By Dr. Ni Wayan Pasek Ariati
June 26, 2014 at 12:30
Conference Room 120, C.K. Choi Building, 1855
West Mall
Women in Bali
today are enjoying new rights and privileges, not least after the passage of
legislation in 2010 that guaranteed women a larger and more equitable role in
important concerns like inheritance and access to education and professional
advancement. At the same time women are still considered the mainstay of the
complex system of rituals and daily offerings that make Bali unique, and
continue to be responsible for the lion’s share of domestic labour and
nourishment of the family.
There is no
doubt that Balinese women pride themselves on their ability to handle the many
tasks of daily and ritual life, often augmented by work outside the home, which
often includes the kind of heavy labour that is expected of men in other parts
of Indonesia. And there are few Balinese women who would agree to an end to the
elaborate ritual system that is so important to Balinese social and individual
lives. Yet, the perception that women are integral and essential to ritual life
today faces new complexities as the commitment of both the provincial and
national government continues to emphasize tourism as a major source of income
has resulted in what can only be termed “ritual inflation”. The women of Bali
are making great strides in education, and increasingly recognize the need to
find a balance between ‘preserving tradition’ and preparing themselves, and the
next generation, for more active roles in educational and professional life. My
talk will focus on these issues and will include a PowerPoint presentation on
the lives of Balinese women in rural, urban and ritual settings.
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| When I graduated in Charles Darwin University in May 2010 |
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| I carried offerings in a bamboo container while taking pictures on the way to the traditional healer |
From an
early age Balinese girls are taught how to present
offerings at the family temple using floral and fruit offerings called canang, along
with incense and prayers for the well-being of the family and community.
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| Canang Sari, the basic offering of Balinese Hindu |
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| The girls are praying before dancing |
Balinese girls dressed for the Rejang Dewa dance, an important dance carried out to welcome the deities into the temple at the beginning of the annual temple festivals called odalan. While the women performed the Gambuh dance. Both young women and men are taught Balinese dances and traditional food preparation. While women prepare most domestic meals, men are responsible for the heavy labor involved in preparing rice, meat and vegetable dishes for rituals.
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| Children of my village |
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| Take a break for a while after dancing |
Roles of women and men in rural villages
- Women have primary responsibility for child-rearing and care of the household, though a man should be able to perform nurturing tasks as well (called ngempu)
- In Balinese tradition women have the primary responsibility for fashioning the daily offerings and many of the offerings for larger rituals and festivals.
- Domestic work (washing, cleaning and cooking) is usually left to women
- Women have primary responsibility for tending household gardens and assist men with field work.
- Many women of Bali are breadwinners for their families.
- After working in the rice fields men love to gather for gambling with cards or attending cockfights.
Balinese
Woman make important contributions in the ricefields, especially in the task of transplanting
seedlings from small starter beds into the main rice paddies.
Men
and Women work together in the rice field
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| Men and Women work together in the agricultural areas |
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| Some women are "chosen" to be balian, traditional healers |
Types
of Marriage in Bali
Ngerorod: a pre-arrange
kidnapping (everyone goes along with
it but pretends not to know) the most common and least expensive
form of marriage; also carried out if there are minor status differences
between the children of noble families
Memadik: marriage
by proposal; normally the girl gives up her lineage and joins that of her
husband
Arranged
marriages: conservative and elite families of the past favored arranged
marriages, an important part of the pattern of making political alliances
through kinship; arranged marriages are rare today.
Nyentana marriages: when there is no male heir in a family, one of the daughters takes the male (purusa) role
in the lineage system, and marries a man who is taken into the family lineage;
he gives up his lineage and is classed as the pradhana in
the wedding, a male with a female status.
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| My wedding with my American husband |
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| My niece wedding |
Women’s
prospects in contemporary Bali
Women have access to educational and employment opportunities today, especially
in urban areas.
But
rural women are today more and more taking advantage of educational
opportunities as well.
Opportunities
for women have shown themselves capable as tour guides, travel agents, and
hotel work and are often the main work force in banking establishments.
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| Women now can play gamelan where in the past was only men's task |
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| Some women are now becoming police officers |
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| No matter how modern we are, we still have job distinction in our ceremony |
Conclusions
The
position of Balinese
Hindu women is getting
better and better, especially
after the
implementation of the new legislation of October 15, 2010 that revised the laws on marriage, inheritance and property rights, officially putting women and men on a near-equal
footing
in the eyes of the law.
Before
2010, Balinese
women only had
right to ”enjoy” the inheritance but after 2010, they have the rights to ”Own” the property. This is all based on the Keputusan Pesamuhan Agung
III MUDP Bali, Nomor 01/KEP/PSM-3/MDP Bali/X/2010, Tgl 15 Oktober 2010.
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When I presented a paper in formal setting |
Education can change the world
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