International Journal of Indonesian Studies Volume 1, Issue 3 | Page 8

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF INDONESIAN STUDIES
SPRING 2016
original site of the palace and the territory of the royal household. Today, remnants of the
original village can still be seen within an enclave of an expanded Tabanan town. The village
comprises 23 banjar/social communities, with around 30,000 inhabitants (Bappeda, 2006).
The inhabitants have a large cemetery to facilitate their cremation rituals, located at the
southeast of the central area. This area is approximately 35,000 square metres in area,
making it one of the largest cemeteries in Bali. Even though the cemetery was relocated
following the period of Dutch colonialism, the ceremony follows essentially the same route
and adheres to the same ritual protocols. The only variation to the route is an additional 200
metres that extends to the more elevated relocation of the cemetery which is more
demanding for the bearers.
We will explore the historically important site of the Tabanan palace that forms the
geographical and symbolic focus of the ceremony, and the route of the procession in the
context of the cremation service and its community of participants/onlookers. The
processions and their related rituals have long been recognised as an integral part of the
civic life of the community, which is increasingly being threatened by the impact of the
changes of land ownership and the adoption of western models of commercialisation.
Hence, the investigation asks if the preservation of this ceremony can exist in harmony with
this ‘modernisation’, without the latter undermining the still vibrant traditional practices of
Balinese society.
The site of the Tabanan palace as the geographical focus of the ceremony
The history of the Tabanan palace starts with the invasion of Bali by the Majapahit empire in
1343. After the invasion, Sira Arya Kenceng, one of the troop leaders (ksatryan), remained in
Bali and built his royal palace in Buahan village as a part of Tabanan region (Darta et.al. 1996:
12-6).5 He had two sons, Sri Megada Prabu (Dewa Raka) and Sri Megada Natha (Dewa
Made), both of whom continued this royal dynasty, whilst two other sons (by another wife)
made their royal residence elsewhere in Badung. After Sira Arya Kenceng passed away, the
younger brother (Sri Megada Natha) succeeded his father as the second King of Tabanan
(the older son did not want to be the King). According to legend, Sri Megada Natha heard a
voice which told him to move and build a new palace in a certain place, signalled by the
release of lightning in the middle of the night. He found that place and then built a new
palace located approximately 4 km to the southwest from the original site. However, Sri
Megada Natha did not reside in this palace, but instead became a hermit and lived in
isolation. The oldest son of the king (Sira Arya Ngurah Langwang) then became the third
King in the new palace with the appropriate title of Sira Arya Ngurah Tabanan, the name
given to the palace in the fifteenth century (Anonymous, 1960; Darta et.al. 1996: 16).

5

The sources of information about Tabanan Kingdom can be found at the inscription of Babad Arya Tabanan.
Gedong Kertya Singaraja No. Va 1792/13, published by Yayasan Parisada Hindu Dharma Kabupaten Badung,
dated 17th March 1974, and the inscription of Babad Arya Kenceng, owned by Kantor Dokumentasi Budaya
Bali Pr opinsi Daerah Tingkat I Bali, translated by I Putu Mertha (1995).

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