Most commonly used are the words that refer to tb,.e order
of a person 11 s birth: the first child of Sudras is called
Wayan; Putu or Gede for high castes; the second child is Made
or Nengah; the third is Nyoman; and the fourth is Ketut. The
order is repeated for subsequent children. Satrias add the word
Nguirah to their other titles to indicate the purity of their
descent , (for example, Anak Agung Ngurah Gede). The words for
father (bapa) and mother (meme) have a very elastic application;
every uncle and aunt is called bapa and meme, and every cousin
is a brother or sister, but well-bred young man calls his: father
guru (" teacher ") . Elderly people are called grandfather
(pekak) or grandmother (dadong) as a sign of respect in the
same way that a young man calls his older friends " elder
brother " (bli) , while a girl is called " sister
" (embok) . After a sudra couple have children their name
changes to " Father or Mother of so-and-so." Our servant
Dog, the father of little Muluk was called Pan muluk and his
wife was known as Men muluk. Gusti.'s wife, a woman of high
caste, was called gusti Rake, but after she became the mother
of gusti gede she became known as gusti Biang Rake, biang being
a polite term for " mother."
From the time the child can walk, lie is left to himself and
falls in the care of other children. Small girls know how to
take care of babies with the same proficiency as their mothers
and it is common to see babies carried on hips of girls only
slightly older. The child learns early to be self-sufficient
and is free to wander all over the village and to do as he pleases.
A child is often called I dewa, " a god "; he is not
considered responsible for his actions, because, as they say,
" his mind is still undeveloped " and it is the god
within him that acts through his body. At home there is no regular
discipline and no pampering; the parents do not intimidate their
child, but rather wax him into obedience as an equal. And he
is never beaten; if a mother loses patience and strikes her
child, lie would, in all probability, strike back and she would
be mortified and would grieve over her rash impulse. The sensible
Balinese saN, that if a child is beaten his tender soul will
be seriously damaged.
