Why Is Bali Called the “Island of the Gods”? — How Volcanoes and the Subak System Shaped Its Unique Culture
Indonesia is home to more than 17,000 islands.
Many of them—including Java, Sumatra, Sulawesi, and Borneo—are far larger than Bali.
So why, among Indonesia’s thousands of islands, has Bali become especially famous for its distinctive culture and beautiful landscapes?
From the lush green rice terraces and dense jungles of Ubud to Hindu temples scattered across the island and the small offerings placed out every morning, Bali is filled with distinctive landscapes and cultural traditions.
Behind the scenery that sets Bali apart from other parts of Indonesia lies a surprisingly important geographical factor:
volcanoes.
1. Bali, an Island Shaped by Volcanoes
Bali lies within the vast volcanic belt that stretches across Indonesia.
A chain of towering volcanoes runs through the northern and central parts of the island. Among the most famous are Mount Agung and Mount Batur.
Today, these volcanoes may appear to be part of Bali’s beautiful tourist landscape, but they have not always been a blessing for the Balinese people.
Major eruptions can destroy villages and farmland and claim many lives. Mount Agung, for example, experienced a major eruption in the 20th century that caused widespread destruction and loss of life across Bali.
Yet, over the long course of history, volcanoes have also given Bali another important gift:
fertile soil.
Volcanic materials gradually weather over time, helping to form soils well suited for agriculture. Combined with the abundant rainfall of Bali’s tropical climate, these fertile volcanic soils have helped create favorable conditions for agriculture across much of the island (UNESCO World Heritage Centre, 2012).
However, there was one major challenge.
Even with fertile soil, Bali’s mountainous terrain and steep slopes made it difficult to create large, flat rice fields.
2. How the Balinese Turned Hillsides into Rice Fields
The Balinese adapted to this challenging terrain.
Rather than farming only on broad plains, they carved rice fields into hillsides and valleys, creating a series of stepped terraces along the natural slopes.
The beautiful rice terraces seen around Ubud today are the result of this long interaction between Bali’s natural environment and human adaptation (UNESCO World Heritage Centre, 2012).
In particular, the rice terraces of Tegallalang have become one of Bali’s most iconic tourist attractions.
But simply creating terraced fields was not enough to make rice cultivation possible.
Rice farming requires a continuous and reliable supply of water.
In Bali, where mountains and valleys create a complex landscape, the crucial question was ultimately: “How could water be distributed among many different rice fields?”
3. Subak: Bali’s Unique Water Management System
To solve this challenge, Bali developed a distinctive irrigation community known as Subak over many centuries.
Subak is much more than a system of agricultural canals.
It is a social and religious system through which farmers collectively manage water, coordinate the timing and amount of irrigation supplied to their rice fields, and organize agricultural activities (Lansing, 1991; UNESCO World Heritage Centre, 2012).
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Rainfall in Bali’s highlands and water from its volcanic landscape flow downhill through rivers and springs.
The Balinese developed an intricate system of dams, canals, and tunnels to divert and distribute this water across numerous terraced rice fields.
Water temples also played an important role in coordinating this system of water management (Lansing, 1991).
In Balinese Hinduism, water is not simply an agricultural resource; it also carries profound religious significance. As a result, agriculture, irrigation, and religious rituals became closely interconnected.
This Balinese worldview, which emphasizes harmony among people, nature, and the divine, is often expressed through the concept of Tri Hita Karana.
In 2012, UNESCO inscribed this distinctive Subak landscape on the World Heritage List under the official title “Cultural Landscape of Bali Province: the Subak System as a Manifestation of the Tri Hita Karana Philosophy” (UNESCO World Heritage Centre, 2012).
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The beauty of Bali’s rice terraces comes from more than just their striking appearance.
Embedded in this landscape is a long history in which volcanoes and water, agriculture and community, and religion have become deeply intertwined over centuries.
4. Why Did Bali Remain an “Island of Hinduism”?
Another distinctive feature of Bali is its religion.
Today, Indonesia has the largest Muslim population of any country in the world.
Yet in Bali, Hinduism remains at the heart of society and culture.
Why did this religious difference emerge?
To understand the historical background, we need to look at the history of Java, the large island immediately west of Bali.
In the past, various kingdoms influenced by Hinduism and Buddhism flourished across different parts of the Indonesian archipelago, including Java and Bali.
