Divine origins
Unlike other Balinese villages, Tenganan traces its origins and
its social institutions back to a written source - a holy book
known as the Usana Bali (a chronicle of Bali). According to this
text, the Tengananese have been chosen by their creator, Batara
Indra, to honor his royal descendants through communal offerings
and sacrifices. It states, furthermore, that descendants of the
original villagers have been chosen to administer the surrounding
lands, a consecrated place of devotion and ritual, and to use
all available means to keep them pure.
The concept of territorial and bodily purity and integrity plays
an exceedingly important role in the village culture. It is reflected
not only in many important rituals (purifications and exorcisms),
but also in the idea that only if a person is healthy, physically
as well as mentally, may he or she take part in rituals. No one
with a disability and no outsider can be admitted to the adat
organizations of the village.
As a result of this divinely ordained scheme, the original layout
and social organization of the village may not be changed. Houses,
compounds, gardens, village council and youth groups are to be
left as the gods have created them. Should anything be changed
or taken away, the curse of the gods would fall upon the village
and its people would perish. Anyone guilty of not respecting the
inherited order is banned from participating in village rites,
and thus from sharing in communal property. In the gravest of
cases, they are even banished from the village altogether. The
desa adat is itself regarded as divine and almighty as far as
the traditional social order is concerned.
Exclusive membership
It is not surprising that a community regarding itself as divinely
blessed would strictly define its own members and place restrictions
on outsiders. This exclusivity is expressed very clearly in the
qualifications needed to enter the all-village council or krama
desa. Only men and women without mental or physical defects who
were born and live in Tenganan, having duly passed all ritual
stages of initiation by the time they marry, are eligible to join
the council. The practice of village endogamy (marrying within
the village) also has a restrictive effect. With respect to the
krama desa, endogamy is an absolute requirement. Men with second
wives or wives from outside the village may not become members.
The same is true for women who have violated the marriage rules.
Newly-weds takes their place at the lowest end of a hierarchical
seating in the huge bale agung - the forum and sacred meeting
pavilion of the village council. With the entrance of a new couple,
the parents retire and everyone moves up a step, receiving new
ritual responsibilities. The layout of the 50-meterlong hall is
eminently suited to the numerous rites that bring together the
gods, ancestors and villagers. Here, members of the krama desa
meet, dressed in ritual clothing, for communal meals with deities
and ancestors, whom they worship with prayers, offerings, dances
and music. In many cases, youths will take part in the performance
of these rituals, either because the girls have been formally
invited by the married women to dance before the bale agung, or
because the village council requires one of the sacred iron gamelan
orchestras (selunding) maintained by the boys' organizations to
be struck. |
