Part Two – Reflection of Mass Tourism in Bali with Toyo University Students
Day Three Activities – September 4, 2024
Upon arrival at Kiadan, participants were greeted by Mr. Gede Wirata as the trekking activity guide. Participants were served lok coffee, Kiadan’s signature coffee brewed in a clay jug. Students were explained about the various types of coffee grown in the community’s garden, the planting system, and how to process the coffee. Participants were also asked to sort red-picked coffee and practice peeling the coffee skin. After activities in the coffee garden, participants had the opportunity to see firsthand one of the series of mass cremation processions carried out by the Kiadan community, namely the Ngangkid/Ngeplugin ceremony. There were around 25 families who took part in this mass cremation procession. This ceremony is usually held every 5 years. In the Ngangkid ceremony, the bodies that are exhumed are only symbolic and replaced with banana tree trunks. The final series of the Ngaben ceremony is called the memukur ceremony which aims to purify the atma or soul so that it can reside in the Kemulan Temple. The students were then also explained the concept of sapta loka, the seven layers of cosmology in Hinduism that must be passed by humans to reach the highest level of moksa. Sapta loka are Bhur Loka, Bwah Loka, Swah Loka, Tapa Loka, Jana Loka, Maha Loka, and Satya Loka.
In the afternoon, participants also visited one of the coffee shops in Kiadan and bought Kiadan coffee as souvenirs. In the evening, participants watched the joged bumbung dance and tried ngibing. Several male and female students then performed Japanese dances. The students and accompanying lecturers then spent the night at a resident’s house and experienced the life of the Kiadan community and interacted with the local people.
From the short discussion held the next day, participants were interested in the subak system (irrigation system) in Bali. In Bali, there are two subak systems, namely wet subak and dry subak. Wet subak is more related to the management of farming in rice fields, starting from land cultivation, harvesting, to post-harvest. While dry subak regulates land management in fields, plantations, or forestry. Subak in Kiadan is included in the dry subak category, namely coffee plantations. All farmers in Kiadan are members of the subak organization. On average, farmers in Kiadan still maintain their land so that it can be passed on to the next generation. The requirement to become a member of a subak is to have at least 10 acres of land.
Day Four Activities – September 5, 2024
On the fourth day, participants then headed to Pedawa Village. Participants were welcomed at the traditional house of Pedawa Village called Bandung Rangki. Before entering Bandung Rangki, there is a meseban ritual process that must be passed. This ritual aims to cleanse oneself from negative energy outside the house. Participants were then explained about the architecture and functions in Bandung Rangki. Apart from Bandung Rangki, other traditional houses are Mesegali and Sri Dandan. Unfortunately, the Mesegali and Sri Dandan traditional houses are extinct. The number of Bandung Rangki traditional houses is currently 25 units, where the 2 previous units have received permanent house renovation. Inside the Bandung Rangki traditional house building, there is a main bed, kitchen, and place of worship in one room without partitions. There are two types of beds in Bandung Rangki, namely pedeman gede and pedeman cenik. Bale gede or pedeman gede which functions as a bed for parents and also functions as a bale banten (a place to put offerings) during religious ceremonies or as a place to put the corpse to sleep if there is a death. Bale cenik or pedeman alit is intended for children’s beds. The position of the bed for children is after the kitchen or parallel to the place to store tools.
Students can also see the clove harvesting attraction. After finishing in Bandung Rangki, the participants then visited the Sabih Literacy Center founded by Mr. Wayan Sadyana, a Japanese Literature Lecturer at Undiksha. Participants had the opportunity to learn how to make canang, dance Balinese, and try the spinning top game. In the afternoon, participants saw the cow gerubungan attraction and also tried to be pulled by the cow gerubungan. This attraction is usually held after the harvest to entertain farmers and entertain Dewi Sri and as a form of gratitude for the rice that has been given. Unfortunately, this cow gerubungan tradition is threatened with extinction due to the lack of interest of the younger generation to continue this tradition. Participants were then taken to a homestay owned by local residents to stay overnight. The students also brought souvenirs or keepsakes to be given to the homeowners. The next day there was a short discussion with the Pedawa traditional elders, participants were interested in the water sources used to irrigate the rice fields and the reasons for running ecotourism in Pedawa Village. Ecotourism was chosen because the community wanted to maintain the uniqueness and authenticity of Pedawa by not building new villas and hotels.
Still continuing on the fifth and sixth days.