0 Kulkul - Balinese Wooden Bell

Kulkul is a big bell made of wood or bamboo use by various social organization of Balinese society. Like a bell it is used to indicated time of gathering, ceremony, and in the past to call the people during a strain time resulted by conflict, or criminal. Organization in Bali are various based on tradition, profession or hobby The type of the sound must be made differently and typical for each organization, so each member of the organization will soon understand to whom the bell is rang.

For the need of traditional organization kulkul is made from selected wood such as jackfruit tree, orange tree, and other hard trees, while those made of bamboo are only for temporary use or only for temporal organization such as the group called” Sekeha ” The group of sekaha is mostly related to profession such as cultivating rice, group of hired labor, group of hunting and others. Special for group of cultivating rice a barter called ” kajak ” meaning included in a group who will get assistant and in turn to assist back with the same work.

In the past to cultivate land the farmer used wooden plow dragged by 2 cows as the main tool to soft the soil and a ” lampit ” to level the soil. While to clear the remains of plants used “gabag”, see short article on cultivating rice Both gabag and lampit were dragged by 2 cows. These informal groups in the past had kulkul each of them with different color of sound, and their kulkul made of bamboo. On the villages of highland where village and the farming areas are separated often quiet far, from 1 to 5 kms away, had forced the farmer to build a pavilion or temporary structure on the farm, but only for rest during the day or some time sleeping during certain season.

The pavilion or temporary construction on the farm is called ” pondok ” opposed to ” umah ” the house in the village. The pondok always made in lower quality, compared to umah, even most were temporary in nature. At pondok usually farmers made kulkul in various size and sound color. One kulkul is just for children playing, one is to call the poultry when feeding time come, and other to announce to anyone that the keeper of the farm is presence. This was probably to prevent some one or thief entering the land, although in the past of Bali thievery was rare, and only happened at certain area of Bali, but it had become myth of every people of Bali.

Interesting to see that traditional chicken breeders could train the chicken to hear the sound of kulkul. When it is fed the kulkul is knocked many times and all chicken will hast to the source of the sound. The training was not taking much time, and it soon understand, as every time the farmer giving them food the kulkul always knocked with the same pattern of sound, so it could form the reflect in the animal hearing.

Before 1980s when most of the highland villages of Bali still could not be reached by car, the farmers looked after chicken, pigs ducks, cows and others at their pondok with or without constant watching. They just built an open pavilion as shelter of the chicken, and it was free without cage. During the night all of their stocks were left at pondok as the family sleeping at the house in the village.

It was a social condition that was almost no thief, every one had his/her own subsystem for living, and no unlimited needs as what is today. Even the children were so happy with their brothers, sisters at their age group and on certain season made kulkul of bamboo for fun. Kulkul can be said as a symbol of organization in Balinese society with its changes very little over the millennium despite the presence of telephone, and radio as the most effective means of communication.

In the past traditional organization of Balinese such as Desa organization, Banjar organization, Penabuh ( music player ) organization, youth-girl organization, security, Subak, and other temporary organizations, each has a kulkul which sound must be different from each other. So that every member of the organization will soon realized when the kulkul is knocked, to whom the call is addressed.

Since every one of Balinese can be member of more then two organizations, both formal and non formal it is a must to know with reflect differentiate between various color of kulkul sound. The use of kulkul to call members is proceeded by a short notice or without short notice who done by one of the member in charge called ” kasinoman” Usually, when the member of organization will have a work together, the head and assistants organize a preliminary meeting at the village hall called Bale Banjar.

During the head meeting the subject is discussed in short including the schedule such as the time of calling the member to join a complete meting. When the schedule has been fixed, one is assigned to give short notice to the member by visiting from door to door. The short notice will consist of information to member the brief subject and the time of meeting. On the fixed day the kulkul will be knocked to remind at once to call the member that the time has come.

During a ceremony at the temple which takes more then 2 days including preparation of offering at the temple the knocking of the kulkul will not preceded with short information from door to door, since the announcement usually given during the dismissal of the gathering. The time schedule contains in the announcement will be indicated by the sound of kulkul, even unexpected gathering to follow which is not on plan can be called only by knocking the kulkul.

Some events indicated by sound of kulkul without short door to door notice by the kasinoman are when one of the member of the village dead, married, emergency and regular meeting / work. In all events normally the sound of the kulkul is made as ” duang tulud ” meaning two rounds. One round of sound starting with slow, then quicker and quicker temp as much as knocker could do, then slowing again.

When one of the village member is dead the biggest kulkul or the banjar organization owned kulkul is knocked in three round. Since dead is the obligation of all members of the organization within a village to participate in the activity of burial and ritual. This kulkul is placed at the Bale Kulkul ( kulkul pavilion ) near the Bale Banjar. While other kulkul that relating to organization of Desa, music player, youth-girl organization, and other organizations belong to the religious activities are place at the temple.

Today with the disappearance of temporary organization at the villages, the number of kulkul also decreasing, as bigger works also decreasing. More works at the rice field or dry land tend to be sub-contracted or given to paid workers based on daily fee. At the highland with the disappearance of seasonal rice planting many temporary organizations also disappeared. The land is used to plant longer living fruits or other plantations which is expected to give more economic value.

0 Banjar - Traditional Town Council Meets

Every area in Bali is run by a local Banjar with the male heads of each family representing each family. This traditional town council meets twice a month at the Banjar pavilion in a central location, close to the pura desa, or village temple.

• What is the Banjar ?
The Banjar are adjudicators of adat, traditional law and determine dates for religious events, collect money for ceremonies, allocate temple maintenance, oversee land sales and on occasion hand out summary punishment to troublemakers.

