are invoked on the occasion.

"On the new moon, and on the eighth and twenty-third of the month all the deities are worshipped, every one joining in the ceremonies. Should any of the Rajas attend on those days, he of the greatest rank, and power orders the attendance of the MaperwÍta BramÁnas. Great offerings being made to the deities, thousands of people are afterwards fed with their consecrated fragments. On these occasions the MaperwÍta BramÁna, called PadÉnda, administers to the people holy water, which they both drink and perform ablutions with.

"On the day of the new year, the deities are worshipped, ablutions performed, and offerings made. Cloths and money, &c. are offered twice a year, BramÁna PadÉnda attending and invoking the deities.

"On the day tÁmpak klÍwon, the BramÁna PadÉnda performs prayers, using holy water.

"When it is tÁmpak wÁyang, which means the new year wÁyangs, offerings are made and placed at all the outer doors, but no worshipping takes place.

"At the annual festivals of tÁmpuk kÁndang, there are offerings made on account of all the different animals.

"There is also the fast of NyualÁtu, which lasts a day and a night, during which time food and sleep must be abstained from. This fast must be held on the first or the fifteenth of the month."