Among them, the Majapahit Kingdom, which prospered mainly in eastern Java from the 13th to the 16th century, was one of the most prominent Hindu-Buddhist kingdoms in Indonesian history.
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However, during the 15th and 16th centuries, Islamic powers expanded along the coastal regions of Java, while the political influence of the Majapahit Kingdom gradually declined (Vickers, 2012).
During this period, people, ideas, and cultural traditions moved between Java and Bali.
Some elements of Java’s Hindu-Buddhist traditions and court culture were preserved and reshaped in Bali, where they blended with existing Balinese indigenous beliefs and practices.
Through this long process of cultural interaction and transformation, the distinctive tradition known today as Balinese Hinduism gradually developed (Vickers, 2012).
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5. Geography Also Helped Bali Preserve Its Distinctive Culture
Of course, Bali’s survival as a center of Hindu culture cannot be explained simply by claiming that its high volcanoes blocked outside influences.
Bali was connected to Java by sea and historically maintained active exchanges with the outside world.
Nevertheless, Bali had a natural maritime boundary as an island, while its interior was characterized by high volcanoes and mountainous terrain.
These geographical conditions likely contributed, to some extent, to the ability of local communities across Bali to maintain their distinctive ways of life and religious traditions.
At the same time, political changes in Java, the rise of local kingdoms in Bali, indigenous beliefs, and Hindu traditions interacted in complex ways, allowing Bali to develop a cultural identity distinct from those of surrounding regions (Vickers, 2012).
As a result, travelers visiting Bali today encounter a cultural landscape that looks and feels remarkably different from those found in many other parts of Indonesia.
6. Religion in Everyday Balinese Life
Bali’s Hindu culture is not confined to its grand temples.
In fact, it can be seen even more clearly in everyday life.
Each morning, small baskets woven from palm leaves are placed in front of homes, shops, restaurants, and hotels.
Inside them are flowers, rice, incense, and other small offerings.
These daily offerings are known as Canang Sari, one of the most familiar expressions of religious life in Bali.
Across Bali, religious ceremonies and temple festivals of all sizes are held throughout the year, while villages, rice fields, water, and mountains are also imbued with religious significance.
In particular, Mount Agung, the highest mountain in Bali, is regarded not simply as a volcano but as a sacred place in Balinese Hinduism.
Interestingly, for the Balinese, volcanoes embody two contrasting meanings. On the one hand, they are powerful forces of nature capable of bringing eruptions and destruction. On the other, they provide water and fertile soils while also carrying profound spiritual significance.
7. The “Island of the Gods” Shaped by Volcanoes
Ultimately, Bali’s beauty was not created by nature alone.
Volcanoes have sometimes brought destruction to the island, but they have also helped create fertile soils, towering mountains, and abundant water resources.
The Balinese transformed steep hillsides into terraced rice fields and developed Subak, a community-based irrigation system that allowed them to distribute water across Bali’s complex terrain.
Over time, this agricultural landscape became deeply intertwined with water temples, religious rituals, and community life.
Meanwhile, even as Islamic powers expanded across neighboring regions, Bali followed a different historical path. Indigenous beliefs and Hindu traditions interacted and evolved, contributing to the development of Bali’s distinctive Hindu culture.
This is why the unique atmosphere experienced today while walking among Ubud’s lush jungles and terraced rice fields is more than simply the scenery of a tropical vacation destination.
Embedded in this landscape is the historical geography of the Balinese people, who adapted to volcanoes and water over centuries and developed their own distinctive forms of agriculture, community life, religion, and art.
Perhaps this is part of the reason Bali came to be known as the “Island of the Gods.”
On a land shaped by powerful volcanoes, the Balinese developed a distinctive culture not by conquering nature, but by finding ways to live in harmony with it.
References
Geertz, C. (1980). Negara: The theatre state in nineteenth-century Bali. Princeton University Press.
Lansing, J. S. (1991). Priests and programmers: Technologies of power in the engineered landscape of Bali. Princeton University Press.
UNESCO World Heritage Centre. (2012). Cultural landscape of Bali Province: The Subak system as a manifestation of the Tri Hita Karana philosophy.
Vickers, A. (2012). Bali: A paradise created. Tuttle Publishing.
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