• How the Banjar fits in with Balinese village structure
Bali is dived into kabupaten (districts), kecamatan (municipalities) and kelurahan / desa (villages). Traditionally a Banjar will control a desa, more accurately the inhabited land. The sawah (rice-fields) are governed by the subak, another integral part of Bali’s social system. The subak will determine when a farmer can flood his fields and its primary role is the control of water, since Bali’s economy and culture depend on the production of rice. Both the Banjar and the subak each with their temples and organizations.

Balinese villages have an organizational structure. If you look into the family compounds you will see red tiles roofs, various family bale structures and other familiar buildings. You will also see the same family temples (sanggah/merajan). A large tree will indicate the Banjar pavilion, with 2 slit logs hanging from the branches, as well as religious shrines. This is where the banjar meets to discuss important village issues and is a community meeting place. Banjar means ‘neighborhood’ and people feel this place is where they can come and feel at one with the community.

• Banjar society
Membership to the banjar is mandatory for each Balinese married man. The Banjarhas its own system of lending locals money for equipment. At the Banjar pavilion everyone takes a turn at cooking, cleaning and performing menial duties. The leader of the banjar is elected and approved by the gods via a medium.

The basic social unit of the Banjar is the pekurenan (couple). Only Balinese married couples are full Banjar members and subjected to the banjar rights and obligations. Foreigners or other Indonesians cannot join the Banjar as it is tied up with Balinese culture and the Agama Hindu religion. All Banjar meetings are conducted in Basa Bali (Balinese language). The decisions are taken by the sangkep (assembly) of the banjar’s male members, the krama banjar, which often occurs every 35 days.

• Ceremonies
Most ceremonies, at the level of the family or of other local temples, cannot take place before a pejati (“notification offering”) at the kahyangan tiga. The most important is probably the pura desa, or village temple. Its god, Batara Desa, is usually given the forefront position during the village processions of gods. The desa pekraman (village community) is in reality also the congregation of the pura desa, whatever the other affiliations. It is headed by the bendesa adat.

Much of the ritual work at the village level is shared among the various banjar, for example, More than participate in upacara (ceremonies). One banjar may look after the pura desa for the upcoming festival and another banjar for the one after. Banjars will redistribute the work entrusted to it, via the kelian banjar or neighborhood headman. All ritual activity will need his involvement before it can take place.

The desa (village) usually has three village temples, the kahyangan tiga, each positioned according to adat (traditional law and custom) and relating to the village’s symbolic life:  The pura puseh (temple of origin, representing the village founder and also called the navel temple) is located towards Gunung Agung. This is where the important gods of the village and its founders are worshiped; The pura desa (village temple), is located in the center of the village, where meetings of the village assembly and the rituals of fertility are held; the pura dalem (temple of the dead), located toward the ocean, domain of the demons, is where the forces of death are worshiped.

Cremation ceremonies take place here and the graveyard, for bodies awaiting cremation is also here. Besides these territorial temples, there is also a temple for each banjar (bedogol or pura banjar), a temple for each subak, and the various temples of the local sub – groups (pura dadia or pura panti), each one having its own calendar of festivals. All temples of the kahyangan tiga (pura peseh or ‘temple of origin’, pura desa or ‘village temple’ and pura dalem or ‘temple of the dead’) are a vital part of all local rituals.

• Banjar decision making
The decisions are taken on the basis of unanimous agreement, unlike the western ideal of ‘winner takes all’ (majority rule), The banjar has been, since 1979, recognized by the Indonesian government and is the lowest administrative structure of the national administration. Fitting in directly under the authority of the perbekel / lurah (supra – village head) and beyond the traditional bendesa adat (village head).

There are also two types of kelian banjar, the kelian dinas, who is in charge of the administrative aspects of the banjar life, and the kelian adat, who looks after the customary aspects in collaboration with the bendesa adat. They usually work together, unless the two roles are fulfilled by one person.

• Modern day banjars
Banjar has anywhere from fifty and two hundred individual family compounds. The word Banjar originally meant a row of houses, the clustering of compounds into a neighborhood, with a temple and a community. Nowadays, most of these banjars have split, and the banjar community is no more strictly territorial. Two banjars can occupy the same territory, and banjar members sometimes live far from the center of community. In densely populated areas such as Denpasar and Kuta, there are many banjars and they don’t always get along, especially when residents choose to leave one banjar for another.

• Sharing the joy and pain
Banjar has an association called the ‘banjar suka duka‘ which means ‘the association for the sharing of joy and pain’. This relates to the function played by the group in the organizing specific social services or work called ayahan. Every banjar member has responsibilities in helping help the temple clean, preparing for ceremonies, providing funds and offerings. These responsibilities are some of the most important of all found in the network of village associations and Balinese can get ejected from the banjar if they do not participate.

• Effects of the banjar in modern times
Banjar have generally been a good thing for Bali and during the riots in 1999 banjar Kuta patrolled to keep rioting youths from destroying tourist infrastructure. The banjar is the main force that prevents the Balinese becoming a disenfranchised population like some other cultures in the developing world. It insists locals are used for construction and hired as staff. During religious events the banjar will determine what streets are blocked off and this is enforced by the banjar traffic cops, the pecalang. It is the one social group in Bali that has the respect (in some cases fearful respect) of most people. A couple of years ago banjar Seminyak decided to close down all bars and nightclubs for a weekend to make a point. They stayed closed and the point was made.

0 Meru - Balinese Shrine Temple

The towering Meru with its tiered sugar palm fiber roofs and elegant silhouette is the prima ballerina of many temple courtyards. This Balinese pagoda, a shrine to the higher deities, always has an odd number of roofs, with a maximum of 11. The number depends on the status of the divinity in the local hierarchy. That is why, based on the concept of Mandala that the function of each meru are:

1.  Meru with 3 tiered roofs are dedicated for Tri Murti (Hindhu Trinity )such as Brahma (creator), Wisnu (preserver) dan Siwa (destroyer/dissolver).

