Balinese and Indonesian are the most widely spoken languages in Bali, and like most Indonesians, the vast majority of Balinese people are bilingual or trilingual. There are several indigenous Balinese languages, but most Balinese can also use the most widely spoken option: modern common Balinese.
The usage of different Balinese languages was traditionally determined by the Balinese caste system and by clan membership, but this tradition is diminishing. English is a common third language (and the primary foreign language) of many Balinese, owing to the requirements of the large tourism industry. Staffs working in Bali's tourist centers are often, by necessity, multilingual to some degree, speaking as many as 8 or 9 different languages to an often surprising level of competence.
Balinese gamelan music is highly developed and varied. The dances portray stories from Hindu epics such as the Ramayana.
Famous Balinese dances include pendet, legong, baris, topeng, barong, and kecak (the monkey dance).
National education programs, mass media and tourism continue to change Balinese culture.
Immigration from other parts of Indonesia, especially Java, is changing the ethnic composition of Bali's population.
The Hindu new year, Nyepi, is celebrated in the spring by a day of silence.
On this day everyone stays at home and tourists are encouraged to remain in their hotels.
On the preceding day large, colorful sculptures of "ogoh-ogoh" monsters are paraded and finally burned in the evening to drive away evil spirits.
Other festivals throughout the year are specified by the Balinese "pawukon" calendrical system.
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