Burials, Texts and Rituals Ethnoarchaeological Investigations in North Bali, Indonesia edited by Brigitta Hauser-Schäublin and I Wayan Ardika Göttinger Beiträge zur Ethnologie Band 1 Universitätsverlag Göttingen Burials, Texts and Rituals edited by Brigitta Hauser-Schäublin and I Wayan Ardika This work is licensed under the Creative Commons License 2.0 “by-nc-nd”, allowing you to download, distribute and print the document in a few copies for private or educational use, given that the document stays unchanged and the creator is mentioned. Commercial use is not covered by the licence. Published in 2008 by the Universitätsverlag Göttingen as Vol. 1 in the series „Göttinger Beiträge zur Ethnologie“ This series is a continuation of the „Göttinger Studien zur Ethnologie“ formerly published by LIT-Verlag Burials, Texts and Rituals Ethnoarchaeological Investigations in North Bali, Indonesia edited by Brigitta Hauser-Schäublin and I Wayan Ardika Volume 1 Göttinger Beiträge zur Ethnologie Universitätsverlag Göttingen 2008 Bibliographische Information der Deutschen Nationalbibliothek Die Deutsche Nationalbibliothek verzeichnet diese Publikation in der Deutschen Nationalbibliographie; detaillierte bibliographische Daten sind im Internet über <http://dnb.ddb.de> abrufbar. “Göttinger Beiträge zur Ethnologie” Series Editors Prof. Dr. Ulrich Braukämper and Prof. Dr. Brigitta Hauser-Schäublin Institute for Cultural and Social Anthropology Georg-August-University Göttingen Theaterplatz 15, D-37073 Göttingen Editors of this Volume Brigitta Hauser-Schäublin I Wayan Ardika Institute for Cultural and Fakultas Sastra Universitas Social Anthropology Udayana Georg-August-University Göttingen Jalan Nias 13 Theaterplatz 15, D-37073 Göttingen Denpasar 80114, Bali, Indonesia Gedruckt mit Unterstützung der Deutschen Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) und der Dr. Walther-Liebehenz - Stiftung, Göttingen This work is protected by German Intellectual Property Right Law. It is also available as an Open Access version through the publisher’s homepage and the Online Catalogue of the State and University Library of Goettingen (http://www.sub.uni- goettingen.de). Users of the free online version are invited to read, download and distribute it. Users may also print a small number for educational or private use. However they may not sell print versions of the online book. URL: http://webdoc.sub.gwdg.de/univerlag/2008/GBE1_bali.pdf Translation: English Department, Udayana University Denpasar (Bali), Dr. John Coates, Göttingen Layout: Anna-Teresa Grumblies, Frank-André Weigelt Cover image: Baris -dance on the occasion of an annual festival held in the Village Temple of Julah (Bali). Photo: Brigitta Hauser-Schäublin 2001. © 2008 Universitätsverlag Göttingen http://univerlag.uni-goettingen.de ISBN: 978-3-940344-12-0 ISSN: 1866-0711 Contents Brigitta Hauser-Schäublin and I Wayan Ardika: Introduction .................................................................................................................................... 1 Looking Back in Time Brigitta Hauser-Schäublin: Sembiran und Julah – Sketches of History Introduction......................................................................................................................................... 9 Ethnoarchaeological Evidence – An Overview ...........................................................................15 Histories of Origin: Of Dogs, Trees and Men .............................................................................21 The Village Structure and its Major Temples ...............................................................................31 Between Stratification and Equality, Regional Integration and Autonomy .............................60 Marie-Louise Nabholz-Kartaschoff: The Textiles of Sembiran Introduction.......................................................................................................................................69 The Manufacture of Textiles...........................................................................................................72 The Use of Textiles Manufactured in Sembiran ..........................................................................79 Kain kumalo – A Textile from Outside Sembiran .........................................................................91 “ Kain Sembiran” – A Label?............................................................................................................98 Parba Cili – A Lamak -Style Hanging ............................................................................................108 Summary ..........................................................................................................................................111 Contents ii I Wayan Patera: Sanggah Dawa in the Life of Pacung Community Introduction .................................................................................................................................... 119 Function and Meaning of Sanggah Dawa ..................................................................................... 120 Sites of Purified Ancestors’ Souls ................................................................................................ 126 Conclusion....................................................................................................................................... 127 Environment and Change Enrico Kalb: Changes in the Landscape Introduction .................................................................................................................................... 131 Physiographic Aspects ................................................................................................................... 131 Geology............................................................................................................................................ 134 Investigative Methods and Data Basis ........................................................................................ 135 Results .............................................................................................................................................. 137 Interpretation and Discussion ...................................................................................................... 141 Summary .......................................................................................................................................... 