[A. G. Maisey]

It is very true that South Bali has become a big pot full of tourists.

Tourism is Bali's biggest industry, and what happens in South Bali has been, and continues to be reshaped to promote tourism and harvest the mighty Tourist Dollar.

I've been going to Bali since 1966, I have relatives who live in Bali and I have spent a lot of time there myself. In my opinion the last good year for Bali was 1982, after that it accelerated in its decline of Cultural Tourism --- something that had been espoused by all concerned since the 1920's --- and focussed more on a type of tourism that was more attractive to the vast bulk of tourists from the Outside World, and this Outside World includes the rest of Indonesia.

So, when we look at the Ogoh-Ogoh Parade what we need to understand is this:- in the form that we see now in tourist centers of Bali, this parade has only existed since the early 1980's.

Yes, it is a tradition, the philosophy behind it has existed for I don't know how long, but as Money Tourism grew in the late 1970's and early 1980's Bali, and indeed the Indonesian government was searching for ways get as many people as possible to come to Bali, so the little banjar focussed ogoh ogoh ceremonies of creating and then burning the monsters became a public spectacle, and the tourists loved it.

Disrespect for Bali tradition?

Often, and in many forms, but as far as the Ogoh Ogoh Parade goes, what we see now is something that was created for tourists, so whatever happens where the tourist parades of Ogoh Ogohs are concerned doesn't much matter.

The real, original thing looks pretty much like what is shown in the video, just one or two little figures. The burning and the kids playing in the field were shot in Ubud by the look of it, the cemetery where they burnt the Ogoh Ogoh is right next to a place I have stayed a few times.

There is book written by Phil Jarratt "Bali: Heaven and Hell" ISBN 978 1 74270 692 4 that attempts to provide an overview of Balinese history from early times up to the present; it is not an academic publication, some of the historical detail is open to question, but as far as a commentary on Bali in the period from the mid-1960's to the early 2000's it reflects my experience exactly.

If we wish to understand what South Bali is now, this book will help immensely.

However, as sad as the deterioration of Bali may be, we really should not feel too bad about that. The Balinese have been pretty successful in limiting the tourist pollution to a part of Bali, ie, the stretch of South Bali around the coast, that historically has been identified as a buffer against the dark forces of the Southern Ocean. This buffer now contains the Dark Forces of Money Tourism. No great difference.