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A bloodline of legend and legacy
Serene: The great carved head of Kebo Yuwo rests in Puseh Temple in Blahbatuh
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Serene: The great carved head of Kebo Yuwo rests in Puseh Temple in Blahbatuh.
At first appearance, Bali in the 21st century has been blighted by the same issues facing much of Indonesia and dozens of other nations.
Buses and trucks scream along narrow streets on the wrong side of the road. Buildings take up every spare inch of land leaving little room for even the smallest patch of green. Footpaths swallow people whole and petty handbag snatching thieves often cause injury and death to their victims.
Despite these problems, washing away the layers of modernity that lay over Bali reveals a culture that runs deep as the gorges that stretch between the island's mountain ranges.
Borne along this stream of history by its people, the island today maintains sanctuaries of peace that are resting in villages waiting to be recognized and revered by guests who take the time to branch off the beaten path.
Just 10 kilometers from the bustle of Ubud is the town of Blahbatuh. Here temple and village life remain as they have since the time of the village's greatest hero, Kebo Yuwo.
His ancestors still live on his plot of land near the family temple built at the start of the last millennium to honor Kebo Yuwo's mother, Karang Buncing.
Seated in the lotus position as erect as temple gates, Wayan Gede Oka tells the story of his bloodline, which stretches back to the ancestors of Kebo Yuwo.
'I am a person of religion. I need to know where I came from. Kebo Yuwo is my ancestor,' says the 83-year-old, who has studied his family tree since dreaming of Kebo Yuwo at the time of his father's death, 24 years ago.
'My dad died at the time when we were preparing for a great cremation in our temple. I fell asleep at home and there came Kebo Yuwo. I apologized for sleeping and he answered that he was not here in Blahbatuh, but that he would return after the funeral for my father,' says Wayan of the reason he began to study more deeply his family's ancient past.
'The story of our family is written on lontar, in sculptures and in our oral history. We can track our ancestry back to Kebo Yuwo and further to his ancestor, Yang Sidi Mantra who settled here in Blahbatuh in the 9th century. He came into the world at a time when there was no place of worship in all of Bali.'
By the 12th or 13th century, Bali was at war with the Majaphit empire of East Java that had as its advisor to the king the great Gajah Mada, who swore an oath to unite all the kingdoms of the archipelago under the banner of Nusantara.
Wayan explained that where the Majaphit had their hero in Gajah Mada, the people of Bali's last kingdom, the Bedehulu, had Kebo Yuwo, believed to be so pure of heart that he was invincible.
'Kebo Yuwo was a prime minister to the last king of the Bedehulu. This kingdom was strong and because Kebo Yuwo could not be defeated, he was invited to the court of Majapahit to negotiate a settlement. He was welcomed by Gajah Mada when he arrived and was promised a woman, but first Kebo Yuwo had to bathe,' says Wayan.
There was a catch: Kebo Yuwo first had to dig a well to source water to bathe.
'He dug and dug that well. When he was deep within, the Majapahit army came and threw rocks into the well to bury Kebo Yuwo, but his power was so pure the rocks flew of his body out of the well killing all the army's soldiers. Kebo Yuwo understood he had been deceived by Gajah Mada,' says Wayan.
Fleeing the wrath of Kebo Yuwo, Gajah Mada climbed to the peak of Mount Wilis near Kediri in East Java, only to be met there by Wayan's famous ancestor.
'Gajah Mada grabbed Kebo Yuwo by the leg and said 'I know you cannot be killed, but my oath is to unite all the islands of Nusantara. Will you willingly be not here?''
Wayan says Kebo Yuwo agreed. 'But he warned Gajah Mada that in 500 years he would return to the world and Gajah Mada would become Kebo Yuwo's kaki tangan, his hands and feet,'
The people of Blahbatuh continue to revere Kebo Yuwo a thousand years after he walked the town's streets.
'Our people are proud of our history because Kebo Yuwo did great things in his life. He built many temples across Bali. He built the dam in Sukawati that can be seen to this day. There are still the marks he made with his thumbnail in the rocks of that dam,' says Wayan, adding he prays long and often to Kebo Yuwo.
'From the material world I ask for nil from Kebo Yuwo, but from my soul, I am very happy and proud to have the blood of Kebo Yuwo running in my veins. I ask in my prayers not for money, but for safety and calmness and health for all who need this,' says Wayan.
A massive sculpture of Kebo Yuwo's head, dated from the 14th century rests in the Pura Puseh temple.
On Thursday, the village of Blahbatuh held its twice annual ceremony to Kebo Yuwo at Pura Puseh, paying tribute to their hero.
The village also invites visitors to discover its ancient history through archeological walks where the first impressions of modern Bali falls away and the soul of the island is again well met.
' Photos by J.B.Djwan
