Life in Bali is very communal with the organization of villages, farming and even a lot of the creative arts being decided by the community. Although the local government is responsible for schools, clinics, hospitals & roads, all other aspects of life are placed in the hands of two traditional committees whose roots in Balinese culture stretch back centuries.

The first, Subak, concern the production of rice & organized the complex irrigation system. Everyone who owns a sawah, a padi field, must join their local Subak, which then ensures that every member gets his fair distribution of irrigation water. Traditionally the head of the Subak has his sawah at the very bottom of the hill so that the water has to pass through every other sawah before reaching his own.

The other community organization is the Banjar, which arranges all the village festival, marriage ceremonies & cremation as well as a form of community service known as Gotong Royong. Most villages have at least one Banjar & all males have to join one when they marry. Banjars, on average, have a membership between 50 to 100 families and each Banjar has its own meeting place called Bale Banjar. As well as being used for regular meetings, the Bale is where the local gamelan orchestra & drama group practice.

Although known as Balinese Hindu, their religion is very different from that of the Indian variety. They do have a caste system but there are no untouchables & occupation is not governed by caste. In fact the only thing that reflects the caste system is the language which has three tiers; 95% of all Balinese are Hindu Dharma & speak Low or Everyday Balinese with each other; Middle Balinese is used for talking to strangers, at formal occasions or to people of the higher Ksatrya caste; High Balinese is used when talking to the highest class, the Brahmana, or to a pedanda, priest. It may sound complicated but most of the words at the low and medium levels are the same and High Balinese is a mixture of Middle Balinese and Kawi, the ancient Javanese language.

Although the Balinese worship the Hindu trinity Brahma, Shiva and Vishnu, these are seen as manifestation of the Supreme God – Sanghyang Widi. Other Indian gods like Ganesh ( the elephant – headed god ) often appear but more commonly you will see shrines of the many gods & spirits that are uiquely Balinese. Balinese believe strongly in magic & the power of spirits & much of their religion is based upon this. They believe that good spirits dwell in the mountains & that the seas are home to demons & ogres.

Most villages have at least three main temples: one, the Pura Puseh or temple of origin, faces the mountains & is dedicated to the village founders; another, the Pura Desa or village temple, is normally found in the centre & is dedicated to the welfare of the village, the last; the Pura Dalem, is aligned with the sea & is dedicated to the spirits of the dead. Aside from these village temples, almost every house has it own shrine and you can also find monuments dedicated to the spirits of agriculture, art & all other aspects of life. There are some temples, for example, Pura Besakih on the slopes of Mount Agung, that are considered especially important and people from all over Bali travel to worship there.

Offering play a significant role in Balinese life as they appease the spirits & thus bring prosperity & good health to the family. Everyday little offering trays containing symbolic food, flowers, cigarettes & money are placed on shrines, in temples, outside houses & shops, & even on dangerous bends in the roads.

Festivals are another great occasion for appeasing the gods. The women bear huge, beautifully arranged, pyramids of food, fruits and flowers on their heads while the men give a blood sacrifice in the form of a cockfight. There are traditional dances & music, & the gods are invited to come down & join in the festivities. The festivals are almost always very exciting occasion & well worth a look if you are in the area. One important thing to remember should you wish to join in celebrations or enter a temple is that there are a number of rules that have to be respected. Please see a Word of Advice for  Rules.