2.  Meru with 5 tiered roofs are dedicated to Panca Dewata such as: Iswara, Brahma, Mahadewa, Wisnu dan Siwa.

3.  Meru with 7 tiered roofs are dedicated tor: Sapta Dewata such as: Iswara, Brahma, Mahadewa, Wisnu, Siwa, Sada Siwa dan Parama Siwa.

4.  Meru with 9 tiered roofs are dedicated to Nawa Sanga Dewata such as: Iswara, Maheswara, Brahma, Rudra, Mahadewa, Sangkara, Wisnu, Sambhu dan Siwa.

5.  Meru with 11 tiered roofs are dedicated Eka Dasa Rudra Dewata such as Iswara, Maheswara, Brahma, Rudra, Mahadewa, Sangkara, Wisnu,Sambhu, Siwa, Sada Siwa dan Parama Siwa.

Meru, a shrine with one tiered roof, one with 2 tiered roofs, is not called ‘Meru’ but ‘pelinggih Gedong’ or “Gedong jajar /Gedong Sari” functioned to worship “Purusa-Pradana aspects (Male – Female) it is usually connected with worshiping the ancestors. Note that the number of tiered roof of the Meru doesn’t show the height of the god’ degree the people worship to.

0 Padmasana - Balenese Important Temple

Balinese temples contain many structures and one of the most important being the Padmasana. This is found in the Jeroan, or inner courtyard of the temple. The padmasana is a tall sculptured stone tower upon which is the empty stone seat, or lotus throne, and is reserved for Sanghyang Widi Wasa. This is placed so that it faces away from the holiest mountain, Gunung Agung in the northeast corner of the temple. At the base of the column a representation of a Turtle, Bedawang, is usually found and according to mythology is the base upon which the world rests.

On top of this base are often found two carved serpents or naga, indicating animality. As well, there are representations such as mountains to indicate the physical world of man. The godly seat is placed well above these. The throne is usually two metres above the ground so that it is above the heads of worshippers. In larger versions of the padmasana, there are steps leading up to the throne to enable people to make offerings. The whole structure signifies the entire cosmos – from the demonic depths to the heavens.

0 Cupak and Grantang - Balinese Folktales

Bali has many folktales. A several days ago you have read a romantic story entitled “Jayaprana and Layonsari”. Now I will present you a story about two brothers who had different attitude and appearance, Cupak and Grantang. This is one of many interesting stories, which are often used as a material of Balinese story telling competition.  As for Cupak and Grantang this story even inspired a Balinese musician (XXX band) to create a song titled Cupak and Grantang. 

Without further ado, here is the tale: Cupak and Grantang were two siblings but they had different appearance and attitude. Cupak, the elder was fat, had sideburns, his hair was mess, with a big pot-belly, he loved to eat; a sneaky and bad young man. He was totally different with his brother named Grantang. Grantang was a handsome young man, every woman who saw him would adore him, he had good attitude.  One day, their parent commanded them to work in the farm. Grantang did what he should do like plowing the soil, planting, and cleaning the farm from rice weeds. But what did Cupak do? He played and went around looking for something to eat. Then, when dusk came he came back to the farm.

0 Lumbung - Balinese Rice Barn

Lumbung or Balinese rice barn is a Balinese traditional architecture that is used by Balinese to store rice after the harvest, nowadays, is quite hard to be found in the agricultural areas of Bali but it can be found easily in tourism area especially in the hotel compounds. Lumbung has undergone a great expansion in its function from storing rice to housing the tourist. Lumbung is built on four poles; usually stand between 1 1/2 meter and 2 meters up from ground level. The upper storage area often has a distinct omega shape. 

The roof is generally covered with alang-alang grass and the sides are made of woven, split bamboo or wood. The pole support structure beneath the raised, enclosed rice barn is open with no walls. A floor or platform is constructed of wood and bamboo about 1/2 meter above the ground. This lower platform provides a convenient, shady place for people to sit and relax. The function of Lumbung is basically to store rice. In old days, the economic activities were usually done by barter and there was no decent road and transportation to transport the rice from the rice fields to the market so the Lumbung served a vital function.

Lumbung at that time could also become a symbol of social status; richer farmer usually has bigger Lumbung than the others. But with rapid development of Bali, the farmers of Bali implement a better way to increase their rice production, and they can sell their harvest easily since the road access from rice fields to markets has been in good condition and there are many means of transportation available to transport the harvest. So they no longer need to store their harvest in the Lumbung, they only bring a small amount of their harvest home to be used as an offering for Goddess Sri, the goddess of rice.  

They now store their harvest in the form of money. Why? Because, they should pay production cost such as the purchasing of fertilizer, pesticide, hybrid seed and rental cost of hand tractor for cultivating the land, the fee of the harvesters and other additional costs. Moreover saving money is easier than storing the rice which are very vulnerable from mice and weather. Nowadays, the Lumbung, no longer plays important role in farmers life in Bali moreover as the family members increased more and more space is needed for housing, and surely the Lumbung, which no longer needed, is the first one to be cut down, thus the number of Lumbung has gradually decreased.

However, with the advance of tourism, Lumbung now serve other purpose; it houses the tourists. Many bungalow and villa are build based on Lumbung style; it is said that Lumbung creates a sense of “Bali-ness” in the architecture,though no Balinese would ever dream to sleep on the upper platform of the Lumbung.

0 Tukang Terang - Balinese Rain Man

When rainy season finally comes, there should be rain everyday in Bali. The service of a rain man (tukang terang) is in high demand, since many traditional or secular events are held outdoor and a sudden down pour of rain will be a great problem. The traditional rain man of Bali is someone who has strong magical powers that enable him to move the rain from one place to another. The magical power is obtained by observing a strict self-purification and adherence to spiritual processes. 

