The Moral Economy of Music in Tenganan, Bali

Abstract

Abstract This article discusses the relationship of economic, aesthetic, and economic life in the village of Tenganan, Bali, Indonesia. Music in Tenganan (primarily the slonding gamelan ensemble) is part of a complex cultural fabric weaving together the village’s aesthetic, ethical, and economic life, dynamically interconnected through both material and immaterial dimensions. I first outline a general concept of “goods” and “the good” that informs my analysis of the intersections of economic, ethical, and aesthetic life in Tenganan. I then describe communitarian life in Tenganan through a quick overview of the social history and organization of the village. Next I analyze the village’s material and immaterial economies. Ceremonial exchange, within which music is an important component, is the primary engine of the village economy. Finally, I describe ethics in Tenganan, explaining how different ethical regimes concretsely impact ceremonial, and therefore economic, practice.

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