Exclusive Community
of God's Chosen
Time is reckoned differently in Tenganan Pegringsingan. Here,
each new day begins with 21 deep, throbbing drumbeats and lasts
until the same pulsating tones are struck the next morning. Tourists
arrive when the sun is at its zenith and the valley is glowing
with light. They leave towards evening, when the all-important
religious ceremonies commence. A month in Tenganan lasts exactly
30 days. Modifications to the calendar are needed to adjust to
the lunar-solar year; altogether 15 days are added every three
years.
The ancient, ritualistic Bali Aga ("original Balinese")
society of Tenganan has now opened up and become accessible to
non Tengananese - especially since its festivals have been publicized,
and since the village itself has become known as a result of its
proximity to the new beach resort at Candidasa one are the days
when it was isolated and difficult of access.
It is said that all footprints of visitors to Tenganan were once
literally wiped out once they left. Now the village faces new
and different problems. It needs more parking spaces for the cars,
minibuses and limousines tourism brings, and the art shops which
distort the community's divine plan now have to be placed outside
the village gates.
Microcosm of the universe
The desa adat Tenganan Pegringsingan is a microcosmic reflection
of the macrocosm an imago mundi. According to this divine plan,
it is arranged systematically both in its delimitation from the
outside world, as well as in its separation into distinct private
and public areas within the village precincts itself.
The village is laid out in a large rectangle measuring some 500
m by 250 m, encircled by natural boundaries and walls. Three pub
corridors rise in terrace-like fashion, running along a north-south
axis from the sea toward the sacred volcano Gunung Agung. There
are six lengthwise rows of compounds; the pairs located in the
center and to the west are striking because of their closed house
fronts, which resemble palm-leaf covered longhouses
The buildings and areas for public use are situated on the central
axes of the central western streets. There are a number of walled
temple areas, longhouses, smaller pavilions rice granaries and
shrines here, all of which suggest a strong communal life with
pronounced ritual ties. This is where the 300 inhabitants of Tenganan
Pegringsingan live.
In the eastern compounds of the banjar pande live those who have
been banished from the village, together with those whose customs
are more like the majority of Hindu Javanized Balinese. Labor
in the surrounding gardens and communal rice fields behind the
hills is performed by them, or by tenant farmers from neighboring
villages who receive half of the crop yield. With approximately
1000 hectares of arable land belonging to it, Tenganan is one
of the richest land-owning communities in all of Bali. |
