Bali is a province of Indonesia and the westernmost of the Lesser Sunda Islands. East of Java and west of Lombok, the province includes the island of Bali and a few smaller offshore islands, notably Nusa Penida, Nusa Lembongan, and Nusa Ceningan to the southeast. The provincial capital, Denpasar, is the most populous city in the Lesser Sunda Islands and the second-largest, after Makassar, in Eastern Indonesia. Denpasar metropolitan area is the extended metropolitan area around Denpasar. The upland town of Ubud in Greater Denpasar is considered Bali's cultural centre. The province is Indonesia's main tourist destination, with a significant rise in tourism since the 1980s, and becoming an Indonesian area of overtourism. Tourism-related business makes up 80% of the Bali economy.
The Balinese people are an Austronesian ethnic group native to the Indonesian island of Bali. The Balinese population of 4.2 million live mostly on the island of Bali, making up 89% of the island's population. There are also significant populations on the island of Lombok and in the easternmost regions of Java.
Ubud is a town on the Indonesian island of Bali in Ubud District, located amongst rice paddies and steep ravines in the central foothills of the Gianyar regency. Promoted as an arts and culture centre, it has developed a large tourism industry. It forms a northern part of the Greater Denpasar metropolitan area.
Hinduism is the third-largest religion in Indonesia, based on civil registration data in 2023 from Ministry of Home Affairs, is practised by about 1.68% of the total population, and almost 87% of the population in Bali. Hinduism was the dominant religion in the country before the arrival of Islam and is one of the six official religions of Indonesia today. Hinduism came to Indonesia in the 1st-century through Indian traders, sailors, scholars and priests. A syncretic fusion of pre-existing Javanese folk religion, culture and Hindu ideas, that from the 6th-century also synthesized Buddhist ideas as well, evolved as the Indonesian version of Hinduism. These ideas continued to develop during the Srivijaya and Majapahit empires. About 1400 CE, these kingdoms were introduced to Islam from coast-based Muslim traders, and thereafter Hinduism, which was previously the dominant religion in the region, mostly vanished from many of the islands of Indonesia.
Bangli Regency is the one and only landlocked regency (kabupaten) of Bali, Indonesia.
Bronze drums are ancient artifacts found in various cultures in Southeast Asia and southern China. The drums were cast in bronze using the lost-wax casting method. The drums were both musical instruments and cult objects. They are decorated with geometric patterns, scenes of daily life and war, animals and birds, and boats. Bronze drum is considered as one of the national symbols of Vietnam.
The Purbakala Archaeological Museum or Gedong Arca Museum is a museum located in Bedulu on Bali, Indonesia.
Pejeng is a village in Bali, Indonesia, in the Petanu River valley. It is a bit east of Ubud in Gianyar Regency. It is home to the Moon of Pejeng, the largest single-cast bronze kettle drum in the world. Pejeng is a rural area with extensive, and ancient, irrigated rice cultivation.
Pura Ulun Danu Beratan, or Pura Bratan, is a major Hindu Shaivite temple in Bali, Indonesia. The temple complex is on the shores of Lake Beratan in the mountains near Bedugul. The water from the lake serves the entire region in the outflow area; downstream there are many smaller water temples that are specific to each irrigation association (subak).
The History of Bali covers a period from the Paleolithic to the present, and is characterized by migrations of people and cultures from other parts of Asia. In the 16th century, the history of Bali started to be marked by Western influence with the arrival of Europeans, to become, after a long and difficult colonial period under the Dutch, an example of the preservation of traditional cultures and a key tourist destination.
A Pura is a Balinese Hindu temple and the place of worship for adherents of Balinese Hinduism in Indonesia. Puras are built following rules, style, guidance, and rituals found in Balinese architecture. Most puras are found on the island of Bali, where Hinduism is the predominant religion; however many puras exist in other parts of Indonesia where significant numbers of Balinese people reside. Mother Temple of Besakih is the most important, largest, and holiest temple in Bali. Many Puras have been built in Bali, leading it to be titled "the Island of a Thousand Puras".
Dewi Sri or Shridevi is the Javanese, Sundanese, and Balinese Hindu Goddess of rice and fertility, still widely worshiped on the islands of Java, Bali and Lombok, Indonesia. She is often associated or equated with the Hindu goddess Lakshmi, the shakti (consort) of Vishnu.
Balinese cuisine is a cuisine tradition of Balinese people from the volcanic island of Bali. Using a variety of spices, blended with the fresh vegetables, meat and fish. Part of Indonesian cuisine, it demonstrates indigenous traditions, as well as influences from other Indonesian regional cuisine, Chinese and Indian. The island's inhabitants are predominantly Hindu and culinary traditions are somewhat distinct with the rest of Indonesia, with festivals and religious celebrations including many special foods prepared as the offerings for the deities, as well as other dishes consumed communally during the celebrations.
Pura Penataran Sasih is a Hindu temple in Pejeng village, Bali. According to a modern chronogram displayed at the entrance, it was founded in 1266 AD and served as the state temple of the Pejeng Kingdom.
The Kingdomship of Bali was a series of Hindu-Buddhist kingdoms that once ruled some parts of the volcanic island of Bali, in Lesser Sunda Islands, Indonesia. With a history of native Balinese kingship spanning from the early 10th to early 20th centuries, Balinese kingdoms demonstrated sophisticated Balinese court culture where native elements of spirit and ancestral reverence combined with Hindu influences—adopted from India through ancient Java intermediary—flourished, enriched and shaped Balinese culture.
The bale kulkul or bale kul-kul is a Balinese pavilion where a slit-log drum is placed. It is essentially a drum tower or a watch tower. A bale kulkul can has a civic function, such as those used in villages as a mean of communication; or for religious function, an integral part of Balinese temple architecture.
Pejeng drum is a type of Bronze Age kettledrum which was produced across the archipelago of Indonesia between the 1st and 2nd century AD. They are one of Indonesia's finest example of metalworking. Examples of Bronze Age Pejeng drum, such as the ancient Moon of Pejeng, is the largest bronze drum in the world, indicating the advance of metal casting technique and the active trade in the archipelago in the first millennium AD.
The Indonesian ceremonial bronze axes were Bronze Age objects that were produced in the Indonesian archipelago between the 1st and 2nd century AD. Archaeological sites in Java, Bali, Sulawesi, the eastern islands, and around Lake Sentani in Papua have been uncovered, showing the bronze axes at the center of a bronze production or at burial sites. They are a testimony of the extensive trade network in the islands of the archipelago in the first millennium AD, thought to be connected to the Dong Son culture.
Pura Beji Sangsit is a Balinese temple or pura located in Sangsit, Buleleng, on the island of Bali, Indonesia. The village of Sangsit is located around 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) east of Singaraja. Pura Beji is dedicated to the rice goddess Dewi Sri, and is revered especially by the farmers around the area. Pura Beji is an example of a stereotypical northern Balinese architecture with its relatively heavier decorations than it is southern Balinese counterpart, and its typical foliage-like carvings.
