Balinese Life

Growing with the Times, But Tradition is Ever-lasting

In the past, some traders hawked from one village to another. If people did not have money, they could exchange the consumer goods with rice or the like at an agreed upon amount. Even, some might also accept perforated ancient Chinese coins besides the legal banknotes that prevailed then. Transactions as this could still be encountered in the 1970s. Hawking could last for some days. When the traders were overtaken by night, they would spend the night at one of the customers’ home. In the long run, both families became good friends.

Today, no more traders seem to be willing to hawk on foot. They prefer to do that by riding a motorbike. It may just be another name of ‘direct selling’ where the traders bypass the path to get closer to the customer. In few hours, they can explore some villages and be back home on the same day. People simply need to wait at home. Many traders will come to offer different goods. If they sell to the market people, the market days are now everyday (virtually all) instead of once within three day’s time in the past. People increasingly need more to buy and have more goods to sell.
At the same time, Balinese farmers, coming in the greater part of this local inhabitant, also enjoy the same development. They could implement a better way to increase their production, either paddy or estate’s harvest, and then sell them easily. Road access from production site to markets has been in good condition. Behind such advancement occur some slight changes in their behaviour. If they previously brought home the whole harvest, today they may bring it in smaller portions for stock, including the part for representation of Goddess Sri to be worshipped. Why? Because, they should pay production cost like for the purchase of fertilizer, pesticide, hybrid seed and rental of hand tractor cultivating the land as well as some other immediate expenses. Additionally, saving money is easier than managing the gabah (paddy separated from the stalks) that needs a longer process to make it into rice. At any rate, in keeping with the age evolving they faithfully conserve their local important heritages like the irrigation cooperative (subak) and customary village (desa pakraman) along with other tradition and culture.
In traditional ways, they did saving by storing their paddy in the rice barn or lumbung. The richer a farmer, the more rice barns he had. Therefore, rice barn could become a symbol of social status then. Due to needs as mentioned above, the number of rice barns one had gradually decreased. It’s also caused by the need of more spaces for the expansion of housing as the family members increased. The selling of their paddy and other income can now be saved closer to home at the Village Credit Union (LPD), a financial institution operated under customary village. Seemingly, all customary villages across Bali have this now. Its existence has much helped the villagers individually and collectively. Farmers, fishermen or craftsmen can have soft loans from this institution to finance their works. Meanwhile, any development of the village can be easier as, other than from villager’s compulsory donation, it could also be co-financed by some profits of this LPD.
Tourism has given wider opportunities and much inspiration to their life. Fishermen can deliver sailing services to guests other than catching fish. Few hours in the morning and evening, some farmers join the art troupe to entertain guests at regular performance. While, others deeply involved in handicraft works or other informal sectors while waiting for the harvest time. Perforated coins that are no longer in use for transactions are now made into artistic works like effigy and ritual paraphernalia. Then, rice barns that were on the brink of extinction as its function was cuts down, have found a new purpose. Tourism businesspeople exploit it into eco-friendly and homely accommodation. Lumbung house or rice barn like this is in high demand abroad. In other words, times may change but Balinese people stay to uphold their tradition and culture while taking advantage the opportunity conveyed by the time to earn their life.
(BTN/029)