Tanjung Benoa: revamped
port
For centuries, the natural means of communication
between this area and the rest of Bali was by boat from Tanjung
Benoa, as this was easier than the overland route via Jimbaran.
Tanjung Benoa, which appears isolated at the tip of the peninsula,
was in fact a trading port for Badung and the eastern Bukit, with
a world outlook extending right across the archipelago. Its population
bears traces of this mercantile past. Chinese have lived here
for centuries: a "Ratu Cina" shrine in the local temple
of death bears witness to their long presence.
Although most families have moved to Denpasar, they still maintain
a Klenteng temple here, where local fishermen now inquire about
the secrets of the stars with a Chinese abbot. The village also
has a Bugis quarter, with a small mosque.
Bualu village
Compared to Tanjung Benoa, the village of Bualu, where Nusa Dua
is situated, was a sleepy village subsisting on copra, fishing
and coral collecting. There were two noble houses and no brahmans.
As elsewhere in Bali, religion was ever-present.
The area had, and keeps, very special features. Its best-known
ritual is an appeasement of the sea, to protect the land from
any incursion by the fanged monster lurking beyond the waves -
Jero Gede Mecaling harbinger of death and illness. People present
him with offerings in his many shrines along the coast.
The region around Buala is also dotted with sea temples, some
within the perimeters of the luxury hotels. And pengelem duck
sacrifices to the sea are offered under the eyes of passing tourists.
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