one reason some anthropological researchers have been somewhat critical
of Geertz’s approach to the study of Bali (Howe, 2001).
The key aspect missing from Geertz’s “Deep Play” essay is the broader
socio-cultural and political-economic context. As stated above, to some
extent he deals with that in his bookNegara(Geertz, 1980).But even when
one reads all of the scattered work on Bali there is a sense in which Geertz
does not put enough emphasis on the broader geopolitics of Bali and of the
nation-state of Indonesia since independence. In this essay I deal with one
central feature of Balinese society not emphasized by Geertz: theodalan.
As mentioned, an odalan is a temple ceremony carried out by members of
a village community. In recent years some younger people, especially young
men, have been less committed to the community responsibilities of the
odalan and similar festivals. But frequent community rituals are, neverthe-
less, still the glue that holds Balinese society together.
Everyone is expected to be present when a temple festival is being held.
Each village may have three temples (pura): one is dedicated to Brahma
(Brahma), one to Vishnu (Wisnu), and one to Shiva (Siva), respectively.
The Balinesewuku(tika) 210-day calendar makes it very clear when specific
temple festivals have to be held. The cycle of temple odalan is such that it
is closely coordinated with the irrigation of wet rice paddy, or sawah
(sawa)(Bateson, 1970 [1949]). Lansing (1991, pp. 5072) does an excellent
job of summarizing the interrelationship between the calendar and irriga-
tion. The growth cycle of the rice crop is calculated to a fine degree.
Calendrical cycles do not just symbolize the cultivation of rice, they actu-
ally promote a very finely tuned way of moving through a series of steps
that have direct usefulness: water opening (mapag toyo), preparation of
fields, transplanting, growth, appearance, flowering of the plants, and har-
vest. Large cycles are the main set and then there are many (e.g., ten, fif-
teen) subsets of smaller cycles. (The pattern can also be seen in gamelan
music. Noting the comparison make the music of the gamelan even more
enchanting.) The physical manifestation of the wuku calendar is something
called atika. The tika can be made of wood. It can also be a painting. The
tika calendars are highly prized by those who fully understand the wuku
calendar system. The powers of the visible world (sekala) are ultimately
controlled by the immaterial world of deities (niskala), especially the rice
goddess (Eiseman, 1990). Thesubaksystem is a complex topic of its own. I
will not attempt to summarize it here, except to say that is tends to be
highly egalitarian (Lansing, 1991; Warren, 1993). There is probably nothing
quite comparable to a subak system in North America or Europe, although
rural sociologists have studied somewhat premodern, preglobal finance
capitalist systems in many places (Falk, Schulman, & Tickyer, 2003).^5
Geertz’s “Thick Description” and a Balinese Temple Ritual 101