The Bali Aga at Mt. Batur Bali
The Bali Aga supposedly the original inhabitants of Bali. Across SE Asia there is a lot of argument over who was the first in various places, (the Bumiputra in Malaysia). I remember once on a train in Thailand I saw a Thai local was Negroid with her child. Obviously in many cases the original inhabitants of these places were aboriginal people, though that is not what the governments want to hear. The mountain area of a country is usually the hardest for new cultures to penetrate, the coastal areas being the easiest. The Bali Aga have their own particular customs but are still Hindu, like most of the other Balinese. Interesting how a high level religion has penetrated, but in many ways they still remain insular. I asked one Bali Aga if he had a special local language and he said "Yes, Bahasa Bali." by which he meant low level Balinese.
A Balinese temple ceremony really brings the place alive and it seems like a moving picture postcard. I was very lucky to have this happen right when I was there.
By Nick | Permalink
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G’Day Nick,
The Bali Aga have always been a very protective people and detest intruders. THey are a very ‘hard’ people in many ways.
It’s understandable that you saw a negroid local in Thailand. Without going into too much detail, Australia, Indonesia and the Malay Peninsula were actually one land mass.