143 Archaeological Evidence and its Interpretation I Wayan Ardika: Archaeological Traces of the Early Harbour Town Introduction .................................................................................................................................... 149 Archaeological Discoveries ........................................................................................................... 151 Trade and Trade Goods ................................................................................................................ 154 Conclusion....................................................................................................................................... 155 I Made Suastika: Traces of Human Life Style from the Palaeolithic Era to the Beginning of the First Century AD Introduction .................................................................................................................................... 159 The Results of the Excavation at Pacung ................................................................................... 162 Summary .......................................................................................................................................... 171 Marini Drawatik: The Burial System at Pacung Introduction .................................................................................................................................... 177 The Prehistoric Burial Patterns .................................................................................................... 178 The Relation between the Current and the Prehistoric Burial System................................... 184 Conclusion....................................................................................................................................... 188 Contents iii Michael Schultz: Short Report on the Microscopic Examination of Bone Samples from a Neolithic Burial Introduction.....................................................................................................................................191 Materials and Methods...................................................................................................................192 Results ..............................................................................................................................................193 Summary ..........................................................................................................................................197 I Ketut Setiawan and Rochtri Agung Bawono: Excavation in Julah’s Temporary Settlement of Upit Introduction.....................................................................................................................................201 The Archaeological Investigation.................................................................................................203 Analysis of the Artefacts................................................................................................................206 Summary ..........................................................................................................................................212 I Ketut Setiawan: Socio-Political Aspects of Ancient Julah Introduction.....................................................................................................................................215 The Individual Inscriptions...........................................................................................................216 The Kings Who Issued the Edicts ...............................................................................................219 Social Groups and Communities Described ..............................................................................221 Religious and Political Aspects .....................................................................................................223 Appendix Sembiran Inscriptions Introduction.....................................................................................................................................229 No. 104 Sembiran A I ....................................................................................................................231 No. 201 Sembiran B .......................................................................................................................239 No. 209 Sembiran A II ..................................................................................................................244 No. 351 Sembiran A III.................................................................................................................253 No. 409 Sembiran A IV.................................................................................................................260 No. 621 Sembiran C.......................................................................................................................280 Contributors ....................................................................................................................................297 Introduction Brigitta Hauser-Schäublin and I Wayan Ardika This book is the outcome of the cooperation between Fakultas Sastra Universitas Udayana Denpasar (Bali), Indonesia, and the Institute of Cultural and Social An- thropology, University of Göttingen, Germany. Based on the results of the long- standing research in North Bali of the archaeologist I Wayan Ardika, Fakultas Sastra, Universitas Udayana and of the Balai Arkeologi Denpasar, the Pusat Ar- keologi Nasional in Jakarta, the anthropologist Brigitta Hauser-Schäublin, Göttin- gen University, suggested an ethnoarchaeological project (under the auspices of Lembaga Ilmu Pengetahuan, Jakarta) in which Ardika acted as the academic coun- terpart. The ethnoarchaeological project can be seen as an attempt to bring together vari- ous pieces of cultural evidence: among these are the findings produced by the archaeological excavations documenting a time as far back as the first century BC. Further evidence consists of the royal edicts, the so-called Sembiran Inscriptions (Goris 1954), written on copperplates; they were issued by kings between the 10 th and 12 th century. These inscriptions are testimonies of one of the earliest known kingdoms in Bali; they display significant Indian influence (see Appendix). The preconditions