A further complication arises in the
possible stratification of the desa membership itself. For example
Giader described a ngarep-sampingan contrast in North Bali.
Comprising only thirty-five of the villagers, the members of the
desa ngarep group together with the three highest officials of the
village, constitute a distinct entity separate front the sampingans,
the remainder of the inhabitants. The members of the desa ngarep
group are the acknowledged krama desa, those who are descended directly
from the founders of the village and by reason of their status they
incur more obligation than the sampingan.
Belo correlated this status division with what she called 'the most
usual pattern of land ownership.
The village fields are passed down by heredity in the male line
but may not he alienated; they may not be bought by a foreigner
or even by the member of an adjoining village, Only if there is
a family line which comes to an end, an exceedingly rare occurence,
do the village site and the portion of the fields worked by the
family come up for sale to outsiders. Land so held is called pachatu.
Two other types of holding are commonly spoken of, the tetamian,
'inheritance land,' and labaan, 'temple land.' Tetamian is the type
customarily owned by members of the higher castes. it is generally
passed on in the male line, too, but, in contrast to village
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