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Showing posts from May, 2020

(Ethnography) Performance As Progress: The Discourse and Discontents of Tourism-based Development in Bali, Indonesia

Wayang Kulit Performance as Progress:  The Discourse and Discontents of Tourism-based Development in Bali Clay Porter Introduction Imagine the Spirit of Bali You are miles away from home, walking the beaches of tropical Bali.  The warm waters of the Indian Ocean flow beneath your feet as the rising sun reveals early morning fishermen making their offerings, and asking for the blessings of the gods and goddesses. Imagine: the sea, the fishermen, the sea life and you, as each a part of the sacred whole that is the Balinese “consciousness”.  What the people refer to as Desa Mewacara, or the Spirit of Bali, is a glimpse into the lives of the people and social force which defines their normality.  Imagine you are in this place, where rice is eaten as the primary food three times a day, and visualize that the goddess, Dewi Sri, who insures the rice crop, is waiting for you to make daily offerings of thanks.  Then imagine that similar offering have been made daily by your