for ethnohistorical research therefore seemed favourable since all these data originated from the same area in North Bali, namely the area of the villages of Julah, Pacung and Sembiran (Kecamatan Tejakula, Kabupaten Bule- leng). Moreover, the village name of Julah appeared already in the copperplate inscriptions; it was to this village and their inhabitants that these royal edicts were Hauser-Schäublin and Ardika „Introduction“ 2 addressed. And it is in today’s Julah – as well as in Julah’s sibling village of Sembi- ran – that these royal edicts are still kept and venerated as sacred heirlooms. Nevertheless, it needs to be pointed out that the continuity in name does not pre- clude continuity in population or culture, as will become clear in some of the con- tributions to this book. Figure 1: The research area on Bali’s north coast, Kecamatan Tejakula, Kabupaten Buleleng. In popular as well as academic writing since the 19 th century, these villages have been described as a survival of an ancient, somewhat mysterious culture, allegedly originating in a pre-Hindu era and still displaying “animistic” features. They were labelled (together with a couple of other mountain villages) as Bali Aga, Old- Balinese. They were assumed to have remained untouched by the culture of those immigrants in the 16 th century from East Java who fled to Bali after the mighty Hinduized kingdom of Majapahit collapsed due to the advent of Islam. The aura of a aboriginal culture is expressed also in today’s international art market where all kinds of textiles allegedly of true Sembiran origin fetch exorbitant prices (see Nabholz-Kartaschoff this volume). Hauser-Schäublin and Ardika „Introduction“ 3 It therefore seemed tempting to investigate these villages on the North Coast, with their social and religious life, from an ethnohistoric perspective: are there any traces that relate to any of the earlier periods documented by archaeological arte- facts or the copperplate inscriptions? How far can we assume continuity, and to what extent do we have to consider change? Conversely, can the study of today’s culture contribute to the understanding of earlier practices mentioned in the in- scriptions, such as the obligations of the villages to deliver offerings and goods at set dates at temples and other institutions (see Hauser-Schäublin this volume), or the veneration of ancestors (see Patera this volume) or burial practices (see Dra- watik this volume)? There is no simple answer to the questions of continuity and change. Neither one excludes the other. Rather, as this book will show, both are intertwined in com- plex processes through time. The academic concept of history as used in this book is based on the notion of continuous processes that take place between actors themselves as well as between actors and their environment, thereby continuously producing modifications of existing practices and beliefs, though to differing extents and at different tempos. Some practices and beliefs may change faster than others, some may come to an end, others are newly created or introduced or adapted from the outside and meanings may gradually or abruptly shift. Nevertheless, there are material artefacts that were once created and may per- sist unaltered for centuries depending whether or not they were exposed to factors of natural decay and/or human use. One category of the most exciting objects that have inspired the imagination of many scholars are those called “megalithic”, menhirs, step pyramids and the like, of which many existed in Sembiran until re- cently. However, these megalithic monuments, often taken as proof of Neolithic culture, are difficult to interpret in terms of date of origin, their actual age and the question of continuity. Though many factors that have to be considered when discussing cultural is- sues through time may be roughly determined, many unknown factors related to social interactions have to be taken into account as well. However, the type of factors, the way some became more influential than others, and the extent to which they caused change or not are impossible to estimate. The most evident factors of change are those related to the environment and ecology. Over the past one thousand years the environment has dramatically changed – and with it of course the modes of subsistence (see Kalb this volume) with noticeable conse- quences for social organization. Other factors – to start with, epidemics that several times must have devasta- ted and emptied whole strips of land – human agency and social interactions of various kinds are almost impossible to ascertain. The geographic location of these villages as such, more or less right on the border of the sea, suggests vivid interac- Hauser-Schäublin and Ardika „Introduction“ 4 tions of all kind, attacks, fights and perhaps even wars, trading activities, the ad- vent of men of knowledge, missionaries, immigrants, refugees and many others. We have evidence of a number of factors at certain times over the past 2.000 years, but these allow us just a glimpse into dynamics that must have been, to various degree, continuously at work. Thus, the inscriptions, for example, give evidence of almost regular plundering of the villages and the villagers fleeing to settlements up in the mountains, such as Upit (see Setiawan and Rochtri this vo- lume). Oral histories and ritual practices testify to intense interaction with by- passers and immigrants. There are strong indications that the villages on the North Coast were rarely culturally homogenous settlements even in the most an- cient times. Among these indications are the apparently different burial practices that Ardika and his team discovered already for a time 2.000 years BP (see contri- butions by Ardika, Suastika and Drawatik). Of course the location of these villages in the context of social networks, too, explains why the internal as well the external dynamics to which Julah, Sembiran and Pacung were exposed and to which they themselves actively contributed for a long time, were so vigorous: They were situated on one of the major trade routes from China, India and beyond to the Spice Islands (spices from the Molukku were highly valued already among the Romans) that apparently goes back to the first millennium B.C. (see Ardika and Suastika this volume) with foreign traders from India already reaching this tiny spot in Bali (see Ardika this