Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Westerners' clothing - or lack of it - and the code of practice that's required when vis-
iting holy places.
BALINESE CASTE AND NAMES
Balinese society is structured around a hereditary
caste system
, which, while far more re-
laxed than its Indian counterpart, does nonetheless carry certain restrictions and rules of
etiquette, as ordained in the Balinese Hindu scriptures. Of these, the one that travellers are
most likely to encounter is the practice of
naming
a person according to their caste.
At the top of the tree is the
Brahman
caste, whose men are honoured with the title
Ida
Bagus
and whose women are generally named
Ida Ayu
, sometimes shortened to
Dayu
.
Traditionally revered as the most scholarly members of society, only Brahmans are allowed
to become high priests (
pedanda
).
Satriya
(sometimes spelt Ksatriya) form the second strata of Balinese society, and these
families are descendants of warriors and rulers. The Balinese rajas were all Satriya and
their offspring continue to bear telltale names:
Cokorda
,
Anak Agung
,
Ratu
and
Pre-
bagus
for men, and
Anak Agung Isti
or
Dewa Ayu
for women. The merchants or
Wesia
occupy the third most important rank, the men distinguished by the title
I Gusti
or
Pregusti
, the women by the name
I Gusti Ayu
.
At the bottom of the heap comes the
Sudra
caste, the caste of the common people, which
accounts for more than ninety percent of the population. Sudra children are named accord-
ing to their position in the family order, with no distinction made between male and female
offspring. Thus, a first-born Sudra is always known as
Wayan
or, increasingly commonly,
Putu
, or
Gede
(male) or
Ilu
(female); the second-born is
Made
(or
Kadek
, or
Nengah
);
the third
Nyoman
(or
Komang
) and the fourth
Ketut
. Should a fifth child be born, the
naming system begins all over again with Wayan/Putu, and so it goes on. In order to distin-
guish between the sexes, Sudra caste names are often prefaced by “
I
” for males and “
Ni
”
for females, for example I Wayan. Some Wayans and Mades prefer to be known by their
second names, and many have distinctive nicknames, but you will come across many more
Wayans than any other name in Bali.
Unlike their counterparts in the far more rigid Indian caste system, the Sudra are not
looked down upon or denied access to specific professions (except that of
pedanda
), and a
high-caste background guarantees neither a high income nor a direct line to political power.
Religious etiquette
Anyone entering a
Balinese temple
(
pura
) is required to show
respect
to the gods by treating
their shrines with due deference (not climbing on them or placing themselves in a higher pos-
ition) and by
dressing modestly
: skimpy clothing, bare shoulders and shorts are all unaccept-
