Subaks at the top of the system begin the
ceremonial cycle, and with it the cultivation sequence, in December;
subaks at the bottom, near the coast, begin it in April; those in
between topographically are in between temporally as well.
When a higher subak is flooding its terrace preparatory to ploughing,
a lower is clearing its. When a lower is flooding a higher is planting.
When a lower is celebrating the yellowing of the rice and thus the
promise about a month hence of harvest, the higher is already carrying
the sheaves to the barns.
Indeed, as water is the central limiting factor in the subak ecosystem,
if subak cycles were not staggered, wet rice cultivation in Bali could
never have attained, and could not maintain, a fraction of its actual
extent (C. Geertz 1972).
In this closely controlled timing of water allocation, overlords,
by sponsoring adjudicating courts of appeal to expand the scope of
the irrigation system beyond the mere cooperation of adjoining subak
councils, perhaps had their greatest practical impact.
The previous description pictures irrigation under conditions of greatest
natural strain, with smaller upland terraces flooded during a relatively
drier month to reserve the wetter month for broader coastal fields.
We should note, however, that the rituals that surround and help complement
rice production also envision an eco |
