Why Bali is Known as the Island of a Thousand Temples

Editor’s Note :
Starting with edition 6/V/2003 of Bali Travel News, published on Friday, 21 February 2003, this bi-weekly magazine is going to include a series of special articles “Why Bali is known as the Island of a Thousand Temples”, in both Indonesian and English. The article is to analyse in detail, the structures, functions, and types of temples on Bali. The articles composed by Ketut Wiana and Berata Ashrama illustrate the commitment of Bali Travel News and the Bali Post Multimedia Group in promoting the Balinese aspects in tourism.

The Story of Bali’s Name
BALI has many ‘nicknames’. Some people call it the “Island of Dreams”, “Last Paradise”, “Island of Peace”, “Garden Island”, “Island of God”, “Island of a Thousand Temples”, and many other expressions and praises. The beautiful names have generally emerged due to the wonder felt by visitors. As an “Island of a Thousand Temples”, this is interesting because of the facts behind this name, even though there are probably tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of temples spread out throughout the island.
Inside every home, there are places for worship known as “pelangkiran” or a half open box made of wood; in house yards there are holy places called “sanggah” or “merajan” or family temples; in every Banjar Pavilion (meeting place) and “Desa Adat/Pekeraman” area there are temples named “Pura Ratu Penyarikan” and triple “Kahayangan Tiga” temples. There are even temples in the middle of rice fields, on dry agricultural land, in cemeteries, on mountains, in valleys, in low lands, beaches, market places, government and private offices, bus or taxi terminals, and so on.
You will notice there are various places for prayer (temples). Some of these are in temporary conditions in the form of “turus lumbung” as the Balinese call it, or in semi-temporary and simple conditions, whilst others are elaborately decorated with various carvings. In 1979 and 1980, research was made in order to define the total number, functions and characters of temples in Bali. The research concluded that the following temples exist:
1. Kahyangan Tiga temples or places of worship, having an equal degree in the eyes of Hindu adherents living in the area of “desa adat/pakraman” village – a kind of territorial temple.
2. Professional temples such as places of worship provided for persons of commerce, farmers, forestry, fishermen and so on.
3. “Dang Kahyangan” temples
4. “Kahyangan Jagat” temples
5. Various public temples functioning as a means of uniting Hindu believers throughout Bali. (The articles will highlight the characters of each type of temple).
The research concluded that there are11,000 temples, excluding family temples usually established in each upper part and corner of the Balinese family house courtyard. The family temples are five times higher than the number of the five kinds of temples mentioned previously.
There are roughly 3 million Balinese Hindu adherents. If each family consists of four members, there are 750,000 “KK” family units. If every house yard becomes a living place of two family units, there should be on average 375,000 yards, each of which would have a family temple. Places of worship exist in each house yard owned by the Hindu Balinese are known as “sanggah” or “merajan”.
Around the “sanggah” or “merajan” there are at least two buildings of worship known as “kemulan” (base, origin) or “taksu” (spiritual power) used as the media of honouring ancestors. Along with these places of family worship, there is generally a place of worship called “padma sari” as the media of honouring God, and a building of worship called “pengrurah”, “sedan apit lawang”, “piasan”, and “penyimpenan” (place for storing small holy articles). This core family temple, apart from being used as place to honour God and holy ancestors, also functions as a symbol of unity and cohesion in solidarity or mutual care inside the family core.
According to a definition found in “Siwagama” manuscript, adherents living in ten house yards own an additional place of worship called “merajan/kemulan agung” or “sanggah gedong pertiwi”, while every 20 house yards of Hindu believers have one more place of worship called “Pura Paibon” or mother temple, and every 40 house yards have yet another common worshipping place called “pura dadia” or “pura panti” or “pura batur” — differing from “Pura Batur Kahyangan Jagat” in Kintamani, Bangli Regency. At last, 80 house yards owned by Balinese Hindu’s, have one more temple known as “pura pedarman” — a kind of temple functioning as place of prayer for a clan. If we add the number of family temples to the five sorts of temples mentioned above with all of their grades, there are at least 500,000 units of prayer rooms (“pura”) in Bali. This number excludes places of worship in every bedroom, kitchen, work place, guest room, and others known as “pelangkiran”.
So it is not an exaggeration to call Bali an “Island of a Thousand Temples”. For the Balinese Hindu’s, places of worship or holy places (temples) are of importance to express the religious system and conception of belief to God. These holy places are also believed of be the main media to increase intellectualism, civilization, and levels of spiritual consciousness.
From the Hindu point of view of the temples or holy places have two functions: “atma pratistha” and “dewa pratistha”. “Atma pratistha” is the sense and importance to a temple as a place to honour holy ancestral souls called “dewa pitara”, while “dewa pratistha” defines the function, sense, and importance of temples as places to honour deities as manifestations of God.
God, according to Hindu beliefs, owns unlimited multifunction to enlighten His worshippers. Each function – in enlightening His worshippers, is known as a “deity”. That is not to say that God is a multi-deity, but rather that God is one but with unlimited holy light.
Because the temple has a function as a means of “capturing” the holy light of God, it is correct to place temples in the main area, called by Hindu believers living in Bali as upper area (“Uranus”). “Uranus” exists in Balinese Hindu belief as the direction of sunrise or mountains.
Such is the reason why Balinese Hindus in south Bali see the northeast as holy, while those living in north Bali think the southeast as “keluwan” or holy point of the compass. Why are Balinese of the opinion that the direction and location of sunrise and mountains are the main points of the compass?
In an agrarian society, plants depend on the water supply and sun. Seawater vaporizes to become clouds, which produce the rainwater for the soil on and below the surface. This natural water resource lets the water flow from mountains into agricultural areas to irrigate low lands. Thus, fertile lands are of utmost importance for life.
The main goal of honouring God and heavenly human ancestors through temples and holy places is to gain spiritual power to the advantage of human beings to maintain natural soil as a main resource of a fruitful and beautiful life, hand-in-hand with cultural development, by prayers to God.
Thus, we can conclude that Bali is called an “Island of a Thousand Temples” and an “Island of Gods” because of the existence of so many temples and offerings dedicated to human ancestors and deities, playing a multi-functional role in its manifestation as God.
(Summarised by Ketut Wiana & Berata Ashrama)