Karangasem Regency in East Bali is an area of intense beauty dominated by Bali’s highest and most sacred volcano. Mt Agung’s 3,142-metre peak, and its dramatic foothills and valleys shaped by centuries of lava flows, combine to create a landscape unrivalled anywhere in Bali. The great mother temple of Besakih sits perched against this wondrous backdrop.
Hidden in these hills and valleys is a string of ancient Bali Aga (old Bali) villages. Bali Aga people are the original aboriginal people of Bali. They were living in Bali long before the ancestors of most of today’s Balinese arrived as part of Hindu Javanese waves of migration. The Bali Aga culture can be traced back to the 11th century. However, it is very much alive today. The Bali Aga people celebrate their culture with unique temple ceremonies and festivals that have remained virtually unchanged over the centuries.
Once entering the walled village of Tenganan Pegringsingan, located 70 kilometres from Denpasar, I found myself on a wide dirt path connecting the village’s housing compounds and temples. Pointing out the path, my guide, Wayan explained that the village council voted against getting a more modern, groomed road. “The Government made an offer to improve the road but we like it this way. Natural and original. Why change it?”
The Bali Aga people place importance on preserving their ancient ways, keeping a balance, and ensuring harmony with nature. The village is organised into four associations, which help to ensure this balance and the smooth running of the community. There is an association for married men and one for married women, as well as an association for boys and one for girls. One role of these organisations is to oversee the many community rites of passage. Children begin to learn about their roles and duties as early as seven years of age.
The calendar of temple ceremonies and festivals is full, with events involving unique arts and rituals every month. Many of these rituals involve dance, which require elaborate ceremonial dress and headgear, which is unique to the Bali Aga villages.
I planned my visit in June, the fifth month of the Balinese calendar, to witness the largest religious festival, Usaba Sambah (also known as Sasih Sembah).
Wayan told me that anyone can come and see Usaba Sambah
and other unique events, and that his village welcomes an increasing number of guests every year. “You just missed the coconut event at Tenganan Dauh Tukad Village, our neighbouring Bali Aga village, ” Wayan said, “This involves young boys trying to balance heavily laden coconuts on a shoulder pole, some with up to 40 coconuts. The boys must balance the coconuts and dodge a hail of flying bananas. If they drop a coconut, they get fined,” he continued, “Of course, the bananas hit them, left, right and centre and chaos reigns. This ritual is all about encouraging strength and focus, and clearly, it tests participants in this way. The ceremony is called Sabatan Biu, or Banana War.”
As I walked through the village, I came upon a tall wooden swing-set structure. Only unmarried young boys and girls are allowed to ride on the swing in a special ceremony that forms part of Usaba Samba, which resembles the old Vedic rites of boys and girls.
I watched as the girls dressed in elaborate traditional hand spun fabric climbed onto the swing chairs. The manually hand-propelled mechanism raises the swing-set high into the air. The girls were very flirtatious, but with a pure kind of innocence, while the boys remained stoic observing from below. As the old rotation wheel device spurred into action, it rapidly gathered speed. The old wooden propeller started to moan and groan under the weight, and as the individual swings gathered speed, the pitch of the girl’s squeals got higher and higher. I stood there, mesmerised, under an almost hypnotic spell of creaking wood, the drone of the large propeller-wheel turning, girls shrieking in delight and nervousness, and the boys below, trying to catch the eye of a girl, if she allowed that. Wayan explained the ceremony symbolises the unity of the sun and the earth, and also symbolises a courtship ritual .
In the afternoon I ducked into one of the ikat (weaving) shops in the village and talked with the shopkeeper who confided, “Oh, I remember that swing ritual. I got to swing on it five times, and then I was married.” She also invited me to come back the next day, at 5.30 am to witness another very special ritual.
This ritual involved young girls walking in single file, in delicate white lace and silk, up a steep forest trail, heading towards the mountain top. When they reached the sacred place in the forest, they took part in a special ceremony which involved winding long strands of fresh coconut, into each other’s hair. The girls then read from sacred texts, and Wayan explained that this was to reinforce and cultivate self-control and honesty.
Tenganan Village adheres to many sacred rituals, combining a nurturing element with strict adherence to customary laws. From early childhood, rituals like this are deeply respected, so much so, that if you move away, out of the village, you are not welcomed back. Also, you are encouraged to marry within the clan (there are several), and a Bali Aga man or woman is not allowed to marry an outsider, or a foreigner. Of course this happens, and consequently, they are ousted from the village. Only Bali Aga people are allowed to live in the village.
I was told by one of the elders that one of the village leaders, a few years ago, fell in love with a German girl, and he had to move away. He can never come back to live in the village.
Later, that afternoon, a large crowd started to gather for the Perang Pandan (Pandan War).
Young men and brave teenage boys clad, bare-chested and clad only in a sarong prepared to engage in a coming-of-age ritual combat. They faced each other, engaged in a series of shoulder to shoulder locks, and the ritualistic fight began. It is called makare-kare. The male combatants attack each other with thorny pandanus leaves and attempt to whip their opponents’ bodies. During the ritual, blood must flow in order to honour the god Indra, the god of war.
Each fighter has a woven bamboo shield, although they often discard it in the fury of the fight. As the blood flows from the sharp thorns, a referee controls the battle, ensuring there was no heated violence at any time.
Adat (customary) local law is honoured and it is an inclusive society, in that foreigners and guests are graciously welcomed at any time. A timeless and mystical visit awaits you, and rest assured local law decrees that no village land can be sold, so what you witness reflects the past, the present and, the colourful Bali Aga customs and traditions will remain alive and well for alll, into the future.
Updated: April, 2024
Story by Stephanie Brookes
Photos by Yusuf Ijsseldijk
Stephanie Brookes is a travel writer and blogger with tales from Indonesia and beyond.
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