New dramas for the theatre state: The shifting roles of ideological power sources in Balinese polities

Abstract

Geertz describes nineteenth-century Balinese states existing for and because of ceremony - an incomplete portrayal nonetheless pointing up the importance of ideology as a source of social power. But Bali has not been static; power strategies alter to fit a changing landscape of control opportunities shaped by multiple interacting ecological, economic, social and perceptual systems. Village-level institutions make ideological statements, as do states. Examining textual, ethnographic and archaeological evidence of power strategy changes over the last millennium provides an opportunity to discuss the causes and impacts of specific ideological messages being materialized in specific ways. As its focal case, this paper examines ideological uses made of the Inscription of Manukaya at two different points in time. This stone demonstrates the co-option of forms and traditions: carved to serve the ideological aims of a king, it is now integrated into ceremonies asserting the autonomy and solidarity of local groups.