Winter 2019 - 15. Penglipuran – A Traditional Village of Bali

15.  Penglipuran – A Traditional Village of Bali

The Balinese way of life is regulated by rules that are ancient and incorporate the rules of Subak. I cannot explain the details here; you need to read a bit on how different life is by clicking on the link here (fact of Balinese life). Rules of the Subak System guide the whole village in dealing with the watering of the rice fields or in cutting the bamboo forest they all own.

Bamboo Forest Owned by the Village

  

The lifestyle in a traditional village is immersed within their religion, which Westerners cannot understand unless initiated into this religion. Yet it is fascinating. I see the final product of this way of life and I can say in many ways these people have succeeded in living a ‘happy’ life.

All the Houses Face One Long (Walking) Street With a Temple at the End

Penglipuran has a population of 980 People, split into 229 families. Penglipuran still lives today under the rules of Tri Hita Karana, the Balinese Philosophy of Life. All the houses in the village face the main street. All houses have the same layout; all have no doors at their entrance; all have a temple to their ancestors immediately on entering. 

At the top of the village is the temple, which is frequented daily. This temple not only gives spiritual advice but practical, everyday living situations are discussed too. 

Temple at the End of the Street

The system has elected Elders who are in charge. It is in many ways very democratic even though it is infused with religious perspectives. 

What a way of life to me. So foreign, so unique, I am just not sure I get it all. 

But then… just outside the village, are a modern grocery store and a phone shop. 

I am a Western-educated and raised man who just came to see and I am learning.

Entrance to a Home With a Shrine to the Ancestors Beyond the Gate

One of the families in the village invited Carol and me into their home. They pointed out the altar area immediately next to the entrance, where a few stupa-like monuments formed the center of family rituals. The ancestors receive veneration first thing when someone enters the house. 

Kitchen Storage

A kitchen was next; the kitchen was not part of the house but was a separate building. I entered by ducking through a low, narrow bamboo door. The whole of

the kitchen building was made of bamboo and fronds of palm. Inside the kitchen it was darkish and what I saw was just a kind of earthen stove, with some basic utensils. Provisions were stored in stacked crates, but there was no place to sit. It reminded me of a hearth in a medieval European place. I know, because when I was 10 years old I lived on a farm for 6 months that had this kind of set up to cook. Nothing new to me, just different. (I lived on a farm built in 1648 in the Black Forest of Germany).

The 'Kitchen' Hans Had at Age 10.     -   Rainertonishof, Schönwald.

Sleeping Cubicles

After the kitchen were some sleeping cubicles and a communal area.

I felt a bit like an explorer landing in a very exotic spot. Just looking down the street, KNOWING I was in a ‘village’ did not really compute. When did YOU ever see a village like this?

Ah, there are so many differences in Bali that it could be a life-time study. 

Traditions are so ‘way out’ over here but there are some changes happening among the modern Balinese. I do not think teeth filings are done any longer or that everybody celebrates 2 birthdays in a year, but then… I could be very wrong. Just reading about the Bali Traditions  and seeing some of the pictures makes me realize I don’t know a thing.

Decorative Mask

What I can see, though, is that the Subak irrigation system installed in Bali around the year 800 or 900 AD was a success; It just plain works.

Taking a Break at the Entrance to Another Home

Penglipuran, despite the tourists, is a MUST see spot in Bali. Should you visit, go there and be amazed. I sure was! Just take your time poking around the place like we did.