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THE STRUCTURE OF BALINESE SOCIETY

Since independence government has no longer been in the hands of the kings. Each village has its own local government called the banjar, which assists the government of the Republic of Indonesia in dealing with the needs of the village such as marriages, religious ceremonies, cremation ceremonies, taking care of temples, irrigation, and so on.

Because dancing is such an important aspect of Balinese spiritual life, it is not surprising that even the smallest Balinese children take a great interest in dancing.

T6 name a few of the many ceremonies held during the year, there is the annual ceremony for driving away evil spirits; the ceremony of prayer for the souls of the dead (the Galungan ceremony); the ceremony for the peace and prosperity of the country; the rites in honour of the birth of important deities; and so on. These ceremonies are usually accompanied by dances and music. The Galungan ceremony, which is a feast in honour of the souls of the ancestors, is full of dances and music.

Landmarks in human life which are considered -important subject to magic influence: birth, first cutting of nails and hair, filing of teeth, piercing of ear-lobes, contracting of marriage, and finally death. Cremation of the corpse (Ngaben) is the most important ceremony for human life because it is considered as most mysterious transition to another life. For that reason it is accompained by a lot of offerings, dances and music.

Following is a brief discussion of the historical development of dancing in Bali, according to the classification of Indonesian dancing into three periods explained in Chapters I and IL.During

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