Talent and a family line of rain man are also important requirements for obtaining this magical power. The ability of the rain man is not just moving the rain from one place to another but also in making the rain. To move the rain, the rain man needs to set a special offering to the Gods who guard the nine point of compass, known as Dewata Nawa Sanga. Some rain men are helped by spiritual beings from the underworld such as Gamang (spiritual being who inhabit a spooky place) or Tonya (spiritual being who inhabit the bank of a river). These spirits help are called on for help.

The rain man will sacrifice a black chicken in addition to making offerings. A strong rain man usually uses a piece of white cloth with a drawing of magical characters and images. However, a very strong rain man needs only incenses or cigarette to chase the rain away. To make the rain he/she needs only to rinse his/her mouth with water or waft a palm leaf in the air. A rain man should always ask permission from the Kahyangan Tiga temple (three main temples that are found in every village in Bali), without the permissions from the deities in these three temples, the rain man cannot perform the making or moving of the rain. 

The rain man must know when a ceremony in Sad Kahyangan temples (Six main temples) is held. Making or moving the rain at the time when there is ceremony in Sad Kahyangan temples is considered as a great offense to the deities in Sad Kahyangan temples. The rain man can be struck by a lightening or paralyzed. Sometimes, there is a spiritual fight between the rain man who makes the rain and the one who moves it. The result of this fight is a paralyzed or burned body to the winner and losing the magical power or death to the loser.

0 Megibung - Balinese Eating Communally

The word megibung is from the Balinese dialect meaning people eating communally. It is traditional custom of the Karangasem regency and normally occurs when there is a lot of work to be done in the village like a temple ceremony or social work. The megibung usually involves hundreds of people. The participants of megibung are divided into groups; each group consists of eight people of same gender, sitting cross-legged in circle on a mat or banana leaves and enjoying the delicious food. 

The participants eat with their right hand no spoon or fork is used. The food eaten in megibung is arranged into sets of food called gibungan. The gibungan is set of foods comprise of various food that can be scooped easily with the hand, such as pesan (spicy fish wrapped in banana leaves), be guling (suckling pig), siap / bebek betutu (roast chicken or duck), spicy vegetables such as jukut ares (soup made from a banana tree trunk), jukut urab (strong smelling salad served warm) or lawar (grated coconut, condiments, meat and sometimes raw blood) and nasi putih / nasi kuning (white or yellow rice).

Brem (balinese rice wine) or tuak (palm toddy) is always the favorite drink during megibung. The gibungan (food) is placed on a mat or banana leaves, no table is used in the megibung. The megibung is highly organized style of eating. There is a leader, called tukang tarek, which controls the process of the megibung. The process of megibung can be described as follow: first the gibungans (sets of food) are placed in a row, there are dozen of gibungan for a small size of megibung. Then the tukang tarek (the leader of megibung) announces that the megibung is about to begin. 

The participants are divided into groups of eight people, each group sits cross-legged around a certain gibungan. It is usual that a person is in the same group with a stranger or two. This may produces the uneasy feeling, since someone have to share the food with a stranger. However, in this situation the megibung achieve its basic purpose as a communal feast. Then the tukang tarek gives a signal to the participants to wash their hand. After washing their hands, the participants wait for the signal to start eating.

The tukang tarek ensures that all the participants have washed their hand after that he gives the signal to begin the feast. A special attendant, called pengancang serves each group of the participants. After the participant finish eating, they wait for a signal from tukang tarek to wash their hands. The tukang tarek ensures that all participants have finished eating, then he gives the signal to the participants to wash their hand then they free to go, the megibung comes to and end. For those who want to feel the joy of megibung, there is a great megibung, which is held in Taman Ujung, Karangasem.

This is a colossal megibung, the biggest megibung ever held, more than 20, 000 people have registered to join this traditional feast. An event that cannot be missed.

0 Balinese Women

Talking about Balinese women, we will speak about endurance, patience, love and care and of course, hard workers. The women do all the work while men go to tajen (cockfighting) is the image of Balinese society seen by the outsider and there is some truth in it. The cockfighting is seldom held nowadays maybe once in a month or two, but the Balinese women are still a hard worker.

Balinese women are independent women, tough and hard working. The household duties that are entrusted to the women are exhausting and need a lot of patience such as taking care of the households, preparing the religious offering, taking care of the children, managing the budgets and working in the rice field or office. Balinese women are the backbone of Balinese society and culture.

In other societies, men are the ones involved in trade but in Bali, the buying and selling activity is the privilege of women. When you visit a Balinese traditional market, you are entering a women’s kingdom. Streets are filled with warung (food and daily needs stalls) run by the women. In the households, it is the women who keep the money.

Men usually hand their income to them so that it is managed in the right way. Women also play the central role in the ritual process from the preparation for the ceremony to the actual running of the ceremony. The women start to prepare the ceremony a month before the day on which the ceremony will be held but men start to work for the ceremony a week or less before the ceremony is held.

In the political and social life of the banjar (sub village) or village, sometimes women are inferior to men. In Banjar meetings or village meetings there are no woman participants. The decisions that are made rarely take any notice of women’s interests. There is no theoretical discrimination between men and women although in practice, both men and women have their own traditional responsibilities.

Women sell in the market, buy the daily need, cook, take care of the children and do the household duties. Besides working in the rice field or office, men attend to their banjar duties and participate in banjar or village activities that are more like a gathering than a duty or work. What makes the Balinese women so strong? Balinese women are accustomed to hardship. In a Balinese family, a daughter is considered as a loss.

In this sense, someday, she will be married, leaves her home and stays with her husband. she no longer belongs to her parents’ family; she no longer prays in her parent’s family temple but instead she prays in her husband’s family temple. She no longer serves her parents but instead she serves her husband’s parents. But a son is considered as a blessing since, he will take care of his parents in their old days.

