The Majapahit Past in Bali

The temple of Bali are the legacy, in part, of an architectural tradition that dates back to the last great empire of Indonesia`s Hindu Buddhist past, namely the East Javanese kingdom of Majapahit, which at the height of its influence between the 14th and 15th centuries held sway over most of the Indonesian archipelago. Construction techniques employed by the ancient Javanese are still used today in Bali and many architectural elements-most notably the distinctive spit gateway, or candi bentar can be traced back to the golden Majapahit era. Majapahit and Bali Bali first came under the hegemony of Java in the latter part of the 13th century when the last ruler of Singasari, the dynasty which preceded Majapahit in East Java, sent a military expedition to subjugate the island in 1284. The subsequent fall of Singasari in 1292 temporarily released Bali from the thrall of East Java, but early in the 14th century, the new Majapahit rulers conducted a series of military campaigns against Bali which culminated in the installation of a Javanese king at Samprangan and the establishment of a Javanese ruling elite across the island. The end of the 15th century saw a gradual decline in Majapahit fortune as a autonomous Muslim entrepot state began to establish themselves along the northern coastline of Java. The final collapse of Majapahit came at the beginning of the 16th century and led to a huge influx of Javanese refugees into Bali, among them many artists and artisans who had formerly been employed at the Majapahit court. This event had a lasting impact on the religious and cultural life of the island and introduced new elements into Balinese temple architecture. Majapahit Correspondences The ruined temples of East Java reveal that the religious orientation of the Majapahit era was predominantly Hindu,but with a sizable Buddhist constituency. This same combination of Sivaitic Hinduism and Buddhism occurs in Bali except that the relationship between Hinduism and Buddhism is more syncretic in nature, with Hinduism grabbing the higher ground though itself greatly modified by native Balinese influences. Nevertheless a number of parallel with the Majapahit erw can still be drawn. For example, the Balinese continue to creamate their dead and cast their ashes upon the sea. And like the ancient Javanese they also conduct a series of post – mortem ritual to free the soul from the pollution of death. One major difference between modern Bali and Majapahit Java is the absence of a physical representation of the deity in Bali, except in the case of a few pre-Majapahit-era temples of great antiquity.