|
 Sancaya
goes on to say that one of the most
vital ways in which the banjar,
needs to change is to cease allow
itself to be 'acted upon' and start
becoming a more pro-active institution.
"New morals and values are increasingly
being applied to the lifestyles of
the Balinese, and much of this is
due to globalizations. As a traditional
institution, the banjar needs to actively
respond to such changes, if it is
not to be effortlessly molded at will
by the powers that be." Ketu
Sumarta, editor of the Denpasar based
daily Nusa Tenggara,
believes that the autonomy of the
banjar has been proudly
undermined during the the New Order
period (1966 - 1998, ed.) "Clearly,
this places a burden on the banjar.
And it is one of the primary problems
a banjar faces in determining
its priorities and continued existence
into the future," he asserts.
In other words, according to Sumarta,
the greatest challenge facing the
banjar is not the entry of
global values to Bali, but intervention
of the state itself, a fact which
has been particularly evident in the
New Order period. "The Balinese
have been managing the challenge posed
by the entry of so-called foreign
values for decades, and with great
skill. The proof of this is that globalization
has detracted little from the resilience
of Balinese traditions. But state
intervention poses an altogether different
and new challenge," says Sumarta.
SOLUTIONS
Physical
improvements to the banjar, such
as rehabilitating the banjar hall,
adding extra storey to it and renting
out the bottom floor for commercial
purposes is, according to Pandjaja,
one of the ways the banjars can
utilize the assets at its disposal
in the interests of taking greater
control of its destiny. "As long
as those banjar activities
which are of primary importance continue
as usual, such as ngayah (communal
work bees), mebat (communal rituals
where offerings are devoted to the
Gods and the resulting produce divided
up amongst banjar members),
and paruman (meetings of the
committee of banjar officials)",
says P'andjaja.
But
according to Ketut Sumarta, once a banjar
begins to prioritize economic activities,
its purpose changes from one of a socio-religious
institution to a socioeconomic one.
Such a shift is to a certain extent
unavoidable given the ubiquity of global
capitalism, and the importance of one
of its biggest industries tourism -
to Bali's economy. But what happens
when capitalism, too, fails? "Balinese
should not be too concerned considering
that our religious traditions have a
long history of a strong social and
economic basis," argues Sumarta.
"It's only natural that the activities
prioritized by the banjar are
changing. Capitalism has changed the
lifestyles of all Balinese. It's even
got to the point where religion has
become subject to economic considerations."
Indeed
traditionally, the activities of the
banjar have included economic
ones, such as money lending co-operatives.
and the subak system. "But
the traditional understanding of banjar
economic activities was that they
be for the common good, not for individualistic
gain," says Sumarta. He suggests
that banjars that want to continue
to exist into the future should prioritize
the teaching of Balinese script, and
the philosophy inherent within that
script, to their members. "The
banjar should take more of a
role in reminding the middle classes
of the importance of synchronizing traditional
and global values into a new, Balinese
value system. It's unfortunate that
much of the Balinese middle class tend
to consider traditional values as passely
he laments.
According to Ida Bagus
Pandjaja, of foremost importance to
the baiijar in meeting the third
milleneurn is the recognition of it
by all parties as an independent and
autonomous traditional institution.
It is only in this way that the banjar
will have the capacity to nurture
and preserve Balinese culture. "We
have to remember that the banjars
are the roots of Balinese culture."
Pandjaja wants to the baizjar return
to its original function, that is as
a cultural centre for its members. In
this way, it is at the banjar that
children can learn menggambel (to
play Balinese gamelan music.) "Becoming
a kind of cultural centre is a way for
the banjar both to strengthen
its institutions base and to prepare
itself for the changes it will have
to face. It will ensure the continuity
of the banjar from generation
to generation," says Pandjaja.
On this note, he expresses hope that
the banjar youth will in the
future become more aggressive in developing
and nurturing traditional values via
the activities of the STf.
BANJAR
YOUTH
But
what can really be expected of the
banjar youth groups? Anak Agung Anom
Mayun, former head of Belaluan Samerta
STT claims that, based on his experience
as a baiijai, youth official,
there is in fact little room for the
youth to play a role within the banjar.
"Most young people are busy
with their own activities outside
of the baiijar, like attending
university or working," he explains.
Similarly, according to Nyoman joniarsa,
a former head of Bukit Jangkrik STT:
"Our committee made efforts to
get some worthwhile programs going,
like improving our management capacity,
making a community newsletter, planning
a village library and obtaining scholarships
for our members who do particularly
well in school. But may of our members
aren't even attending school, and
if they do so its usually only to
primary school level or at the most
to junior high school. That's not
really a level of education that serves
as the basis for progress. So it's
not surprising that when we finished
our term. no-one wanted to continue
the programs we had initiated."
Even
during these times when many hope
for a more open future, Bali's
official youth groups, it seems,
aspire to little. But few Balinese
fear that this spells the end of the
banjar. The banjar will live
on even if it fails to resolve a dilemma
that is as universal as it is real
to Balinese communities: how to remain
adaptive and flexible without renouncing
one's independence? |
