A village with pure legacy of thousands of years in the regency of Karangasem in Bali is Tenganan Pegringsingan. Before coming to the knowledge of outer world it was known by anthropologists as one of the most important secluded societies on the archipelago. Since 1970s, the village has been going through some changes and variations and developments. From then on, tourism started imposing its clutches on the soil of this village.
What attracts people toward this village is its unique culture and preserved customs. Bali Aga is the predominant culture here which holds the original traditions and rules of the ancient people intact and the atypical architecture was also a talk of the town.
Highlights: The village’s specialties lie in its peculiar music that is Gamelan selunding music and geringsing double ikat textiles. The legends about the village say that the inhabitants of this village were selected by Indra, the god of war to administer a territory which to be a microcosm of the world and they were suggested to keep the territory pure and clean. Thus the concept of territorial, spiritual and bodily purity has a lot of significance in the village.
The Bali Aga people are believed to be originated or descended from the pre-Majapahit kingdom of Pegeng. The rules are very stringent for those who live in the village and only those who have born in the village are allowed to continue staying there. Anyone who marries outside the village should leave the territory and go out of the community. The houses in the village are arranged on both the sides of the north to the south concourse with the doors of them opening onto it.
The narrow entrances of each house allow only one person to enter or come out of the house at one time. There are two temples on both the entrances of the village.
Rituals: Almost all the rituals in the village are closely similar to the main ones Balinese culture follows but one of the unique features is the wide use of geringsing. People believe that geringsing is capable of keeping impurities and any kind of danger out of their village as well it protects humans from adverse influences during the transition from one phase of life to the next.
Location: Jalan Raya Nyuh Tebel, Tenganan, Manggis, Indonesia. It is located northwest of Candidasa about 5 km away from the main road.