The South:
Badung Regency
Badung, the southernmost
regency of Bali, is the most heavily populated area of the island
- with an average density of more than 1,000 persons per square
km. Partly this is because Denpasar, the island's capital and
principal metropolis is here. Also, Bali's major tourist resorts
are all in Badung, and the tourist boom of the past two decades
has fueled a rapid economic expansion and population influx
to this traditional southern court center.
Extending north-south from
the lofty central volcanic ridge of the island to the rich rice-growing
plains around Denpasar, the regency of Badung is geographically
defined by a distributor network of rivers and streams fed from
the Plaga rain-catchments area in the north. The clubfoot-shaped
Bukit Peninsula in the far south stands apart - its limestone
formations, thin topsoil and lack of water make it poor and
sparsely populated.
Ill-favored as it is, the
Bukit peninsula nevertheless demarcates the Benoa bay and harbor
area through which southern Bali traditionally maintained contacts
with the outside world. Ships coming from the Bali Strait would
sail along the white beaches of the western shore, round the
inhospitable cliffs of the Bukit, and anchor in the reef-sheltered
cove behind Kuta. Alluvium now clogs up the back channel to
Kuta, but a land bridge has been built out into the bay to create
the new Port of Benoa here. Having reverted to marshlands, the
coast is now being developed into fishponds.
Badung's historical role
is due to its pivotal position, allowing control over the three
major elements of Balinese economic life: irrigation, rice and
the sea. Indianization took Place early here, as evidenced by
the Prasasti Blaniong inscription, dating from the 10th century.
Besides Bugis settlements, there are also Chinese tombs and
dances named after the Chinese - such as the famed baris cina
of Semawang and Renon.
The town of Denpasar, also
known as Badung, did not enter the limelight until the last
century. The early island kingdoms were all farther east, in
Gianyar and Klungkung. But soon after the Javanese conquest
of the 14th century, western princes arose and for a time Mengwi
held sway over the whole of western Bali. After the 18th century,
as foreign merchants and warships became more intrusive, power
shifted to the sea. This was an historic opportunity for Badung's
Pemecutan clan, who defeated Mengwi in 1891.
Pemecutan's rule was short-lived.
The Dutch were at this time expanding their territories, and
having subdued northern Bali in the mid-19th century, they pushed
their claims of suzerainty south with increasing confidence.
Many pretexts were used rights of trade, recognition of the
Dutch crown and flag, ritual suicide of widows (suttee). One
eventually drew blood.
It started as a common
event a ship ran aground on the reef off Sanur. The Chinese
crew survived, but the cargoes disappeared. The Dutch demanded
reparations but the raja refused and two years later, in 1906,
Dutch troops landed at Sanur. The king chose death over surrender.
Dressed in white loincloths, row after row of kris and spearwielding
Balinese hurled themselves into the Dutch gunfire. For them,
this was an honorable road to Indra's heaven, abode of fallen
warriors.
Its palaces destroyed,
its king and warriors dead, Badung surrendered. From the ruins
of the palace, a young boy was saved the last survivor of the
proud royal house of Pemecutan. Today, the royal line continues.
On July 15th, 1989, the boy's grandson was installed as the
new Cokorda or King of Pemecutan. The new king is a businessman,
his palace a hotel.
Check
out the accommodations
in this Area
More about the Badung
area -| Nusa
Dua | Kuta
Legian | Sanur
| Denpasar
