Subak Irrigation Management (II)

The general Balinese philosophy guiding the subak system adheres to the principle of Tri Hita Karana which emphasises that happiness can only be reached if the Creator (God), the people (the farmers) and nature (the rice fields) live in harmony with each other. Based on this philosophy are the ceremonies which are a substantial part of the rice cultivation cycle. The ceremonies are carried out at the various temples which are associated...

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Subak Irrigation Management (I)

Balinese rice cultivation is famous all over the world for its efficient use of irrigation water. At the heart of irrigation management are the water user associations called subak. They are the backbone of Balinese rice cultivation.Subak has been described by several authors. It is commonly recognized as an autonomous socio-religious association which deals with matters related to the cultivation and irrigation of rice. They have evolved...

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Balinese Temple Network

More than 20,000 temples are scattered all over the island of Bali. All these temples are linked one and another create hundreds of temple networks based on the function of the temple and the clan of their congregation (network of clan temple). Each network has a central temple from which the network starts. The central temples can be everywhere; they are not localized in one area.The function based temple networks involves only functional temples,...

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Temple and Society

Temple and societies in Bali has a unique bond in which a temple serves as part of identity of a society. All traditional Balinese social unit from households to kingdoms, possess their own temples where offerings are offered to the deities concerned with their affairs, for example market deities in the market temple, ancestors in the household and clan temple. In other words, each social unit forms congregation of specific temple or shrines,...

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About Subak

Rice is the staple diet of the Balinese and a great deal of effort goes into sustaining this vital foodsource. Past generations of farmers have painstakingly transformed pockets of natural landscape into the most intricate network of rice terraces and canals.One of the most important elements of the entire rice cultivation process is a shared irrigation system run by an organization called Subak. This collective basically refers...

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Magecel: A Unique Balinese Pastime

Magecel is a unique Balinese pastime which strongly related to cockfighting. Magecel can be defined as an activity of fondling and exercising fighting cock. As any activity in Bali, magecel is done collectively; sometimes four up to a dozen men bring with their fighting cocks sit under the canopy of banyan, other big tree or in the hamlet meeting hall fondling and discussing the merit and demerit of their own fighting...

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Through The Eyes of Researcher: Cockfight and Balinese Men

Here is an interesting excerpt on cockfight and Balinese men taken from Clifford Geertz’s writing entitled “Deep Play: Notes on the Balinese Cockfight”. It will give you an interesting insight on the relation between cockfight and Balinese menAs much of America surfaces in a ball park, on a golf links, at a race track, or around a poker table, much of Bali surfaces in a cock ring. For it is only apparently cocks that are fighting there. Actually,...

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