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In the time of giants
Pulun Masceti : Believed to be the first subak temple in Bali, Pulun Masceti is housed within Baliâs first temple, Pura Agung Gunung Raung, in Taro
Pulun Masceti :: Believed to be the first subak temple in Bali, Pulun Masceti is housed within Baliâs first temple, Pura Agung Gunung Raung, in Taro. (JP/ J.B. Djwan) (JP/ J.B. Djwan)
P
span class="inline inline-center">Pulun Masceti : Believed to be the first subak temple in Bali, Pulun Masceti is housed within Bali's first temple, Pura Agung Gunung Raung, in Taro. (JP/ J.B. Djwan)
Made Dharma speaks standing in front of what the people of his village believe is a flower stem from a massive tree of legend.
'So great was the Seleguwi tree, that when it fell in Java, its trunk formed the bridge to Bali that brought all the animals from Java to Bali,' he says.
This three-meter-long flower stem is the village's Kul Kul, or hollowed-out tree trunk that is used to call people to the temple.
Made and the other residents of Taro in Bali's eastern mountains believe they are the direct descendants of the followers of Markandya, an Indian sage who is said to have arrived in the village from East Java in the 6th century BC.
As evidence of their more-than-1000 years in Taro is the giant Kul Kul.
'This is only the flower stem of the Seleguwi tree. The branches that it came from were huge,' Made says of the massive log hanging in his temple, Agung Gunung Raung, believed to be the first temple built in Bali.
Not only was the tree of otherworldly proportions, so were people back then, according to Ketut Niki, who like most residents claims that his family has lived in Taro for more than a millennia.
'You can see on the Kul Kul how our people have grown shorter and shorter,' Niki says. 'The marks where the Kul Kul were first struck are high up and later marks get lower and lower. In the beginning our people were much taller.'
Niki's cousin, Pak Jero Magku Gede, can also trace his ancestry back to the days when Markandya arrived in Taro. Gede says the temple was built as a palace for Markandya and a place for his followers to pray.
'They had been to Besakih, but no temple was built there. Only the Panca Datu of five elemental metals was buried there, but here they built the palace and temple,' Gede said, citing from oral history spanning more than 50 generations.
Markandya and his Javanese followers found an Eden in Taro, which was then called Sarwa Ada Taru, Gede says.
'That means everything needed for life was here, trees, waters, fruits. Markandya saw a light over this area and he meditated in Puakan, 5 kilometers from here. Then they came and cleared the forest and built a place for prayer and homes.'
He adds that under Markandya's guidance, Bali's first subak irrigation system was also developed, watered by springs in Puakan.
'In the temple, we have a smaller temple called Pulun Masceti for the subak, so that is also the fist subak temple. It started under Markandya in the 6th or 8th century,' Gede says.
He says that the oral history of his people makes accurate dating of events difficult.
'We are not sure of the exact period, because the stories have been handed down over the centuries and people don't know the exact centuries. Our history has been researched by the [government's] cultural department; but we feel our version of history is clearer, because we are so close to the source,' says Gede.
People in Taro still believe their home is a paradise offering all that humans need to survive. However, that paradise could be under threat from developers says village head I Wayan Suardika.
'The ancient subak and our way of life still exist here, but it is definitely under threat. Investors come sometimes looking to build accommodations, but they require permits under our local laws. If a development would impact our subak system, the permits are denied,' says Suardika, who at 32 years of age is the youngest village head in Gianyar.
