TRAVELS IN THE EAST.

Auckland Star, Volume LX, Issue 40, 16 February 1929, Page 16 (Supplement)

TRAVELS IN THE EAST.

IN THE DUTCH INDIES. BEAUTIFUL BALI. (By FREDERICK STUBBS, F.R.G.S.) One morning I sat ia Singaradja and watched the crowd go by—street-mer-chants with bamboo pole over the shoulder and their goods suspended from either end; in the case of the food purveyor, fire and kettle at one end and edibles at the other; gangs of labourers, most of them prisoners in charge of a couple of warders who seemed to be on excellent terms with them; toddy sellers; rice-carriers; pony-carts, bright as fresh paint and polished brass can make them; naked children of both sexes. The men have high-cheeked, Mongol features, broad nostrils, eyes far apart, lips only moderately thick, hiijr perfectly black. The Belles of Bali.

The women are small, thin, graceful, and carry heavy weights on their heads whereby the muscles of the shoulder and arm are beautified and strengthened. Their forms are remarkably slender; their costume, a large square of darkblue or black cloth and a smaller cloth beneath, tied with a brightly-coloured sash. In the South, only a disreputable woman wears a jacket, the chaste woman leaves the upper part of her body uncovered. In the North, however, a kabaya may also be worn. The women of Bali are among the most beautifully formed in the world, and I am afraid they are the chief attraction of the tourist. I never saw an ill-formed or flat-breasted woman. But they arc too small to be perfect specimens of womanhood; much finer women may be seen any day in a European community; and their teeth are of poor quality from the constant chewing of betel-nut aud tobacco. At puberty, a girl's teeth are filed. What is really remarkable is their almost universal symmetry and the graceful curves of their bodies. And it is amazing what these little women will carry on their heads; amazing, too, the wonderful, balancing. Any evening one may see girls going to the village well, fill a kerosene tin to the brim, then place it upon her head and carry it home without spilling a. drop. Sometimes her arms will be full also. The well-being of the family is built on the woman. She does most of the work in the fields, pounds the rice, weaves the cloth, buys and sells in the market, holds the pursestrings, shares in the village councils, attends to religious ceremonials. She may well hold the purse-strings, for the men, like the Australians and Chinese, are inveterate gamblers. Outside every dwelling you may see a bell-Bhaped bamboo cage which houses the game-cock, and as frequently as the law allows there will be deadly cock-fights on which the men risk all their money and sometimes even their wives, though one can hardly believe any native male would be such a fool. Formerly these cock-fights were of almost daily occurrence, and the men become so engrossed in their gambling that the Dutch • officials could not get them to work on the roads, so cock-fighting is now limited to certain fixed days, which occur bi-monthly. The women's sport is hunting, and many leisure moments are spent searching for game in one another's hair. I should not be surprised if they occasionally amuse themselves with gossip. There are no old maids nor old bachelors in Bali; all marry—far too early. Twelve is a common age for girls and sixteen for boys. As in many other countries, trial marriage is not unknown. The unmarried man has no standing, no voice in the Tillage councils, may not look at a woman or go near her. Even the married woman has her disabilities. She may not, for example, accept a present from any male acquaintance. This law is inexorable, and not many years ago an infringement was punished by death. How would a New Zealand lady like such a restriction as this? No One Starves.

The natives of Bali are Communists, [working their fields in common and sharing the proceeds. No man starves so long as there is food in the family. The latter, as is usual in the Orient, consists of a man and all his relations, and these live in the same kampong (enclosure) though in their own homes. Rice and coffee are the principal crops, but maize, ground nuts, various tropical fruits and vegetables, are also grown— mangos, mangosteens, pineapples, custard apples, bananas, oranges, potatoes, lettuce, onions, the cabbage tribe —abundance of fruit and vegetables. I believe as many green vegetables might be bought here for a shilling as for ten shillings in Auckland. The coconut palm is, of course, found everywhere. Everywhere, too, one sees primitive but effective irrigation works, the water from the mountains being skilfully led wherever it is needed by the crops. There has been no rain for two months, yet everything is green. Thousands of pigs are exported yearly, and a fine breed of cattle. The land is owned by the natives aud cannot be alienated. They are all peasantproprietors and strongly averse to alienating their property in any way. I believe it is difficult to even rent a piece of land.