Tenganan

Tenganan is a Bali Aga village - one of the communities descended from the pre-Majapahit population of Bali, following customs distinct from the majority - laid out as a walled rectangle of parallel terraces with communal pavilions down the middle and houses facing inward, governed by an assembly of married villagers under written customary law. Its craft is geringsing, double ikat: both warp and weft are tied and dyed to the pattern before weaving, so the design has to be matched thread by thread on the loom, a technique practised in only three places worldwide - here, in Japan and in India - and a single cloth can take years. The cloth is treated as protective. The Mekare-kare pandan fights, in which young men duel with bundles of thorned pandanus leaves, are held in the fifth month.

History

The people of Tenganan Pegringsingan are Bali Aga, descended from the pre-Majapahit kingdom of Bedahulu, and only those born in the village may become full members of the community. Anthropologists long knew it as a secluded society, but since the 1970s it has opened to tourism and its rule of marrying within the village has loosened (Wikipedia, Tenganan).

What's there

• Double ikat weaving - geringsing, made in only three places in the world.
• A walled Bali Aga village - terraces, communal pavilions and inward-facing houses.
• Written customary law - the assembly governance distinct from majority Balinese practice.
• Mekare-kare - the thorned pandan duels held in the village's fifth month.

When to go

April to October; the pandan fights are usually around June. Half a day.

Practical notes

Genuine geringsing is very expensive and years in the making; much sold as it is not. The village receives many visitors and the entry arrangement is by donation with pressure to buy.

Nearby

Candidasa is on the coast; Amlapura and Tirta Gangga are east.

Key facts