The Bali Aga of Trunyan
The mountain
village of Trunyan
can be found at the foot of Mt. Abang, at a remote and isolated
location on the eastern shore of Lake Batur. The Trunyanese are often
referred to as Bali Aga (mountain Balinese), which refers to a
conservative, pre-Hindu way of life with ancient, neolithic customs and a
very definite avoidance of outside influences.
Instead of the
term “Bali Aga, the term Bali Mula (‘original Balinese’) is often used
instead. In this respect it should be noted that the Bali Aga are in no
sense ‘original’. Therefore the term ‘Mountain Balinese’ is, from a
historical perspective, more correct. The Bali Aga namely have always
occupied their ancestral villages from choice and performed their
traditional crafts and trades appropriate to the nature of the land.
According
to copper plate inscriptions found in one of the shrines of the main
temple of Trunyan, the temple must be dating back to at least the 10th
century AD (833 Çaka). The village itself, however, is believed to be
much older than the temple.
Society of Trunyan
Trunyanese
society consists of two obvious ‘castes’. these castes are the banjar
jero and the banjar jaba. Contrary to the other parts of Bali, where the
caste system is always based on the idea of purity, the Trunyanese
castes are determined by descent from the period of the Gelgel dynasty.
This
caste system is an exquisite example of when outside influence actually
did affect the life of the Trunyanese people, as those belonging to the
banjar jero are in this respect the descendants of rulers, id est the
Trunyanese who were appointed by the kings of Gelgel to rule, whereas
those of the banjar jaba are the descendants of the people, id est those
who were ruled by the banjar jero.
Another fine example of
outside influence is the requirement for their young men to travel
through lowland Bali for a period of time, to live there as beggars.
This little known practice can be traced back to practices of the monks
of Thailand, and is derived from a strong Buddhist tradition of about a
thousand years ago.
Prestige consciousness, which is so very much
present everywhere in Bali, also plays an dominant role in Trunyanese
society. The hosting of any major ceremony is the time when a family can
raise prestige within the community. This is shown most clearly at
their wedding ceremonies, which should either be impressive or not held
at all. As the economy of Trunyan is mainly based on agriculture, it is
difficult for the Trunyanese to accumulate money and possessions. In
this respect you will find married couples with children in Trunyan who
continue to postpone their wedding ceremony just because of the costs.
Besides, an official wedding ceremony in Trunyan is only allowed to take
place after the male candidate has taken part in the Berutuk ceremony.
Funeral rites of Trunyan
Contrary
to elswhere in Hindu Bali the Trunyanese do not cremate their dead.
Instead, after a ritual cleansing with rain water, the body of the
deceased is placed in a bamboo cage under the taru menyan tree until the
forces of nature, in particular the wind, has dissolved the body
tissues until only the skeleton remains. Then the skull is placed on a
stairs-shaped stone altar which is located some 500 meter north of the
banjar Kuban, a special place which can only be reached by boat.
This
ancient practice traces back to the neolithic Agama Bayu sekt, one of
the six most important religious-spiritual sekts that dominated Bali
during pre-Hindu times. This Agama Bayu sekt mainly worshipped the stars
and the wind (angin ngelinus).
Taru Menyan means ‘nice smelling
tree’. This tree eminates a typical scent which neutralizes the smell of
rotting bodies. It is also this tree from which the name Trunyan is
derived. Furthermore typical for the funeral rites of Trunyan is that
only the bodies of married people are aloowed to be placed in bamboo
cages; if the deceased is unmarried, the body is normally buried at the
cemetry.
Also typical is that women are not allowed to attend the
Pengiriman ceremonies, the bringing of the body to the taru menyan tree
or to the cemetry. The reason for this is the belief that otherwise the
village will be struck by disaster, such as an earthquake, a volcanic
eruption, or a land slide. How and when this rule came into being
however is not clear.
