Bali Sanur Village

The Sanur community specifically and the Balinese community generally, value the balance of all aspects in life. The balance amongst humans, the balance with the Almighty God and their ancestors, and the balance between humans with their environment and surroundings. The Micro and Macro worlds. The Seen and Unforeseen. Customary activities and rituals are as united in one with the daily life of the Sanur community. The relationship is so close that one would have difficulties differentiating between culture and religion.

Like the remaining areas of the island of Bali, the Sanur community highly value culture and the traditions past down from their forefathers. In fact, in this ever developing world, it is the community of Bali and Sanur specifically that has maintained its characteristics from the foreign influence that is found in their everyday lives due to tourism. The community has maintained their cultural heritage, even though Sanur today is known as a global-village. It is the religious and cultural values that have enticed foreigners from all over the globe to come and visit Sanur, and become accustomed and a part of the villages’ traditional conduct.

The community of Sanur is a social community, living together, side by side, following the regulations set by the national government hence still conducting the rituals and beliefs set by the village chief and their forefathers from hundreds of years ago. The community unites to discus customs and coordinate rituals in a community hall called “banjar”. The banjar consists of a number of households in one community area. It is here also that mutual activities and assistance is coordinated for that specific village. Community meetings are discussed in the Banjar and become the forum of community decisions. Each Banjar has individual rules and rites which are known as “awig-awig”. Each “awig-awig” that has been made has gone through thorough discussions putting the community’s interest into consideration. Each decision made is based on mutual understanding, whilst all Banjar activities are done mutually by every member of the Banjar, known as “ngayah”.

There are even penalties applied for those opposing the rules set by the Banjar. Depending on the rules and the level of contradiction or in-tolerable mistake a member of the banjar can be expelled from the community. Should this happen, this person will no longer be a member or accepted to become a member of any Banjar in Bali. This is feared by all community members in Bali.

For each banjar, when implementing the traditional and cultural rules, possess its own guardian locally known as “pecalang” which is literally the community’s police of which the members are from their own village. Pecalangs can easily be spotted by their traditional outfit (usually adorned in traditional attire with a dagger (Keris) slipped in the hip. The “pecalang’s” task is to ensure the traditional “awig-awig” regulations and cultural laws are followed by each community member. In firmness these regulations can me much more firm than that of the national law.

A member represented in the Banjar is usually the man of the house, is married and owns a block of land within the Banjar area. Their wife and children is also a member of the banjar, but it is the responsibility of the men to attend all banjar meetings and discussions. Most Banjar’s will consist of 50-100 families. In Sanur there are a total of XX banjars, whilst in the whole island of Bali there are as many as 3500 banjars throughout, with their own individual rules or awig-awig. The difference in the awig-awig is influenced by the rites passed from their forefathers for each area and are based on three important factors which are “desa” (the place of which the banjar is located), “kala” (the time of which the rules are being made) and “patra” (the situation that the community is in). Therefore all in all, the life of the Balinese has in fact implemented democracy in its most complicated system.

The Banjar system however is not open for members that are non-Balinese, because the rites and rituals implemented by the Banjar are strongly related to the culture and traditions of the Hindu religion.