‘Ajeg Bali’: An Effort to Keep Balinese Culture

In the past two or three years, an icon of ‘Ajeg Bali’ has been raised in Bali to re-emphasize identity marking borders between what is called “Balinese” and “non-Balinese”. This icon has tremendously affected awareness among Balinese people. Literally, the word ‘ajeg’ means firm, unwavering, upright, and sustainable. The word ‘ajeg’ and Bali therefore means firm Bali or the unwavering Bali .

In the research of Drs. I Nyoman Wijaya, M.Hum., ’‘Ajeg Bali’ is all activities which aim to keep Balinese identity that is shaped by articulating Bali as cultural concept which is meant as  ancestor’s tradition and religion. “Ajeg Bali is a unilateral effort of organic intellectuals who get or are given speaking authority by the ruler to create new cultural symbols in maintaning Balinese culture,”  said nyoman Wijaya in open examination of Doctoral promotion of Graduate Program of Faculty of Cultural Sciences, UGM, Monday (11/1/2010) at Seminar Room of UGM Graduate School.

The teaching staff of History Department of Faculty of Letters, Udayana University, added that ‘Ajeg Bali’ is also an intellectual training which produces temporary answers to challenges of the era. ‘Ajeg Bali’ leads to self-love move while letting others to follow religious values and norms which are inherited from ancestors by manipulating social memory.

The research of Nyoman Wijaya showed that there are thirteen general characteristics of ‘Ajeg Bali’ movement, among those are  discriminative, confidential, reflective,  replication, sentiment, recessive, desacralization, defense and aggression, collaboration, reproduction, and adverse.

According to Nyoman Wijaya, the idea of ‘Ajeg Bali’ is not based on scientific and technological realities, but artificial and non-historical ones that brought reciprocal encounters and dialectic between the intellectuals and society. However, Bali planning should be done firstly by changing Balinese cultural system from the one that is  oriented to the past to the future.

“That can be done by articulating Bali not only as cultural concept in narrow meaning as tradition, religion, and art, but wider as effective science and technology,” said the man born in Denpasar, 10 March 1958. Nyoman recommended that planning can be started by giving history lesson to society as it is, not manipulated either for individual’s or group’s interest.

Prof. Dr. Djoko Suryo, M.A., as the promoter of I Nyoman Wijaya, said that Balinese historical study since 20th century until now is very important in the perspective of cultural science and humanity. The professor of Faculty of Cultural Sciences of UGM expected that this study from historical dimension will be continued and developed further. “Spirit and hard work of the research need to be increased and extended for the interest of the university, society and the nation,” said Djoko Suryo, mentioning I Nyoman Wijaya as the 1157th doctoral graduate of UGM who succeeded in getting cum laude title.