Government and Districts

Bali is one of the 26 provinces of Indonesia. Within Bali there are eight kabupatens or districts, which under the Dutch were known as regencies. These are Badung, Gianyar, Bangli, Klungkung, Karangasem, Buleleng, Jembrana, Tabanan. There are now nine districts since the addition of Kotamadya Denpasar. Each district is headed by a government official known as a bupati. The districts are further subdivided into subdistricts called Kecamatan which is headed by a camat, then come the perbekels, the head of a desa (village) and finally, an enormous number of banjars, the local divisions of a village.

Kotamadya Denpasar

Denpasar occupied the centre of the southern rice growing plain, with direct access to Sanur and Benoa seaports in the east, Kuta in the west. At the end of the last century, and with the aid of Tabanan, the Denpasar princes defeated the kingdom of Mengwi to become the most powerful rulers in Bali. Soon after, Denpasar put itself on the map with the "puputan" fight to the death against the Dutch in 1906 - when thousands of Balinese warriors dressed in the finest regalia, armed only with traditional weapons like kris (short daggers) and spears, attacked the Dutch riflemen. Most are commemorated at Puputan Square, Badung, where the slaughter took place.

Despite the war and subsequent defeat, the strategic position of Denpasar ensured its rapid growth. From just 15,000 inhabitants sixty years ago, the city population has expanded dramatically to 400,000, plus another 100,000 residents of Kuta and Nusa Dua. Following the expansion of Ngurah Rai Airport, Denpasar became the Balinese capital in 1958. Perhaps the most interesting feature of Denpasar is the way it combines tradition with modernity. While functioning very much in the traditional way, the "villages in the city" still have their exclusive banjar neighborhood, dance groups, and temple festivals. These days, residents often make a living by renting rooms to newcomers from other regions of Bali and Indonesia.

A consequence of the city's rapid growth has been its sprawling nature. Since the road networks are not concentrated at the original urban centre, urbanization tends to follow the main roads out of the city to housing projects 20 km away, leaving large expanses of rice-growing areas untouched in the middle of the city!

Bali merges with Indonesia in Denpasar. The capital hosts all government administration offices as well as most universities and higher learning institutions, home to about 25,000 students. The local economy is geared to the needs of the nearby resorts of Sanur, Kuta and Nusa Dua, to where many residents commute daily. The dynamism of the local economy has brought not only Balinese from other parts of the island, but new-comers from all over the country to Denpasar investors, managers, even laborers. In Denpasar, ethnic homogeneity is a thing of the past.

Non-Balinese now make up around 30% of the city population. There are several Javanese kampung, Chinese and Arab/Punjabi areas. On the whole, except in the "old villages of the city" which are solely Balinese, the population is very mixed. The Muslim calls to prayer, the rumble of the beleganjur orchestra and the parson's sermon represent just some of the sounds in the Denpasar day. This variety has important cultural consequences. The Indonesian language is increasingly taking over from Balinese in daily communication.

Denpasar is not an easy place to visit. To see the old city, take a drive around the old villages of Kedaton, Sumerta, Tonja and especially Kesiman, whose brick-style shrines and gates are the simplest yet most beautiful in Bali. The Maospait temple on the road to Tabanan dates back to 14th century, another marvel of brick architecture.
Other beautiful monuments include the temple and palace of Kesiman, Penambangan temple (near Pemecutan palace), and Satria temple, with its nearby bird market. Pemecutan, Kesiman and Badung (now the name of the nearby regency) were the three "united kingdoms" in the territory of Denpasar.

The centre of life in the city revolves around Puputan Square. In the centre of the square is a bronze memorial for those who lost their lives in the one-sided struggle with the Dutch. At one corner of the Square stands a 5-metre stone statue dedicated to the "Great Teacher"-Shiva. What make this unusual is that the face to the east is Indra (Iswara), to the south it is Brahma, to the north Vishnu, and to the west Mahadewa. Also within the square is the contemporary-looking Pura Jagatnata, the "Temple of The Lord of The World". Within it is an ornate statue of the Supreme God, Sang Hyang Widhi Wasa.

Representing the modern tradition is Pura Jagatnatha, located in the heart of the city. It was built in the 1970's to be the "territorial temple" of Denpasar, an open monument to modern Balinese Hinduism. Its main padmasana shrine, or seat of the "supreme Ciwa", embodies the new importance given to the concept of the One God in Balinese religion.
Located right next to Jagatnatha temple, is the Bali Museum which has the finest of collection of Balinese antiquities. Of particular interest is the stylistic simplicity of the items in its 1930's collection. The overly decorative Baroque style of Balinese art is clearly a recent historical import.

Denpasar is also where Bali displays its modern image. The Taman Budaya, the Arts Centre to the east of the city, is a complex dedicated to the preservation of Balinese culture. It contains the gigantic Ksirarnawa amphitheater and a museum with an important collection of paintings and sculptures from the period of Balinese renewal, but no contemporary art.

The Sanur area, the beach front of Denpasar now extending from Sanur westwards to the Suwung marshes and Serangan island, is steeped in history. The Blanjong, written in Sanskrit in 1913, is the oldest inscription of its kind in Bali. It tells of the founding of a Buddhist monastery. Other traces of contact with the outside world persists to this day. The villages of Renon, on the road to Denpasar, and Semawang, near Sanur Beach hotel, still host a Baris Cina dance, with warriors wearing Portuguese-like 16th century helmets, perhaps the sign of early European contact.

Sanur was for centuries an important trading place. Nearby Serangan island has a Moslem community of Bugis fishermen, descendants from the famous seafaring traders of old. But it is best known for the inland Brahmin communities of Taman and Anggarkasih, who reside inside elaborately gated compounds, who are believed to use magic. These people were also staunchly independent, and when the Dutch landed in 1906 on their way to Denpasar, they allowed the troops to pass by peacefully, having a grudge against their ruler, thus avoiding the puputan tragedy.

Tourism in Sanur began in the 1930's. Expatriates, writers and other luminaries had beach bungalows there. After independence, the Dutch painter Le Mayeur lived there and gained fame for his affair with and marriage to Ni Polok, one of the best dancers of his day. Le Mayeur's impressionistic work, while heavily damaged, can be seen at Le Mayeur Museum Grand Bali Beach Hotel. Donald Friend, one of Australia's great artists, also lived in Sanur until the 1960's. Sanur was where the Indonesian government made its first attempt at mass tourism with the construction of the Bali Beach Bunker, built using Japanese war reparations. The hotel burned down in 1993, but has now been restored even grander than before with the addition of a Bali-style roof. The Hyatt, built in the 1970's, is famous for its garden and lobby, built like a huge traditional Balinese Wantilan.
Some other interesting places to visit in Sanur are the Art Market (Pasar Seni) and the Beach Market. Halfway between Denpasar and Sanur is the handicraft centre, Sanggraha Kriya Asti.

The main road passes inland, not along the beachfront itself. The beach varies from black sand in Padang Galak to white sand in the stretch from Grand Bali Beach to Semawang. Further west, the coat turns to swamp prior to Suwung village, the location of a small pier for travel to Serangan island. This island is currently developing into a popular resort area. It has several attractions for tourists, the most famous being the Pura Sakenan temple, built in the coral-stone architecture of the coast.
There is also a turtle hatchery on the island. Turtle meat used to be a favorite Balinese delicacy. But in the 1960's and 1970's turtle-shell became a favorite material for making jewelry and boxes, and the tortoises all but disappeared, hence the hatchery.

Badung, Denpasar, Gianyar, Bangli, Klungkung, Karangasem, Buleleng, Jembrana, Tabanan