A son is spoiled, given more attention and receives constant care by his parents even by his sister. This situation makes Balinese women strong and ready to face any hardship.

0 Island of Millions Shrines

Bali is the Island of Thousands Temples, can boast of 50,000 temples, but that figure is far smaller then the number of shrine found in Bali. There are more than one and a half million shrines scattered all over the island. They are everywhere, outdoor and indoor; they can be found in houses, courtyards, marketplace, cemeteries, and rice paddies; on beaches, barren rocks off-shore, deserted hilltops, and mountain heights; deep inside caves; within the tangled toots of banyan trees.

At most intersections and most dangerous places, temples are erected to prevent mishaps. Even in the middle of jungle crossroads, incense burns at small shrines brightened with flowers, wrapped leaves, and gaily colored cloth. Shrine in Bali can be divided into two categories indoor and outdoor shrine. The indoor shrine is called plangkiran it can be found in every room in the houses, offices, hospitals, shops, restaurants, schools, ect as long as the structure is owned by a Balinese.

The indoor shrine, plangkiran, is usually attached high on the wall at the north eastern corner of a room. It is usually made of wood, lavishly painted and decorated. Every morning an offering is placed on it, to pacify the spirit that resides in that plangkiran. The indoor shrine, plangkiran, that is installed on a house is usually dedicated to the domestic spirit in that house, while the indoor shrine, plangkiran, in a shop, office, or other business site is dedicated to the God of Wealth (Bhatara Rambut Sedana). Indoor shrine, plangkiran, is also used as a place to keep magical items such as Kris, palm leaf manuscript, amulet, or traditional medicines.

The outdoor shrine is further divided into two categories; they are the temporary and the permanent one. The temporary shrine is called sanggah, it is usually erected for a ceremonial purpose and taken down after the ceremony is over. The size of this temporary shrine is varied from small sanggah cucuk to gigantic two-storey sanggah agung. The permanent outdoor shrine is called pelinggih. It is usually made of concrete or combination of brick and porous stone.

It is erected on sacred or spooky place for the spiritual being to reside. The permanent outdoor shrine, pelinggih, is usually found in courtyards, marketplace, cemeteries, and rice paddies; intersections; crossroads; bridges; beaches; mountain heights; hill top, gorge, river, caves; within the banyan trees, etc. Only the permanent outdoor shrine pelinggih has a specific day for its ceremony. On this day the pelinggih is decorated with new clothes and symbolic ornaments made of woven young coconut leaves the offering which is presented on the day at pelinggih’s ceremony is much bigger than the daily offering.

The permanent outdoor shrine pelinggih that is built in the spooky place, tenget, is usually used by Balinese as a place for asking assistance, wealth or upgrading their magical power by meditating and presenting a particular offering to the spirit that resides in that permanent outdoor shrine, pelinggih.

0 Songket - Balinese Traditional Sarong

The tradition of weaving cloth is another heritage that has been passed down through generations of Balinese women. Like many other local art forms, weaving is based on the principals of harmony. This is indicated in the Hindu philosophy Tri Hita Karana, which refers to the balance between man, his environment and God Almighty. Art based on these values often reflects great beauty. 

Textiles in Bali are not only used for clothing purposes, but also as accessories in places of worship. Statues, shrines and even trees on the island are often shrouded in pieces of cloth. Authentic Balinese cloth is specially designed and plays a significant role in religious, ceremonial and community life. A rather unique type of cloth known as kain gringsing originates from the village of Tenganan and follows the technique of ikat weaving. The cloth called kain cepuk is believed to be holy and is commonly worn by priests and alternative healing practitioners. 

Other types of cloth identified by specific characteristics are endek, poleng, keling and prada. However, the most popular Balinese cloth is called Songket. Songket is a technique of traditional weaving where an interwoven floating weft of delicate gold, silver or coloured thread is incorporated onto a plain background to create an attractive design. In the times of ancient Balinese courts and kingdoms, members of the noble class sought handmade songket cloths made from pure silk with an accessory over-thread of naturally dyed cotton. Owning several samples of this expensive cloth was a sign of wealth and prestige, worn especially to be admired at religious ceremonies and community events. 

The progression of Balinese woven cloth reached its peak during the 16th century in a golden era when there was a growing appreciation for all creative arts, including dance, music and painting. Songket cloth, with its rich gold and silver threadwork, became a symbol of great kings, regal palaces and generally a measurement of social status amongst Bali’s high caste members.  Songket is also handmade in other Indonesian territories and it is often promoted as the ideal cloth for performers as the composition of shiny threads never fails to draw audience attention to the grace and elegance of the dancer’s body.

The glimmer of gold and silver in songket cloth complements the dynamic spirit of traditional Balinese dance. A single piece of songket cloth takes up to three months to produce. Many women in the village of Sideman in East Bali are quite adept at weaving and it is a skill that is passed down through generations of families from mother to daughter. There are generally three types of patterns that are followed in songket weaving and the cloth is matched to the religious occasion that it will be worn for, which includes dance performances, weddings, tooth filing rituals and cremation ceremonies.

0 Balinese Cremation Tower

Ngaben or cremation ceremony is arguably the most documented Balinese ceremony among hundreds of Balinse religious ceremonies. And of course the prima ballerina of Balinese cremation is the cremation tower or well known as Bade or Wadah. Bade or wadah is a tower which is used to carry the body of the deceased to the cremation ground. Bade or Wadah is a pagoda-like structure with multi-tiered roof, constructed by a group of special craftsmen known as sangging with specific material such as bamboo, paper mace and cotton. 

The size, proportion and the structure of the bade is strictly governed by the ancient rules of bade construction. The height of the Bade could reach up to 25 meters and the weight around 10 ton. It is required a few hundreds of man to carry it. Bade shows the social status of the deceased in the community, it is shown by the number of the tier of the bade roofs. The number of the roof of the bade is always odd (3, 5, 9, and 11). A commoner or sudra is forbidden to use bade in his cremation. 

