Bangli Regency
Bangli is a regency (kabupaten) of Bali, Indonesia. It has an area of 520.81 km2 and population of 197,210 (2004). Its regency seat is Bangli. This regency is bounded with Buleleng regency in north, Klungkung and Karangasem in east, and Klungkung regency, Gianyar in South, Badung and Gianyar in west.
Bangli is divided into 4 subdistricts, 4 hamlets and 56 villages. Kintamani, which is one of famous destination in Bali, is one of the sundistricts in Bangli. Among eight regencies and one city in Bali, Bangli is the only regency without a coastline area. However, Bangli owns the biggest lake in Bali, the Batur Lake, which functions as a source of water for a large part of the farmland in south Bali.
Regarding the significant role of the lake, the subak system symbolically considers Pura Ulun Danu Batur as its orientation of worship to the God of Wisnu, who is the protector of the cosmos. Located in the central mountain range and the highlands, Bangli has cool weather and becomes colder at night, especially in Kintamani. Regency of Bangli Development Priority placed on economic area with emphasis of Agricultural Sector in wide meaning, Tourism and Industrial of small craft specially supporting tourism.
Situated at 400 m above sea level, the mountain ranges of northern Bangli are the biggest producers of bamboos in Bali. Most of traditional buildings in Bali use bamboos from Bangli as materials for the roof. In the traditional buildings in the mountain ranges of Bangli, the bamboo is used as the roof cover. Crafting / Diligence of Bamboo is such a small industry in Regency of Bangli represent the pre-eminent commodity with local raw material that still enough available.
Due to the history of administration in Bali during the monarchy system, Bangli had once taken an important part between the end of the 10th century and the beginning of the 11th century, or during the reign of the King Udayana from the Warmadewa dynasty.
Archaeological remains stored in Pura Bukit Panulisan in northern Kintamani can tell us a story of the Bali’s history. The lifestyle and the dialect of the people living in the mountain ranges of Kintamani show that it is not only inscriptions which can prove important role of Bangli in the past but also living evidences following the good implementation of its traditional lifestyle.
Beside its cool weather and breathtaking views of the wildlife around the Batur Lake, various historical remains well preserved in the regency are another supporting tourism potential of Bangli. Various accommodation facilities and restaurants have been built.
There are tourism destinations in Bangli, beside Kintamani, there is ukit Jati, Taman Bali Raja, Kuning Waterfall, Kehen Temple, Eco Tourism, Penglipuran Traditional Village, Penglipuran Heroes Monumen, Bamboo Forest, Pengotan Traditional Village, Penelokan Tourist Resort, The Vulcano Museum of Mount Batur, Toyo Bungkah, Kedisan Village, Terunyan Village, Pancering Jagat Temple, Batur Temple, Pucak Penulisan Temple, Catur Kintamani Agrotourism, Dalem Balingkang Temple, Pantunan, Panorama of Puncaksari Temple, Demulih hill and many more.
Bangli Regency History
Bangli Regency was born of cruelty, incest, betrayal, and murder. In Bali, where legend and history are so intertwined, the history of Bangli reads like a story from one of the Panji tales. In the 18th century, the ruthless king Dewa Rai of Taman married his cousin, Dewa Ayu from the Bangli Denbancingah family, and immediately began plotting to overthrow his uncle, the ruler of Nyalian. Dewa Rai adopted Dewa Gede Tangkeban, the son of the ruler of Nyalian, but the son fell in love and had an affair with his adoptive father's wife, the queen. She persuaded her lover to turn Dewa Rai's dissatisfied subjects against their despised king. After Dewa Rai was murdered in the courtyard of the Puri Agung of Bangli, Dewa Gede Tangkeban married his stepmother and became king of Bangli. Since this marriage was not sanctioned by the religious adat of the time, seven generations of rulers were cursed with bad luck.
In the 18th and 19th centuries, a time when maritime trade was paramount, only those kingdoms with ports were economically and politically powerful. To trade, Bangli was forced to transport its goods through other territories, paying heavy tribute to their sovereigns. Bangli's luck changed in 1849 when its king Dewa Gede Tangkeban II was appointed by the Dutch to rule the northern regency of Buleleng. This vast area came under Dutch control after Buleleng's King Gusti Ketut Jilantik committed puputan. This confederation was of great advantage to Bangli—it was then able to gain access to the sea. Buleleng could also benefit as it was able to irrigate its rice fields with Bangli water. But the union was short lived. In 1854, Buleleng rebelled against Bangli. No matter; in 1882, all of northern Bali came under direct Dutch colonial administration.
Bangli first became known to the Western world when a German doctor, Gregor Krause (1883-1959), was appointed to the Dutch hospital here from 1912 to 1914. An avid photographer and amateur ethnologist, Krause took over 4,000 photos during his tenure. Four hundred of them, together with his reports on Balinese cultural life, were published in Germany in 1922 and distributed worldwide. The book's effect on Europe, having just emerged from four years of war and still struggling with poverty, was electric. The majority of photos were shot in Bangli and constitute an invaluable historic record of the time—the puri, aristocratic life, raja and princesses in ceremonial attire, royal topeng dancers.
Another famous literary personality, Scottish-born Muriel Pearson, under the pen name Ketut Tantri, wrote Revolt in Paradise, a fascinating tale of her life in Bali and Java from 1932 to 1947. Inspired by the early Hollywood film The Last Paradise, she came to Bali, settling first in Denpasar, Soon growing restless, she drove inland in search of the real Bali. Her car ran out of gas in front of the Puri Denpasar in Bangli. The raja of the time invited her into the palace and eventually she became his quasi-adopted daughter. He gave her the name Ketut Tantri, ketut meaning fourth-born child. She wore traditional clothes and at the raja's suggestion dyed her red hair black—only leyak have red hair on Bali.