Wild animals include tigers and deer. After Japanese occupation during World War II, Dutch rule was reestablished until Indonesia received independence in 1949. The Balinese are the major ethnic group occupying the island of BALI in Indonesia. Nearly all of the more than 2 million Balinese live in villages in narrow river valleys or along the coastal lowlands. The major crops of their small, irrigated fields are rice, corn, cassava, vegetables, and fruit.
Balinese villages vary in population from a few hundred to several thousand.
The houses are usually surrounded by a walled courtyard. Genealogical descent is traced through the male line, and the family is the most important social group. Polygamy is permitted, but most men have only one wife. Divorce is common. Balinese culture was strongly influenced in the past by Indian civilization.