The gentry usally use 3 up to 9-roof bade depend of his or her social status; higher social status means higher and more elaborate bade. The 11-roof bade is reserved specially for a king. The Bade represents the ancient Balinese cosmogony the Bedawang Nala (The world turtle) as its base, surrounded by the two dragons, Naga Basuki and Ananta boga as the symbol of safety and perpetual foods. Above them on the backside of the Bade is a big, grotesque mask of Bhoma with its outstretched wings symbol of the lofty forest and mountains. 

At the very top is the receding size of the multi tiers of roof, symbol of the heaven. The turtle and the dragons live in the lower world named Bhur, and the above is the world of man called Bwah, symbolized with the Bhoma. At the top is the world of heaven, Swah and it is symbolized by the tiers of roof at the Bade itself.

0 Pecalang - Balinese Body Guards

Bali is an island which is very active in celebrating traditional ceremony. Almost everyday, all over the island, traditional ceremonies and celebrations are held. And those celebrations and ceremonies need security forces to ensure the ceremonies and celebrations are going well. In this case this task is tackled by Pecalang. If you take a look in every Balinese ceremony you will know what pecalang are and how they looks like. 

Pecalang resemble police that they work in group. They (pecalang) use black-red-white checkerboard-pattern “saput” (a traditional Balinese lower cloth which is tied in waist and is used to cover the main cloth (kamben). The main cloth is longer and covers the legs). They also use head-cloth named “udeng” and sometimes using waist coat. Etymologically, Pecalang derived from ‘celang’ means vigilant. That is logic because pecalang have to secure the ceremony process from any problems. They worked based on the traditional rules (awig awig) and appointed by the member of Banjar (hamlet).

They became more popular since they succeeded in securing the PDIP (one of parties in Indonesia) congress in Bali in 1998. Besides, their success in securing Bali Travel Mart (2000) and international meeting in terms of environment got two thumbs up from Balinese people. In 2002 also, there was a seminar to decide the ethics of pecalang. That seminar decided pecalang should coordinate with police in order to avoid overlapping in duties between the pecalang and polices . But the fact is, nowadays pecalang sometimes block the road without any coordination with police. Some Balinese nowadays consider pecalang arrogant.

There is a sense of proud in using waistcoat and they are very overly pleased in directing the traffic on the road. Sometimes, Balinese are resentful because pecalang in directing the traffic based on what they think are the best. Pecalang nowadays tends to be men with big bodies, long and unkempt hairs, and scary faces. Some of them sometimes play “ceki” (card games which is categorized as gambling) and get drunk. They merely would like to show their existence actually. But. Balinese need a vigilant pecalang to secure them and keep the ceremony process going well. Balinese still need true Pecalang.

0 Makotekan

Many sacred and unique ceremonies and activities are held to celebrate Kuningan holyday, one of them is Makotekan activity. This unique activity can only be found in Munggu village, Mengwi, Badung. Makotekan is performed in order to purify the village and serves as symbol of never ending battle between virtue and evil. Makotekan is usually held in the afternoon and last until night. 

Makotekan begins with a procession of temple treasure, deities’ effigies, temple’s flags and holy weapons from all temples in the village to Pura Desa (Village Temple). This procession involves hundreds of villagers and accompanied by the Gamelan Baleganjur. Half of the male members of the procession, especially the youth carry Kotekan (Long wood staves decorated with leaves and tamiang –a shield like ornament made of young coconut leaves). Arriving at the village temple, the members of procession pray together, ask for blessing for the success of Makotekan activity.

After the praying session is over the procession of temple treasure, deities’ effigies, temple’s flags and holy weapons depart for Ngider Bhuana (encircling universe/ village in this context) journey. The male members of procession who carry the Kotekan begin to perform the Makotekan activity in the front part the procession. They thrash each other in semi trance at first but since this activity involves hundreds of men the thrashing session soon over replaces by making a mountain like pile of staves, each side of the pile push the pile as hard as they can and eventually the pile will collapse and fall on the weaker side. This activity is repeated over an over along the way.

After the Ngider Bhuana journey is completed the procession of temple treasure, deities’ effigies, temple’s flags and holy weapons back to their respective temple, and the Makotekan activity is over. Though Makotekan is a dangerous activity but there is no injury inflicted to the performers or members of the procession. They believe that the deities will protect them and there is nothing to be afraid since they perform the Mekotekan activity for the welfare of the village.

0 Perang Jempana

Perang Jempana (battle of deities’ effigies) Ritual is held at the Pura Panti Timbrah in Paksebali village, near Klungkung, Bali every 210 days precisely on Kuningan Holyday. This temple is a clan temple of Pasek Bendesa which its origin can be traced back to Timbrah village in Karangasem, its congregation about 80 head of family (about 380 people). The preparation for Perang Jempana is already start in the morning, the members of the clan gather together in the temple and prepare the offering for Perang Jempana ritual.

At 5:30 PM, the sound of Kul-Kul (Balinese traditional alarm made of hollowed wood) urges all the clan members to gather in the temple. The male members of the clan are bare-chested and the female members use their best cloths. Before the deities’ effigies are prepared for Perang Jempana, they are placed in a special place in the temple, given special offering by the Pemangku (temple priest).

After the deities effigies are installed in the Jempana (the palanquins attached to bamboo stretchers in which the deities’ effigies are carried), they are paraded to the Pura Taman (a temple near Unda River in which the Pemangku (temple priest) asks for holy water). The Jempana are placed inside the temple given a set of offering and the pemangku (temple priest) asks for holy water, while the members of the clan take a bath in the river, in order to purify themselves before attending the sacred Perang Jempana ritual.

