A Sleepy District
Capital
Bangli is a small, sleepy town lying on the border between central
and eastern Bali. It seems at first to contain nothing but concrete
buildings and empty streets, which only become crowded on market
and festival days. But Bangli is an old city, which may have been
founded as early as A.D. 1204, judging from a stele in the famous
Pura Kehen temple.
The market lies at the center of the town, partly obscured by
shops. On market days, the stalls spill into the street and customers
flock here from the surrounding area to buy produce and manufactured
goods. Opposite is the bus station, flanked by a row of shops
owned by Chinese and Balinese merchants.
For most Balinese, Bangli is in fact the object of some ridicule;
when someone says "I come from Bangli," everyone immediately
bursts into laughter. The reason is that Bali's only mental hospital
is located here - a pleasantly-situated institution with beautiful
grounds that was started by the Dutch.
Physically and socially, the town is dominated by the puri or
palaces of the royal family. The Bangli courts established their
independence from Klungkung in the 19th century and played an
influential role in Balinese politics through to the post-independence
era. Eight royal households spread around the main crossroads.
The most prominent is the Puri Denpasar, the palace of the last
raja of Bangli, who died three decades ago. Much of the palace
has been restored by his descendants, and there is now a small
hotel in the pavilions run by the raja's grandson. The royal ancestral
temple lies just to the north of the crossroads, on the western
side. Huge ceremonies are held here, attended by all descendants
of the royal house, including many who live in other parts of
Indonesia.
Temple of the hearth
One of Bali's most beautiful temples, Pura Kehen, stands at the
northeastern boundary of the town, seemingly erected in the midst
of the forest long before the town itself. Three copper steles
testify to its antiquity and importance. The earliest one, Sanskrit,
seems to date to the 9th century and mentions the deity Hyang
Api (the, "God of Fire"). The second is in old Balinese,
and the third is in old Javanese, the latter already mentioning
Hyang Kehen and indicating eight villages around Bangli that worship
the deity.
The name Kehen is actually a variant of kuren, which means "household"
or "hearth". The reference to Hyang Api as a symbol
of Brahma may mean that there once was a cult to that god here
worshipping him with a rite called homa, in which offerings are
burned on a small hearth. At some point, it seem that Hyang Api
became Hyang Kehen the "God of the Hearth."
Pura Kehen is the state temple of the old kingdom. It is constructed
on a number of levels, after the manner of ancient animistic sanctuaries,
that are built into the southern slope of a hill - much like Besakih.
There are eight terraces: the first five are jabaan or outer courtyards,
the sixth and seventh once are lower and upper middle courts or
jaba tengah, and the eighth one is the sacred inner jeroan. A
flight of 38 stairs adorned with wayang statues on either side
leads to the main entrance, and a frightening kala makara demon
guardian is carved on the gateway.
In the outer courtyard, a huge old banyan tree with a kulkul drum
inside can be seen, as well as a flat stone for offerings. The
walls are inlaid with Chinese porcelain - a common feature of
ancient temples and palaces. The temple has 43 altars, including
one 11-roofed meru to Hyang Api. Several are dedicated to the
ancestors of sudra commoner clans such as the Ratu Pasek and Pande
- which means that worshippers from all over Bali come to pray
here, especially on its odalan or anniversary. The huge three-compartment,
Padmasana throne in the north easternmost corner has beautiful
carvings at the back.
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