Tenganan Village

Deep in the beautiful hills of Bukit Kauh in the west and Bukit Kangin in the east, near the divine volcano of Gunung Agung, a unique village of Tenganan is located, consisting of two smaller villages of Tenganan Pegeringsingan and Dauh Tukad.  From the top of the hills, the views of boundless array of vegetation like coconut, sugar palm and breadfruit trees with extensive customary forests and rice field terraces are evidence of limitless prosperity.

Tenganan is one of the three oldest villages of Bali Aga or Bali Kuna.  The Tenganan people still continue to preserve the heritage of an ancient Balinese Hinduism that has existed long before the Majapahit era, worshipping Bhatara Indra, High God in the temple of Tenganan and Creator of Kaung and Keling, their original pair of ancestors. They truly embrace the traditional values and religious teachings of their ancestors in their daily life.

A reflection of a palatial sacred world, the village gives an immense sense of undisrupted purity to tradition and way of life that have been maintained from generation to generation. Awig awig, a preserved 11th century customary law that is renewed in 1842, regulates the life of the village and its people, such as in determining the form, size and location of its temples, roads and long houses.

The craftsmanship of Tenganan people are unparalleled technically and aesthetically, using only their local resources. Their dynamic and skillful hands and inherited knowledge that have proven the test of time from generation to generation, have made them more adept in making impeccable pieces. Their paintings on roasted lontar or palm leaf show their acute creativity, while their mastery in making and playing gamelan selonding, a sacred musical ensemble made of iron, is impressive.

According to the local fable, on a clear night, Bhatara Indra was sitting on the hills overlooking Tenganan to admire the beautiful landscape of the village in a sky full of bright stars. He asked the Tenganan women to weave the most beautiful constellation as patterns into the cloth on his honor. Then, he began to paint the patterns on shadow images onto the sky. This pattern is later known as Geringsing.

Geringsing, a worldwide famous traditional cloth, is an exclusive Tenganan tenun textile made from very complex traditional double weaving method using threads from one seeded cotton trees grown in Nusa Penida.  The threads then soaked in candlenut oil to get a stronger, darker, softer and long-lasting threads. The three natural colors of Geringsing are red, black and yellow. It takes months even years to make it.  It is such a precious family heirloom and sacred cloth that it is only used for specific religious rituals and lifecycle ceremonies, like tooth filling and weddings. There are about 24 beautiful patterns of Gerinsing and each of them has a certain philosophy that relates to the use of it and who is fit to wear it.

The craftsmanship of Tenganan people are unparalleled technically and aesthetically, using only their local resources.

The indigenous Bali Aga traditional wedding attire for the bride and groom, along with their respective parents.
"Rejang Dance" is a sacred dance unique to Tenganan Pegringsingan village and performed only on Bali Hindu "Aci Kasa" holy week, which usually falls in January or early February. The dance ritual is carried out in the morning and in the evening for six days. The performers are called "dehas", village teens or younger girls who have mastered the dance.
"Rejang Dance" is a sacred dance unique to Tenganan Pegringsingan village and performed only on Bali Hindu "Aci Kasa" holy week, which usually falls in January or early February. The dance ritual is carried out in the morning and in the evening for six days. The performers are called "dehas", village teens or younger girls who have mastered the dance.
While Bali Aga women wear their Gringsing handwoven cloths as chest-wraps, the males wear theirs as layer-wrap over their white or red sarongs. Featured here are Bali Aga young men during Mekare Kare ritual in their village of Tenganan Pegringsingan.
Indigenous Bali Aga women of Tenganan Pegringsingan village are characterised by their distinct style of attire which invariably consists of their very own handwoven Kemben (half-body wrap top) and a Sarong bottom, keeping maroon as their signature colour.
Indigenous Bali Aga women of Tenganan Pegringsingan village are characterised by their distinct style of attire which invariably consists of their very own handwoven Kemben (half-body wrap top) and a Sarong bottom, keeping maroon as their signature colour.
Indigenous Bali Aga women of Tenganan Pegringsingan village are characterised by their distinct style of attire which invariably consists of their very own handwoven Kemben (half-body wrap top) and a Sarong bottom, keeping maroon as their signature colour.
By mix-matching their very own handwoven Grinsing works and Javanese batik, the Bali Aga women of Tenganan Pegringsingan village create a timeless feminine appeal, both natural and elegant.
Women in the village of Tenganan Pegringsingan often mix match Javanese batik sarong and their signature handwoven Gringsing ikat chest-wrap. The much sought-after Grinsing ikats are believed to have a protective power against bad spirits and diseases.
Aside from their usual maroon-coloured handwomen Sarongs and white Kembens, the women of Tenganan Pegringsingan village produce stunning black batik chest-wraps, as elegantly worn here by two generations.
Aside from their usual maroon-coloured handwomen Sarongs and white Kembens, the women of Tenganan Pegringsingan village produce stunning black batik chest-wraps, as elegantly worn here by two generations.
A ritual of bringing home rice paddy harvest by peasants of indigenous Bali Aga community in Tenganan Pegringsingan.
Banten Pepare Usaba Kasa is a special form of Bali Hindu offerings found among the indigenous Bali Aga community of Tenganan Pegringsingan during the Bali Calendar's holy week in late January or early February.
Banten Pepare Usaba Kasa is a special form of Bali Hindu offerings found among the indigenous Bali Aga community of Tenganan Pegringsingan during the Bali Calendar's holy week in late January or early February.
A Pedanda (Bali Hindu priest) presiding a ritual in the village of Tenganan Pegringsingan, the home of the Balinese indigenous Bali Aga community.
Banten Pepare Usaba Kasa is a special form of Bali Hindu offerings found among the indigenous Bali Aga community of Tenganan Pegringsingan during the Bali Calendar's holy week in late January or early February.
An indigenous Bali Aga woman practices Sanggah Gedebong, a rite of gratitude to the guiding spirits in the village of Tenganan Pegringsingan.
Two generations of indigenous Bali Aga pose alongside their heritage wooden spindle, a highly prized possession in the traditional weaver village of Tenganan.
Hand-weaving skills are handed down through generations among female members of the indigenous Bali Aga village of Tenganan Pegringsingan. Only traditional tools and methods are applied to ensure the integrity of their Gringsing ikats through time.
Two generations of indigenous Bali Aga pose alongside their heritage wooden spindle, a highly prized possession in the traditional weaver village of Tenganan.
All-natural Grisingan handwoven cloths bear consistency in colourings and patterns. In the hands of Tenganan weavers, the simplest tools produce the most priced cloths.
All-natural Grisingan handwoven cloths bear consistency in colourings and patterns. In the hands of Tenganan weavers, the simplest tools produce the most priced cloths.
Balinese traditional "selonding" gamelan master-craftsmen at work in their indigenous Bali Aga village of Tenganan Pegringsingan.

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