Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
VILLAGE LIFE AND TRADITIONS
Most people on Bali and Lombok live in villages. People employed in the cities or tourist
resorts may well commute and even those whose villages are far away still identify with
them and return for particular festivals each year.
Balinese village layout
Orientation in Bali does not correspond to the compass points of north, south, east and west.
The main directions are
kaja
(towards Gunung Agung, dwelling place of the gods) and
kelod
(away from the mountain). The other directions are
kangin
(from where the sun rises), and its
opposite,
kauh
(where the sun sets).
All Balinese villages are oriented
kaja-kelod
and the locations of the three village
temples
,
pura dalem
,
pura puseh
and
pura desa
, are determined on this axis.
House compounds
Each Balinese house compound is built within a confining wall. When a son of the family
marries, his wife usually moves into his compound, so there are frequently several genera-
tions living together, each with their own sleeping quarters, but otherwise sharing the facil-
ities. Most domestic activities take place outside or in the partial shelter of
bale
(raised plat-
forms with a roof). The different structures of the compound are believed to reflect the human
body: the family shrine (
Sanggah Kemulan
) is the head, the
bale
are the arms, the courtyard
is the navel, the kitchen and rice barn are the legs and feet, and the rubbish tip, located along
with the pig pens outside the
kelod
wall, is the anus. The
Traditional Balinese House
museum
in Tabanan is a good example of a typical compound.
Initially all prospective house-builders consult an expert in the Balinese calendar to choose
auspicious days for buying land and beginning construction. The architect or master builder
(
undagi
) follows rules laid down in ancient texts, taking a series of
measurements
from the
body of the
head of the household
and using these to calculate the exact dimensions of the
compound. Before building starts, offerings are placed in the foundations so that work will
proceed smoothly. When the building work is finished, further ceremonies must take place
before the compound can be occupied. The final ceremony is the
melaspas
, an inauguration
ritual that “brings the building to life”.
