Nature has endowed Bali with
ideal conditions for the development of agriculture. The divine
volcanoes, still frequently active, provide the soils with great
fertility. Copious rainfall and numerous mountain springs supply
many areas of the island with ample water year-round. And a long
dry season, brought on by the southeasterly monsoon, brings plentiful
sunshine for many months of the year. Bali is, as a result, one
of the most productive traditional agricultural areas on earth,
which has in turn made possible the development of a highly intricate
civilization on the island since very early times.
Rice as the staff of life
Wet-rice cultivation is the key to this agricultural bounty. 'Me
greatest concentration of irrigated rice fields is found in southern-central
Bali, where water is readily available from spring-fed streams.
Here, and in other well-watered areas where wet-rice culture predominates,
rice is planted in rotation with so-called palawija cash crops
such as soybeans, peanuts, onions, chili peppers and other vegetables.
In the drier regions corn, taro, tapioca and beets are cultivated.
Rice is, and has always been, the staff of life for the Balinese.
As in other Southeast Asian languages, rice is synonymous here
with food and eating. Personified as the "divine nutrition"
in the form of the goddess Bhatari Sri, rice is seen by the Balinese
to be part of an all-compassing life force of which humans partake.
Rice is also an important social force. 'Me phases of rice cultivation
determine the seasonal rhythm of work as well as the division
of labor between men and women within the community. Balinese
respect for their native rice varieties is expressed in countless
myths and in colorful rituals in which the life cycle of the female
rice divinity are portrayed from the planting of the seed to the
harvesting of the grain. Rice thus represents "culture"
to the Balinese in the dual sense of cultura and cultus - cultivation
and worship.
Irrigation cooperatives (subak)
Historical evidence indicates that since the 11th century,
all peasants whose fields were fed by the same water course
have belonged to a single subak or irrigation cooperative. This
is a traditional institution which regulates the construction
and maintenance of waterworks, and the distribution of life-giving
water that they supply. Such regulation is essential to efficient
wet-rice cultivation on Bali, where water travels through very
deep ravines and across countless terraces in its journey from
the mountains to the sea.
The subak is responsible for coordinating the planting of seeds
and the transplanting of seedlings so as to achieve optimal
growing conditions, as well as for organizing ritual offerings
and festivals at the subak temple. All members are called upon
to participate in these activities, especially at feasts honoring
the rice goddess Sri.
Subak cooperatives exist entirely apart from normal Balinese
village institutions, and a single village's rice fields may
fall under the jurisdiction of more than one subak, depending
on local drainage patterns. The most important technical duties
undertaken by the subak are the construction and maintenance
of canals, tunnels, aqueducts, dams and water locks.