volume). Thus, far from being isolated, closed communities, these villages and their past seem to be a patchwork rather than a 2.000 years old undisturbed autochthonous culture. This book sums up the different kinds of research that have been carried out so far in the villages of Sembiran, Julah and Pacung. They all give evidence of the rich cultural life in these villages, which during certain periods could even be de- scribed as cosmopolitan. Among the archaeological evidence were also bronze objects such as a kettledrum ( nekara ) related to the so-called Dong-Son bronze work with its characteristically shaped artefacts that originated in today’s northern Vietnam in the second millennium BC (Bellwood 1985:272). Many other artefacts testify to direct contact with India and China; foreign trading communities located nearby are mentioned in the copperplate inscriptions (see Setiawan this volume). Oral histories also tell of wars in which the villagers had to participate such as the war the famous king of Buleleng, Panji Sakti, led im Blambangan, East Java. Others tell of early contact and dealing with Islamic immigrants in the 17 th century which substantially changed the religious and social organization of the villages. When the first Dutch visited Julah and Sembiran they knew nothing of the rich past of these villages. They had to rely on what they saw and what they were told. These villages were labelled “Bali Aga”, aboriginal Balinese, by those Balinese who thought of themselves to be descendants of the highly praised kingdom of Majapahit. The myth of the “aboriginal Balinese” has persisted ever since; this book, however, offers a new perspective based on a broad range of archaeological Hauser-Schäublin and Ardika „Introduction“ 5 and historical evidence that proves a past very different from the popular assump- tions of “Bali Aga”. This book, and some of the research on which this publication is based, could not have come into existence if there had not been sponsors who supported our efforts. We should therefore like to thank Universitas Udayana, Denpasar/Bali, The Balai Arkeologi Denpasar, The Pusat Penelitian Arkeologi Nasional in Ja- karta, Kasi Kebudayaan Kecamatan Tejakula, para Kepala Desa (the village’s head) of Pacung, Sembiran and Julah, the Lembaga Ilmu Pengetahuan, Jakarta, for the approval of our research in Bali, the University of Göttingen, Germany, for its material and personal support, and the German Research Council (DFG) in Bonn for all the grants that allowed both the ethnographic and archaeological research and also the publication of this volume to take place. We would like to thank Dr. Marie-Luise Nabholz-Kartaschoff (Basel), Prof. Dr. Dr. Michael Schultz (Göttin- gen), Prof. Dr. P. M. Grootes and the Leibnitz Laboratory for Radiometric Dating and Stable Isotop Research, University Kiel; they all have contributed their exper- tise to this volume. And of course we are grateful also to all the Balinese people who in one way or the other supported our endeavours to bring light into the past of these villages on the North Coast. Denpasar, April 2007 Looking Back in Time Sembiran and Julah – Sketches of History Brigitta Hauser-Schäublin Introduction Sembiran village numbers about 5.000 inhabitants today. It is located high above the nearby shore line. Its territory spreads from the beach up to the coastal moun- tain range. The landscape consists of extensively cultivated ground with no forest left. During the dry season, from May to November the whole area looks brownish and dry (see Kalb this volume). The trees lose their leaves, the crops in the garden dry up, and drinking water, conducted by pipes from a privately owned well in the mountains of Bangli regency 1 , is no longer available. 2 During the rainy season, from December to April, the picture completely changes with lush vegeta- tion everywhere. But most of the time, the rainy season is too short to grow even maize; in many fields it is mostly tubers as the major food crop that are nowadays cultivated. In the 1880s Liefrinck mentioned that rice was regularly grown in Sem- 1 This well, essential for the survival of the village, is today located in Bangli regency. Ap- parently the southern border between Bangli (whose king collaborated with the colonial power) and Buleleng was drawn by the Dutch in 1884 (Liefrinck 1934:65). It is an open question whether the well was once on land owned by Sembiran or already in the posses- sion of Satra village at that time. The first water pipes were established in 1963 (Lansing 1977:198). 2 In 2006, a new water supply system – water from wells near the shore being pumped up to the village – was built. However, since fuel became more and more expensive, the pumps were not in use. Nobody could afford to buy water at prices almost as high as bottled water. Hauser-Schäublin “Sembiran and Julah - Sketches of History” 10 biran (1934:68), though apparently in dry fields only. 3 However, the cultivation of rice in dry fields ended several decades ago. Over the past 100 years subsistence economy has considerably changed, as has the whole way of living. Bundschu described Sembiran as “an oasis of blossoming tangerine trees” in the 1980s (1994:150); this cash crop provided the peasants with a regular income and even some wealth. 4 However, in the 1990s the tangerine trees became infected with a virus that proved untreatable. Most of the trees died and the rest had to be cut down in order to stop the spread of the virus. 5 Photo 1: View from the top of Sembiran to the core village located on a hill above the sea. Photo: Brigitta Hauser-Schäublin 1998. Today, life in Sembiran has become difficult; many of the inhabitants live in po- verty. Most of the fertile land along the shore, where abundant water is available, and up in the mountains, where rain regularly falls, is no longer in the hands of the core villagers. Main parts of this best agricultural land has been sold to people from other villages or to immigrants who now live high up in the mountains (Ban- 3 The peasants of Sembiran were forbidden to irrigate their fields in the 19 th century (Lief- rinck 1924:383). 4 Lansing reports that the total value of the harvest of fruit trees was 94.091.000 Rupiah or US$ 227.272 in 1975 (1977:199). 5 There are almost no more tangerine trees left – except high up in the mountains, where it seems that the virus is unable to exist.