ABSTRACT
Returning to Bali in June 1998, a few days after the tumultuous events culminating in the downfall of President Suharto, I expected to find traces of these events in the form of economic stress and public apprehension, mixed perhaps with relief. I was surprised, however, to find most of my friends in Ubud hastening to reassure me that all was well. The trouble had all been in Java and other places, but Bali was perfectly ‘secure’ (aman). On further questioning it transpired that the explanation for this anomalous state of affairs was that the people of Bali and especially Ubud, unlike those of other parts of Indonesia, had been performing the correct forms of ritual with exceptional diligence. Indeed, they said, my arrival was fortuitously timed; they were at this very moment preparing for a series of ceremonies of unprecedented scale to ensure the well-being (kesejahteraan) not only of Ubud but of all Bali and even the whole world. 1
