Thread: Those Nameless Balinese Ancestors...and Me

Many expats on Bali have been around long enough to be familiar with Balinese compounds, and in particular those notable ancestor temples called kemulan, or taksu. They are immediately distinguishable by their black roof, made of duk, and the normally elaborate wood carving employed in their creation. They are amazing works of art in their own right, carefully crafted, and only made by the most trusted of hands.

Hi Roy,

Unfortunately I have to correct you in this regard. As a Balinese, I cannot let this misrepresentation slips by. I think it is also imperative that the readers know a little bit better about this topic than what came across from reading your posting.

So let me clarify a couple of things:

First off as far as I know, Sanggah Kemulan and Sanggah Taksu are NEVER for dedication to the ancestors!! You can perhaps check this with Eri to confirm that in your village the custom is not starkly different from the rest!

A Balinese traditional compound is divided into several sections: Sanggah, Natah and Teba. Sanggah is where the family temple is located. Natah is the courtyard of the living area made up of several bales and kitchen, while Teba is the very back of the compound where traditionally families put their pigs etc but nowadays it is where toilet/bathroom and washing facilities are located.

So what is Sanggah or Merajan for high caste Balinese families? Sanggah is the family temple where the family conducts their offerings and prayers for Ida Sang Hyang Widhi (GOD), the guardian gods and the ancestors. Sanggah refers both to the compound where many different shrines are located as well as the individual shrine itself. In southern Bali, Sanggah compound will be located in the North-East corner of the family compound – that is towards Mt. Agung. In the north it will be South East I suppose. There are other shrines located in a typical family compound: several common ones are Duguls: two Duguls can be found at just after the entrance to the house and also one located at the North-West corner of the compound, (a Dugul is dedicated to the guardian of the compound). Many families also have more shrines scattered around the compounds usually in the 8 directions of the wind.

So in a typical family temple compound such as my parents’ place, there should be several shrines including a Sanggah Piasan, Sanggah Taksu, Padmasana, Sanggah Kemulan and Ratu Ngurah(s). Below is a photo of my parent’s Sanggah. (left of the screen is a Piasan, next to it is Taksu, next to it is a temporary shrine in place for the Padmasana, next to it is the Kemulan and the far right is a Ratu Ngurah). This is a very small family temple.



In a larger family compound (where there have been at least two or three generations living there), there will also be separate shrines for the ancestors as undoubtedly some elders had passed away. If one then goes back to the family compound of several generations back (for example where my great, great, great grandfather used to live), one can then have a Sanggah Gede or Merajan Gede. Here there are many many shrines in the family temple compound – there can be 20 or more including a small Meru (three tiers shrine) and a shrine in the middle.

Back to the original post about Sanggah Kemulan and Taksu – they are essentially what every Balinese household should have in their family temple. Sanggah Kemulan is not an ancestor shrine, rather it is the shrine to worship the God as Tri Murti, the three manifestations of God in Hinduism. Brahma is placed on the left side, Siwa or Batara Guru is in the middle and, Wishnu is placed on the right side of the three rooms shrine. Sanggah Taksu is the place of worship of God as the guiding light and energy, charisma for the family, where one seeks divine intervention from God. If I try to define Taksu it means something like charisma, energy, the essence of a person, family or country. Sorry can’t exactly translate it into English.

However, some families might not have the luxury of having a family temple – such as those living in the city. In this case, they would often only have one shrine – a Padmasana (Bert has one at his place! And a Dugul at the entrance to his house).

Oh and not all shrines must be roofed with Duk or Ijuk – made from though protective layers of a particular palm species. Sorry I don’t know the English expression nor the name of this palm. It can be roofed with tiles, sirat (wooden sheets), or alang-alang, some even used corrugated iron sheet (I have seen many of these in the north).

Not coincidentally, names are also absent in their cemeteries which serve as temporary collection depositories for recently deceased villagers awaiting their cremation.

What do you mean by this statement?
Yes the cemeteries are only for temporary burial places for the dead until the family can afford to hold a cremation ceremony. They don’t have to be buried as cremation can be conducted straight after a person dies, but as the expense is very large, many families are burying the dead for several years until such fund can be saved for a cremation at home or communally in the banjar. Priests are not allowed to be buried, they must be cremated straight away after death. They can lay in state in the ceremonial bale while preparation for their cremations are made (as my mother was a priest, her cremation was done like this).

In saying this, although the grave is temporary and no elaborate and permanent head-stone is created, a small head-stone is placed on the grave with the person’s name, date of birth and date of passed away.

Just kidding around, I asked my host, “which one (ancestor temple) has your name on it?” My joking curiosity was to know where to place the offerings of beers and cigars, should he pre-decease me. Telling him that, we both enjoyed a good laugh. The right answer to my “tongue in check” question was of course, “none.” His name will never be engraved on a small brass plaque, and fixed on any of his ancestral temples, nor will my name be immortalized on any of our ancestral temples either

After being cremated the deified spirit of the ancestors are invited back to the family compound and worship in the family temple. If the family does not have an ancestors shrine called a Pesirepan (Saren), the ancestors will be worshiped in the Sanggah Piasan. However, if the family compound is large enough to accommodate another shrine, then one will be built – usually it is located next to the Sanggah Taksu and it is a two rooms shrine. This will be for all the ancestors – recent, past and future. So individual person who died and cremated does not have his/her own shrine of worship!

Roy, you know about Niskala, so you should understand this better than anyone. When a Balinese (Hindu) person passed away, cremated and finally purified – he/she losses all earthly identities including name and becomes a deified spirit called Pitara (for male) or Pitari (female) for the family, which can bestow blessings and/or if you are naughty troubles.

Of course, you can still do a family tree to preserve your genealogy for your future offsprings. So you are not forgotten!

Well, I hope I have clarified something about Balinese family temple.

Hi Roy,

Yes I gathered that the article was meant to be entertaining. But I can also see that you attempted to give insight in this humour. I do understand that and it is hard for non Balinese Hindu to understand the intricacies of our customs and culture.

And as the token Balinese person in this forum, I just wanted to correct the misinformation about Sanggah Kemulan and Taksu. Giving reference to these shrines as places to worship ancestors is Wrong!

and as I know you want to do too - we don't want to continue the misconceptions about Balinese culture - right? :wink:

Hi Judy,

I don't go home often enough. Last time was January 07. So, hopefully I will be able to go home soon again. Have to save some annual leaves first I guess.

Cheers
Kadek