After the holy water is obtained the deities’ effigies in Jempana (palanquins) are taken back to the temple. Arriving in the temple the deities’ effigies in Jempana are welcomed with Rejang dance by the young female members of the clan. The male members of the clan welcomed the deities’ effigies in Jempana  by performing a kind of Baris dance in which the dancers holding a Kris in their right hand and waving the Kris in half trance condition.

After the welcoming dance is over the deities’ effigies in Jempana are given a set of offering. This offering is used for placating the deities and asking their permission for holding a Perang Jempana and asking their willingness to take a part in this ritual. After this placating ceremony is over, the Perang Jempana is ready to start. Perang Jempana is held in the late afternoon and involves dozens of young men carrying the deities’ effigies on jempana.

The Jempana are beautifully decorated with yellow and gold color cloths, flower and leaves. A dozen of young men carry each Jempana, the bearers are going into trance, running around the temple ground, chasing and crashing each other Jempana. This activity is accompanied by the high spirited Gamelan orchestra makes this Perang Jempana goes more and more frenzy. Sometimes a certain people from a huge crowd of onlookers which gather on the temple ground fall into a collective trance, adds a new color to this amazing ceremony.

After several hours of fighting the Perang Jempana is stopped by sprinkling holy water to the entranced bearers and the deities’ effigies are taken out from the Jempana  and once again installed on their special place in the temple complex.

0 Being Balinese

What makes a person a Balinese? Answering this question will need a closer look on the characteristics of the Balinese. With no further ado, I present you, the Balinese. Balinese are bound by their family, local banjar (community), their desa (consists of a few banjar), various temple organizations, rice growing groups, a multitude of special interest groups, and even the ancestors. Balinese are not independent people, they are connected to various social and religious organizations; and these connections define who they are.

It is not just that Balinese are influenced by their connections, but that they form a part of the Balinese. A Balinese is composed of all his relations. There is even a saying that when someone marries a Balinese man, she not just marries her Balinese lover but also marry his whole family and community, since she will also help her husband in fulfilling his role in his community, family, desa, temples, etc. These organizations are the ones where ceremonial action is required, for instance, to hold a cremation for someone in the banjar, or to celebrate the gods coming down to a particular temple.

At these times, everyone in the banjar is expected to freely participate, sometimes pitching in and working for several days at a time, perhaps requiring a person to take off from work. These responsibilities are not viewed as a burden but as an investment of each Balinese knows that when the times comes that he has to hold a ceremony, cremation for example, he cannot do this by himself, and so if he has helped others, then he knows that the others will help him in his time of need. Indeed, the greatest punishment a village can assign to a Balinese is a kind of banishment in which others are disallowed to help him in important ceremonies concerning his family or his ancestors, central ceremonies that cannot be carried out without the help of others.

A Balinese has to participate in every activity of all social and religious organizations he belongs to. His presence in a ceremony is enough to show his participation. He does not have to know which god was being worshipped, and understand the details of the ceremony when asked why Balinese finds it so important to participate in the ceremony if he lacks the information on the ceremony he will say that participation is a mark of being Balinese. Another characteristic of a Balinese is his multiple identities. The identity of a Balinese depends on place (desa), time (kala), circumstance (patra).

A Balinese in his workplace he may work as gardener but in the temple he may be a priest that has to be revered even by his employer, and at the time of temple ceremony he may be the officiating priest that his orders have to be obeyed by all temple congregations, in the community he may be just a member of the banjar which has to put a respect to the head of the banjar. The identity of a Balinese in an organization only valid within the sphere of the respective organization in another organization or place he assumes a different identity.

0 Kakawin – The Voice of Bali

When you attend a temple festival in Bali, your ears will be filled with sweet and melodious voices of kakawin singers. The scale of ceremony in Bali can be measured by the appearance of kakawin singers group. A big scale ceremony usually use the service more than one kakawin singer group (pesantian). By the way, what is kakawin? Kakawin is a form of old Javanese poetry with a metre originating from India. 

They were composed and performed in Java and Bali from the 8th century until the now (still widely performed in Bali but not in Java). A kakawin stanza consists of four lines. Each line has a set number of syllables per line, set in patterns of long and short syllables based on Sanskrit rules of prosody. A syllable which contains a long vowel is called guru (Sanskrit for “heavy’) while a syllable which contains a short one is called laghu (Sanskrit for “light”). The term guru laghu denotes the structure of a line.

The main themes of Kakawin are love and war though many moral values and religious concepts inserted here and there by the author. The characters in the kakawin are mainly gods, heroes and demons where the affairs of the human, the divine and the demonic intersect. The vast majority of the kakawin are derived their stories from the Mahabharata epic, particularly the adventures of the five Pandawa brothers, Yudhisthira, Bhima, Arjuna and the twins Sahadewa and Nakula, and their battle against their cousins the Korawa. Some kakawin were based on Ramayana epic.

Later innovation brought many new stories as a resource for the kakawin, such as babad (history), Panji story, fable, and newly composed moral stories. A group of people called pesantian, nowadays, sings the kakawin in Bali. As in other Balinese form of art performance, Kakawin is sung using Kawi (old Javanese) language, a translator is provided to translate the Kawi sentence into high or middle Balinese. At a temple festival the performance of this Pesantian is never paid, their performance is a service to the God. 

In a household ceremony such as marriage or cremation their service is appreciated by a set of offering called peras, again their performance is considered as service to the community. Government or private institution usually holds a kakawin singing competition (utsawa dharma gita). There is always a competition every month in Bali especially in Bali Arts Festival. Though the there development of pesantian is increased rapidly in Bali but most of the singers are adult (over 30 years old), younger generation especially the teenagers are reluctance to join a pesantian. The stigma “kakawin is for an old man” deeply attached in the mind of most Balinese teenagers. A lamentable situation for the continuity of the pesantian.

