BALINESE ETHNO-DIFFUSION IN BATUR GEOPARK MUSEUM

Abstract

The foundation of Balinese cultural life undergoes a time-space compression as their cultural expressions manifest into artifacts exhibited in Batur Geopark Museum, Kintamani, Bali. Unfortunately, this time-space compression is not equipped by sufficient explanations from the information system and the layout of Batur Geopark Museum exhibition room, causing the lack of clarity in the account of the evolution and cultural diffusion process behind the creation of the artifacts. As a consequence, the foundation of Balinese culture fails to be holistically reflected by the museum’s display layout system.
This paper provides an observation on the Balinese cultural diffusion as presented by the layout system of Batur Geopark Museum. This research is a descriptive analytic research with a qualitative approach. The data is analyzed using Fritz Graebner’s Kulturkreis diffusion of culture theory and the analysis model of criterion of form of the artifacts. The
result of this research shows that the collection of artifacts featured in Batur Geopark Museum display layout system exhibits more cultural expressions from the society outside of the Batur Geopark region than from within, due to the variety of influences from diffusion of culture evoked by migrations and ancient trade.

Keywords : Bali; Diffusion of Culture; Batur Geopark Museum