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BALI STYLE ON CONSTRUCTION
The pekarangan (compound) of the "kuren", the Balinese home, is made up of five basic
elements: the doorway, with its screen and split arch,
the main sleeping area, with its open verandah, a raised
barn for storing rice, a kitchen and a bathing area.
There may also be a workshop and a family temple.
Theoretically, but rarely in practice, the courtyard is divided
up into nine equal parts. If kaja, the Mountainside direction,
is taken as north, the family temple is always placed in the
north-east corner of the courtyard. The adjacent south-west
corner is considered to be the abode of evil and is always left empty.
The lumbung (granary) and the paon (kitchen) are placed in
the south-east corner, to the right of some one entering the
courtyard. To the incomer's left, situated around the "natah",
the centre of the courtyard which is left open to provide a
work and recreational area for the family, are three distinct
sleeping quarters. Clockwise from an incomer's left are the
bale dauh (guests' room) parallel to the west wall, the
"meten / bale daja" (the room for parents, grandparents
and unmarried girls) parallel to the north wall, and the
"bale dangin" (the adults' quarters) parallel to the east
wall. An additional bale, the bale delod, may be constructed
on the kelod ('south') side if required. The bale dangin is
used to celebrate such important rites of passage as weddings
and tooth-filing. Children sleep in the bale dauh or in a
special 'lion built for them in the north-west corner of
the compound.
The word bale means 'pavilion', and the structure of the
bale is at least partially open (the even, humid climate means
that a roof to provide shelter from the rain is the only real
necessity). They will have one or two walls, but the pavilion
where the head of the compound resides (with all the family
treasures) will be enclosed on all four sides. The pavilions
are distinguished from one another by the number of pillars
(saka) each has. A six-pillar bale is known as a bale saka-enam,
A eight-pillar bale is known as a bale saka-ulu and the largest
bale, with twelve pillars, is known as a bale gede. These
buildings are constructed with posts set into a masonry base
supporting a roof of radiating beamwork. Some have walls of brick
or ruff masonry, a feature that probably derived from the temple
architecture of medieval east Java. The roof is always crowned with
a terracotta finial.
Some roofs are still made of alang-alang grass, sewn onto the
ribs of coconutpalm leaves, which are set closely together and
tied onto the bamboo or coconutwood roof frame with hard-wearing
sugar-palm fibre. Layers of grass thatch are combed with a special
rake, then trimmed, and extra layers of grass are added at the
four corners. This type of thatch, often 45 centimetres (18 in.)
thick, can last for up to fifty years. Nowadays a ceramic tiled
roof is more usual (although bamboo is an alternative in the
mountains). The beams that support the roof are fitted together
and held in place with pegs made from the heartwood of coconut
trees. Wooden or stone carvings of protective spirits can
commonly be seen over doorways.
Rice barns are the only Balinese buildings that are raised
on piles. These piles are topped with large wooden discs
just below the main body of the granary to prevent rats
from getting in. The barns are thatched with rice straw
or alang-alang grass.
All traditional-style Balinese construction follows the
prescribed methods laid down in various treatises on building,
some of which date back to the fifteenth century. Anyone
wishing to build will first commission a master builder,
an udangi. After discussing the specifics of the commission,
the udangi will first take the client's measurements, and
then transfer them onto his bamboo measuring stick. From
these are derived the units of measure that determine the
dimensions of the compound and the saka.
Firstly there is the depa, which is the distance between
the middle fingers when each arm is fully extended to the
side. The distance from the tip of the outstretched middle
finger to the elbow, known as the hasta (equivalent to the
Western cubit) is also added to the measuring stick. The
depa and the hasta together are equal to the basic wall
measurement unit, which is also added to the stick. According
to the old treatises, however, a small adjustment must be
made to increase each unit of measurement slightly. This
is known as the urip, and is thought necessary to bring
the building alive upon completion. In the case of the depa,
the urip is the width of the fist with the thumb extended.
The three units of measurement added together make the depa
asti musti, which is the unit for laying out the compound
walls. The corners of the compound are then staked out to
the dimensions appropriate both to the client's caste and
to the location. The next important job is the cutting and
then the setting up of the saka.
Before construction begins, certain ceremonies must be performed.
For sacred buildings, the panca datu, five metals (gold, silver,
bronze, iron and copper), are buried in the foundations, along
with a coconut wrapped around with five differently coloured
threads. For secular buildings, the ceremony simply consists of
burying bricks wrapped in white cloth. The day of the ceremony
and the day on which construction starts must be astrologically
auspicious. There are other ceremonies that are conducted at
various stages of the building, but the most important is the
melaspas, the purificatory rite of completion, which brings
the previously 'dead' materials alive as a living house. The
house now has feet, body and a head - the foundations, the
pillars and the roof.
Of all the Indonesian islands, with perhaps the exception of Java,
Bali has been most changed by outside influence, yet, paradoxically,
it retains more of its old customs than anywhere else in the
archipelago. No doubt this is in part to counteract the ever-increasing
numbers of foreign tourists that flood into Denpasar airport every
day; but it should not be forgotten that the Balinese have a shrewd
business sense, and their attachment to cultural traditions may also
be in recognition of the fact that this is what attracts the tourist.
Consequently, although the layout of a Balinese village may not
have changed, the houses themselves may be built in a variety of
styles, and modern materials will in some cases have replaced
traditional ones. Foundations are often now of concrete, and the
floors tiled. Walls may be of concrete blocks rather than brick
or limestone, and concrete pillars are used instead of teak. In
the hotels and restaurants of Kuta and Sanur, however, among the
most popular tourist resorts of the island, traditional Balinese
building styles, materials and techniques are much in evidence.
The Balinese people's reverence for their culture and their
religion runs extremely deep. They will ignore the requirements
of business if a religious or social festivity is to be observed.
Balinese traditional architecture is changing, but its future
seems unclear on an island so flooded with tourists. All the
old techniques of building are still keenly practised in the
rural areas as well as in the tourist centres. Perhaps the
future of vernacular architecture in Bali lies in a blend of
the modern and the traditional; the only certainty is that the
architectural future will be imbued with the natural Balinese
sense of taste, style and fine craftsmanship. It will certainly
be prosperous.
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