Tenganan Pegringsingan is a Village that is located in theeastern part of Bali. Even among the highly spiritual villages in Bali,Tenganan Pegringsingan is still considered as a very unique and secluded one.In fact, this Village is one of the few Aga villages in Bali.
Tenganan Pegringsingan is very special in terms of culturalheritage as it is almost free from any outside influence. The villagers are tryingto keep their Village pure and clean. As a result, Tenganan Pegringsingan ishighly unique, even compared to other exotic villages in Bali.
Bali Aga
Bali Aga is the actual indigenous inhabitant of Bali. Today, they mostly live in the eastern part of the island. Bali Aga, also often called Bali Mula, is the original inhabitant of Bali who had lived on this island before the arrival of Hindu migrants from Java.
Even though they later embraced Hinduism, they also still adhered to the local culture which can be seen from their distinctive language, architecture, village layout, and the artistic crafts.
Unique houses
If you come to the traditional village of TengananPegringsingan, you will find traditional houses that are not even influenced byMelanesian architecture. Most traditional houses here have a small door, palmroof, and wooden floor.
Fences made of stone are neatly arranged. The layout of thisvillage follows very strict rules that have been maintained for thousands ofyears. Every building, however small, must be placed in a predeterminedposition.
Gringsing cloth
The majority of the villagers of Tenganan work as farmers.In between taking care of the rice fields, the people here also produce varioushandicrafts. The most famous one is the Gringsing fabric, which is the hallmarkof Tenganan Village. The weaving method is very unique, using a double tietechnique that is not found anywhere else in Indonesia.
Pandan war
One of the rituals performed by the people of Tengananvillage is the Pandan War. Two young men were pitted against each other in aspecial arena. Each young man carries a weapon; a bunch of thorny pandan leaveswhich have sharp spines. They try to inflict each other’s bodies with lashesfrom the leaves’ sharp thorns. This is not a spectacle for those faint ofhearts because there will be blood!
This bloody match was held as a form of physical and mentaltraining for youth. After the battle is over, the wounds will be treatedimmediately using traditional ingredients made from various kinds of tubers.The wound will usually heal in a few days.
Location of the village of Tenganan Pegringsingan
Tenganan Village, administratively, is included in theManggis District area, Karangasem Regency. This village is about 70 km fromNgurah Rai airport. This village can be accessed easily from all regions inBali as the road infrastructure is good.
If you want to see the life of the indigenous people ofBali, come to the village of Tenganan. Here, you will be able to see that thelives of ancient Balinese are still maintained today.