Source: Jakarta Post
BALI, INDONESIA, June 13, 02: The Balinese consider the sea a holy place that plays a crucial role in their lives, either through religion or culture. They consider the sea as the beginning and the end of one’s life cycle. They take tirtha (holy waters) from the sea to be used for purification and rituals. The Balinese people pay homage to the sea and preserve it as a most precious asset. Before many rituals in major Hindu temples or special events, devotees form processions and carry flowers and fruit offerings toward many beaches. Entire beaches and coastlines in Bali were left untouched for centuries, until the province was developed to become Indonesia’s most prominent tourist destination in the early 1960s. Investors hunt for beach locations to make way for tourism-related development projects including hotels, villas and golf courses. A former Bali governor, I. B. Oka, issued a decree in the 1990s that allowed investors to develop tourist facilities and manage the coastal areas in front of their properties. The decree also shifted the function of beaches from the social and religious domain to limited and restricted business facilities. Since then, parts of the coastline have been closed to the public. Local Hindus believe the public’s right to use, enjoy and to perform religious ceremonies that should be held in beach areas have been denied by government regulation and by developers.