Things in (Un)Common: Two Reflections

This article reflects on the way two things associated with Bali – heirloom daggers (kris) and the island's territory – are enlisted to assemble multiple but linked worlds. The kris in question traverse pre-colonial polities, colonial policies and institutions, national heritage, and efforts to recompose local politics. Bali's terrain, made by geological and cosmological forces and ritual practices, has been drawn into Cold War killings that produced mass graves, and development focused on mass tourism. I examine how these projects affect one another and how their actual or potential collision brings multiplicity into view.