The History of Bali

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The Decline of the Majapahit Empire

Civil wars, revolts, and internal decay spread in Majapahit's colonies, and soon the great empire went into decline.

Muslim missionaries became influential in Java, converting princes who, attracted to the economic benefits of Islam, declared themselves sultans and repudiated their allegiance to Majapahit. This gradual Islamization quickened the pace of deterioration in Majapahit.

Eventually, peaceful religious propaganda turned to armed force. When the empire crumbled under the military and economic invasion of Islam at the dawn of the 16th century, the cream of Majapahit's scholars, jurists, dancers, painters, craftsmen, intellectuals, and literati migrated to isolated parts of East Java, and to Bali.

Priests took with them the entire kingdom's sacred books and historical records. Because of the lack of good harbors and the small volume of trade, Islam never succeeded in taking a firm hold in Bali's coastal areas. Only in Bali's extreme west, in Jembrana, did part of the population accept Islam. The regency to this day is home to Bali's largest Muslim population.

Nirartha, a great Hindu sage from Kediri in east Java, arrived in Bali in the 15th century, establishing a hermitage (griya) in Mas. There he became famous for his teachings, attracting many disciples. Nirartha created the system of village-level 'adat', a microcosm of the larger order of the universe. He also conceived of the open-roofed shrine (padmasana) found in every Balinese household and temple courtyard. Nirartha's descendents now form one of Bali's four castes, Brahmana caste.

Over the years, as descendants of Majapahit consolidated their power on the island, a Bali-Hindu civilization evolved like nowhere else in the archipelago. Only the Bali Aga, aboriginal mountain Balinese, resisted the Hindu inroads.

Easternmost Java remained Hindu until the end of the 16th century. The Blambangan region in far eastern Java lost its independence only during the 17th century. Bali then became the last refuge of Hindu culture in Asia, a splendid historical anachronism.