Volcano God – Bhatara Da Tonta
Since
long forgotten times the Trunyanese have been worshipping an ancient,
local god connected to the Batur volcano and patron guardian of the
village, Ratu Gede Pantjering Djagat – who is also referred to as
Bhatara Da Tonta. In a for non-Trunyanese forbidden area one can find an
enormous, neolithic statue of Bhatara Da Tonta. During special
initiation rites of the village flowers are offered here and the statue
is ritually cleansed with rain water and a special oil, precisely as
instructed on an old bronze tablet (911 AD) that was found in the
mysterious Pura Tegeh Koripan, a temple built in the form of a neolithic
pyramid at Mount Penulisan, the second highest point of the caldera of
the Batur volcano.
Bhatara da Tonta
Music and dance in Trunyan
Like
elsewhere in Bali, the performing arts of Trunyan are associated with
religious rites, and are a means to maintain an equilibrium between the
visible, physical world and the non-visible, multi-dimensional worlds.
In this respect the Berutuk dance of Trunyan is indeed strongly
associated with typical religious rites and, of course, supernatural
powers.
The berutuk dance is at once a performance, a ceremony,
and a rite. The performers are a selected group of unmarried men who
must undergo a period of ritual purification and isolation prior to
performing. During this time they sleep in the temple, abstain from
sexual contact, and learn the prayers for the ceremony from the temple
priest. The Berutuk performers wear sacred masks and two aprons of dried
banana leaf fiber; one is tied around the neck and hangs over the torso
and the other is tied around the waist. There is no musical
accompaniment for the performance.
The
Berutuk reenacts the historical legend of the Trunyan migration from
the other Bali Aga areas in East Bali. However, this is not a mere
dramatization. The Berutuk performance requires the purification of the
actors and appropriate offerings and prayers which will allow the young
men to be possessed by Bethara Berutuk.
At one point, the Berutuk
are presented with offerings and members of the audience barter with the
Berutuk in order to take part of the offering. In addition, the banana
fiber costumes are now charged with powerful magic and spectators
attempt to steal bits of the hanging fibers which become protective
amulets.
The king and queen Berutuk engage in a courtship dance
inspired by the movements of a bird common to the Trunyan area and the
queen must be successfully captured by the king in order to ensure the
fertility of both the village of Trunyan as well as that of the
performer himself. Only after the performance will the young men be
eligible for official marriage. The performance ends after the queen is
captured and the dancers bathe in the sacred Lake Batur.
The
performances happen at irregular intervals and are depending on the
needs of the villages. However, the performance cannot be held at times
when the village is tainted by diseases or crop failure.
The
performers are not trained in the movement of the Berutuk but in the
necessary prayers. It is not the dance technique but the selection and
ritual preparation of the dancers that is important, as they will become
temporary vessels for the Bethara Berutuk: Ratu Pancering Jagat. Thus,
the performance places an emphasis on the ritual readiness of the
performers, not technical training. It is a recounting of legendary
history, a fertility rite for both land and humans, a passage into
adulthood, and a time when the spirits enter humans and the tumultuous
interaction between performer and audience mimics the interaction
between the human, spirit, and natural worlds.
The
tour will take 10 hours (09.00 - 19.00) which can be customized
according to the conditions. The trips will be started from your hotel
lobby and continue for sightseeing and finally back to your hotel to
terminate the tour arrangements. Our tour guide will encourage you to
explore the traditional Balinese village and discover the unique people
daily activities like excavating stone for statue, making the
kitchenware traditionally and local farmer. Your trips will pass the
deep of Balinese village which is far from the modern influence,
friendly villagers and looking the children to wave the hand with
charming smiles. Lunch will be served at local restaurant with stunning
view and cool atmosphere surround it. The trips are continued to drive
up to the hill with dramatic panoramic view of Twin Lake and discover
the coffee plantation. Discovering the process of coffee making and we
will enjoy the coffee break with traditional Balinese homemade of cake
or cookies. Your trips are continued to drive down to the beach area
and visit 
How the Tour is Working? 
Bedugul Botanical Garden or