Balinese Communities

 

There is this witty saying in Bali that says, “Marrying a Balinese also means ‘marrying’ their family, community, and all the customs that come with it.” But this is true and not just a witty account, for within the lives of the Balinese, personal and social life is equally imperative and intersects.

Marriage in Bali is generally a woman ‘exiting’ her family and ‘entering’ the man’s. This is not only in the tangible sense by moving residences but also in a niskala or intangible manner. In one of the traditional Balinese Hindu marriage proposing sequences there is a scene when the woman prays at her family temple to ‘mepamit’ thereby notifying her ancestors that she will bid farewell to them in order to ‘follow’ her future husband.
The next scene would be the woman being escorted to the man’s house to continue with the other wedding sequences. At the house compound already present are the extensive family members of the bridegroom such as the village leaders, the village’s youth groups, and other invitees.
A wedding in Bali also transforms the bride and groom into a banjar or village community group member who is bestowed rights and duties in the local community. This is also a sort of recess for the male’s parents since this time he will be taking on the role as head of the family.
All through these times, being a Balinese would be identical to the many milestone rituals that one must go through throughout a lifetime, from birth (and before) until death (and even after). Since the fetal age of 7 months (optionally), one goes through the megedong-gedongan to bless the baby leading its birth, then comes the 42 days after birth three-month ritual, the six-month ritual, then up to the various rites of passage and marriage, and in due course the Balinese Hindu ngaben rite through the funerary pyre.
But fundamentally one does not become a Balinese if he does not play a part in the colorful social life in Bali.
‘Family’ to the Balinese is not only in the nuclear implication – limited to the parents and siblings. But it goes further and wider to include the typically numerous and extended network of grandpas and grandmas, uncles and aunts, cousins and their stretched line of relatives… the whole living family tree if you please. And these trees in Bali are normally large. The crowd will gather to prepare, pray and rejoice at the Sanggah Gede and family temple or what is referred to as the Pura Paibon when piodalan temple anniversaries mark the calendar.
In a patrilineal Balinese family the man’s family and his grandfather’s lineage are more dominant than the mother or a grandmother’s. This large family at times has a suggestively great influence in decision-making and the settlement of disputes.
The Balinese, like other agrarian societies, are social communities that have a very close kinship. Generally people consider the village as the smallest community, but the Balinese also have their banjar which are the smallest groups as well as the most solid.
Physically a banjar consists of a certain area within a village, complete with boundaries and membership of a number of family heads. The unit is headed by a kelian banjar. A banjar is very substantial to its members as it has its own sets of rules and is very autonomous. The greater the region of the banjar or its membership at times require breaking the banjar down into several smaller groups called tempekan.
Rights and obligations of members of the banjar usually revolve around activities like celebrations, mourning, and religious matters. For example, when a member is getting married he would invite members of the banjar or his tempekan to come help start the preparations. Integrity becomes greater with the presence of a bale banjar or meeting hall where the members conduct their meetings.
Every family in Bali is generally a member of a banjar in its village neighborhood or place of origin. A banjar becomes a very important community in the lives of a Balinese, oftentimes seen as a second family. So no wonder, even when it comes to taking up a new job, a Balinese would take his banjar obligations into consideration such as, “Will the new job give me time to carry on with my banjar activities,” or otherwise.
At large events such as mass ngaben ceremonies every member gathers at the bale banjar. They conduct discussions to distribute tasks and responsibilities together with the timeframes. When the highlighted day comes the women focus on the production of banten offerings and auxiliary material while the men cooperate in carrying out the more physically demanding labor such as cremation site preparations and the building of necessary bamboo structures.
Back in time when all of Balinese society was agrarian, tending to the rice fields and farming, they would carry out their banjar tasks after their daily chores in the fields. Nowadays, as life and types of work have diversified, the banjar duties and regular meetings are usually scheduled on weekends whenever possible. The women for example usually gather at the hall to do the majejaitan or young coconut leaf weaving and stitching that makes up most of the materials for offerings and rituals. They proceed to the hall and work their chores from morning to afternoon, while lunch, snacks and drinks are often on the banjar’s account.
But rules are open to change depending on conditions and collective agreements. For example at the preparatory stage for a wedding the celebrant will invite the male banjar members to help prepare for the necessary cooking of certain food offerings. They start up at 4 in the morning, work for several hours, then at 6 when all tasks are completed they go home to start their workday according to each of their modern professions. At the time of their going home, the host will usually distribute packets of sate, lawar and slices of pork as a token of gratitude.
For an agrarian society the most important task is the tending of the fields. At a time when everyone depended on the fields and irrigation a special institution was needed for these affairs. This institution is what became known as Bali’s subak organization.
The farmers gather into one group called krama subak headed by a Pekaseh, who regulates the distribution of irrigation water that flows through the plots of its members. These groups not only strengthen the relationship between the farmers but it also minimizes conflicts that may arise. Disputes are usually settled via kekeluargaan or ‘family-style’ discussions.
Besides these two important groups there is another form referred to as sekaa. This group has members that are uniform or of the same criteria. For example a village youth group or Pemuda-Pemudi would form a Sekaa Teruna-Teruni, or a gamelan band would get together as a Sekaa Gong. But most sekaa indeed are within the scope of a banjar.
With only 24 hours in a day, it seems not quite ample time for carrying out so many activities in a community. How could someone with already so much on one’s hands in the office, with the family and children, the regular rituals on the Balinese calendar system, and couple all that up with banjar customs and activities, the extended family tree and the various sekaa do all this?
Yet the Balinese are a resilient species who are steadfast in their filial life and duty. They do it all unconditionally. Instinctively, their families and community are more important than the pursuit of personal wealth. Perhaps it may sound cliché, perhaps their lives are a little shifted due to the pressure of ‘global’ life, but hopefully the Balinese people continue their community resilience because without it, Balinese life can never be complete.

Text by Ni Luh Dian Purniawati, photos by Vincent Herry

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