0 Comparisons of Central Bali to Central Spain

Both Spain and Bali have rich cultures, a colorful history, and are popular with international tourists. But the imagery is quite different given one is a tropical island in SE Asia, the other a Southern European peninsula.

A short history :
Why didn’t Spain figure into the history of Bali, or did it? The royalty of Spain supported Columbus in searching for the Spice Islands (1492) at time that the Moors had been pushed out of Southern Spain, but Columbus, looking for the East Indies, ran into the unknown Americas (West Indies). But, then the Spanish could use South American silver to trade with the Chinese for spices, in Manila Bay, Philippines [the spices were trans-shipped across the Pacific Ocean to ports in Mexico, then onto Spain by large Galleon sailing ships].

So, since the routes though the Indian Ocean were controlled by Portugal and the Netherlands, Spain had to find another route (a much longer and more dangerous route). In 1521, Fernando Magellan sailed around the tip of South America, on to the Philippines, then found the Spice Islands (Molluccas).

0 Udeng – Balinese Head Cloth

Head cloth or Udeng is the most striking part of Balinese traditional dress. An udeng is actually a piece of square cloth about one meter on each side. It may have overall design but it is usually symmetrical. The wearer folds the cloth into a triangle rolls up the long end several times until the remaining triangle is small enough to cover the head, and ties it to the head.

The entire udeng is tied to the head in such way that the point of the triangle faces toward the rear and the knot is centered on the forehead, then one side of the triangle is pulled behind the knot, making a crest known as “jambul,” after the tuff of feather on the head of some birds. There are many style of udeng; above mentioned technique is used to make a general udeng which are widely used by Balinese men. 

Some men prefer to use different style of udeng to distinguish themselves from the crowd but some use a different kind of udeng as a mark of their social or religious role, for example: priest used a distinguished style of udeng, known as “udeng mangku” as a sign of priesthood; this style has a knot on the back of the head and the triangle cover the head.

Pecalang (traditional security force) also use a unique style of udeng known as jejantaran as sign of their role as a security force. Some people prefer a pre-formed udeng, that shaped and sewed firmly in place, that fit over the head like a cap. There is also a semi pre-formed udeng, it is shaped and sewed but need to be tied around the head.

Unlike pre-formed udeng that cannot be adjusted the semi pre-formed udeng offers a freedom of adjusting the udeng to fit the head of the wearer. There is a convention on the color and pattern of udeng which is used in a certain occasion. For a temple ceremony or anniversary a white udeng or dominant white with gold thread pattern is used.

For a human related ceremony such as wedding, tooth filling, birthday, etc an udeng made of Batik cloth or with batik motif is preferred and for a cremation ceremony a black udeng or batik motif with black accent is widely used. As any other thing in Bali, there are many interpretations on the meaning of udeng.

Some say it is a symbol of Garuda, king of bird who guard our mind from all evil influences, that is why udeng is used on the head since head is the seat of mind. Some say the tip of the triangle of udeng which forms a crest is a symbol of Hindu triad: Brahma, Wisnu, and Siwa. Others said that udeng serve as connector between God and human like antenna in Radio.

0 Bali Bamboo

Bamboo is a tree-sized grass that is the fastest growing plant on earth. Some species have a growth rate of up to 1-metre a month and can be harvested every 3 to 5 years. Although bamboo is native to Asia, it grows on every continent and is abundant throughout Indonesia and especially on the island of Bali. Bamboo is often referred to as a source of life for the Balinese as every part of this renewable natural resource is utilized for ritual Hindu existence. The sheer strength of bamboo is amazing and it is perhaps the most versatile material within the local community.

While bamboo is an ecologically friendly substitute for timber in building and furniture, it also conserves the environment by re-enforcing precious topsoil along riverbanks and deforested areas. Balinese architecture takes full advantage of bamboo and it is used to create traditional structures with lightweight support beams, rafters and durable roof and floor tiles. Bamboo also makes inexpensive scaffolding for construction, a sturdy ladder, irrigation piping as well as strips for binding. Balinese live by a strict set of guidelines that is determined by a devotion that seeks a harmonious balance between mankind, the environment and God Almighty.

Therefore, offerings are constantly made to appease the Gods as well as the spirits of the underworld. Ceremonies and temple celebrations take place daily around the island and bamboo is an essential resource for the Hindu religion. Bamboo strips are woven into baskets, temporary shrines and carved into sticks for sate, while full lengths are used as decorative poles called penjors that are symbolic of the sacred mountain Gunung Agung. A razor sharp piece of green bamboo is used in the ritual slaughter of sacrificial animals that are required for particular ceremonial offerings.

Thin lengths of bamboo are used to craft flutes that produce the soothing background music favoured by many Balinese spas and hotel lobbies. Larger pieces of bamboo also make the xylophone keys and resonators of the traditional instruments played by villagers around the island. Different lengths of bamboo can be assembled into wind chimes and toys which tinkle lightly when caressed by a soft breeze. This multipurpose overgrown grass can also be styled into furniture, handicrafts, paper and matting.

Young bamboo shoots make a tasty and nutritional food source and the leaves of this flourishing plant is an alternative feed supplement for animals. The Chinese have always used bamboo as an ingredient in traditional medicine due to its healing properties. The root from a species of black bamboo is believed to treat kidney disease, while a powdered form of bamboo secretion can assist asthma and respiratory ailments.

There was a time when bamboo was once called ‘poor man’s timber’. However, the significance of bamboo was exposed to a world audience in 1995 when Bali hosted the 4th International Bamboo Congress. This event successfully brought together a unique group of environmentalists, scientists, architects, musicians, designers and business representative to discuss bamboo and its many uses. Bamboo has been used by the Balinese for centuries and if nurtured properly there is no doubt that it will continue to serve the island and its people well into the future.