Abstract
The relationship between tourism and agriculture has been problematic in Bali. Rapid conversion of agricultural land to develop tourism infrastructures has resulted in the fragmentation of rice fields, concentration of landownership, and marginalisation of farmers and subak (the traditional irrigation society). In order to marry tourism and agriculture, village and heritage tourism is developed to provide an added value to local farmers from tourist visits. This chapter examines the inscription of the Subak Landscape of Catur Angga Batukaru to UNESCO’s World Heritage Regime in an attempt to integrate the conservation of Bali’s cultural heritage with the global tourism market. Without carefully assessing the complex institutional and legal constellation and its implications for the social dynamics within which the landscape is produced, the inscription has led to contestations not only among state institutions, but also among local communities, in their efforts to access the benefits and control the negative externalities arising from UNESCO’s World Heritage Listing.
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Notes
- 1.
Except in Banjar Jatiluwih Kangin, where the positions of Kelihan Banjar (adat hamlet chief) and Kepala Dusun (dinas hamlet chief) are held by one person, in the other banjars, the two positions are separated and occupied by different persons.
- 2.
In Jatiluwih, committee membership of Subak Gede Jatiluwih comprises elected persons representing each subak tempek, who are typically, but not necessarily, the kelihan tempek.
- 3.
The Kelian Subak relies on the information provided by the sharecroppers for whom they work. The only available data on officially registered landownership is the Definitive Plan for the Needs of Subsidised Fertiliser Groups (Rencana Definitif Kebutuhan Kelompok Pupuk Bersubsisi/RDKK). According to Agus Palguna, a district government official at the Penebel Technical Unit of Bureau of Agriculture (interview on 21 February 2015), the RDKK data is far from the reality on the ground.
- 4.
Such as ngapit (75% for landowner and 25% for sharecropper), petelon (60% for landowner and 40% for sharecropper), and nandu (50% for each landowner and sharecropper) by which a different set of obligations are attached based on the negotiations between both parties.
- 5.
Putu Duta, Kelihan of Subak Tempek Kedamaian, recounts his experiences accompanying the Pekaseh to meet a landowner in Denpasar regarding a sharecropper who did not want to be involved in subak activities and who had failed to pay the requisite fines for dereliction of duty. He warned the landowner to pay the fine and to ask the sharecropper to follow the perarem (subak assembly decision); otherwise, no water would be supplied to the rice-field and he would replace the sharecropper with another person. Finally, the landowner paid the fine and asked the sharecropper to be active in subak activities. As water supply is the most essential resource for agriculture, under subak control, until recently, no replacement of sharecroppers had occurred, since both landowner and sharecropper are obliged to comply with the subak demands. Interview with Putu Duta, Kelihan of Subak Tempek Kedamaian, on 20 January 2014.
- 6.
The sub-clans are Pasek Badak, Pasek Gobleg, Pasek Tangkas, Pasek Beratan, Pasek Sekalan, and Pasek Manikan.
- 7.
According to Pan Suka (interview on 3 March 2015), almost three-fourths of the 350 households in Jatiluwih are from Pasek Badak. He believes that there is a Pasek Badak’s Bhisama (religious ruling) which rules that priests serving at Tri Kahyangan (three village temples) and Petali should be from Pasek Badak. Although the position of Bendesa (and Perbekel as it later came to be) is not mentioned in the Bhisama, there is a common aspiration that a leader of Pasek Badak is preferable to maintain the stability and security of the village. He mentioned that there were several moments when a person from a different Pasek clan served as Bendesa and during their term violated the Bhisama. When Nang Kajin, from Pasek Manikan, served as Bendesa in the 1970s, he changed the religious festival (odalan) at Pura Dalem. The festival used to be on the same day as similar festivals at Pura Puseh. Nyoman Murtika, from Pasek Gobleg, served as Bendesa during 1999–2003, coincidently, in tandem with Sumarjaya, from Pasek Manikan, who served as the Perbekel. Murtika changed the traditions where the position of priest at Pura Dalem was allowed to be held by other clans, in particular Pasek Gobleg. It is commonly believed (by Pasek Badak) that those changes have created an imbalance and led to many incidences of suicide, family division, financial issues, and social conflicts, including the controversy over Villa Petali. Recently, the Bendesa and Perbekel positions have been held by Pasak Badak, who have attempted to reintegrate the festival and follow the Pasak Badak Bhisama consistently with little dissent.
- 8.
Interview with Nengah Kartika, Administrative Village Chief (Perbekel) of Desa Jatiluwih, on 21 January 2014.
- 9.
Interviewed with Pan Suka, a farmer, on 21 January 2014.
- 10.
Paragraph 49 of the 2005 Operational Guidelines of the Convention defines the ‘outstanding universal value’ as “cultural and/or natural significance, which is so exceptional as to transcend national boundaries and to be of common importance for present and future generations of all humanity. As such, the permanent protection of this heritage is of the highest importance to the international community as a whole.”
- 11.
Borobudur Temple Compounds (adopted in 1991), Prambanan Temple Compounds (in 1991), Komodo National Park (1991), Ujung Kulon National Park (1991), Sangiran Early Man Site (in 1996), Lorentz National Park (in 1999), Tropical Rainforest Heritage of Sumatera (in 2004; later listed as ‘world heritage in danger’ in 2011), and cultural landscape of Bali Province (in 2012).
- 12.
Besides being regarded as the supreme water temple for the subak in Bangli and Gianyar (Indonesia. MCT 2011), Pura Ulun Danu Batur is also one of the six most sacred temples in Bali (Sad Kahyangan), representing the Lord Wisnu or the god of water.
- 13.
The dossier includes 17 subaks but only 15 of them are mentioned, which are the subaks of: (1) Bedugul; (2) Jatiluwih; (3) Kedampal; (4) Keloncing; (5) Penatahan; (6) Pesagi; (7) Piak; (8) Piling; (9) Puakan; (10) Rajasa; (11) Sangketan; (12) Soka; (13) Tenggalinggah; (14) Tengkudak; and (15) Wongaya Betan. Recently, four more subaks were newly established during the nomination as a result of subdivision (pemekaran), that is, Subak Tingkihkerep, Subak Dalem, Subak Pancoran Sari, and Subak Sri Gumana.
- 14.
For example, it mentions Subak Jatiluwih, Subak Gunungsari, Subak Umadui, and Subak Kusambi. In fact, the last three subaks mentioned are subak tempekan under Subak Jatiluwih as the subak gede.
- 15.
According to the Pekaseh of Subak Senganan, during an interview on 28 September 2014, and Pekaseh of Subak Jatiluwih, in an interview on 7 November 2013. This exclusion has caused complaints from members of Subak Soka, who demand to be included as a part of the Catur Angga ( Bali Post 22/06/2012).
- 16.
Interview with Made Suwitra, Pekaseh of Subak Penatahan, on 28 November 2014. He says that Subak Penatahan will be subdivided shortly into Subak Penatahan and Subak Catur Nadi.
- 17.
It mentions dinas villages within Catur Angga as follows: Jatiluwih, Mengesta, Kelocing, Penatahan, Pesagi, Wongaya Gede, Puakan, Rajasa, Sengketan, Tegallingah, Tengkudak. In fact, Kelocing and Puakan are not dinas villages, but are adat villages that come under Desa Dinas Wongaya Gede and Desa Dinas Tengkudak, respectively. Moreover, there are 16 adat villages stated in the dossier, namely, Wangaya Gede, Jatiluwih, Gunungsari, Mengesta, Penatahan, Pesagi, Piling, Puluk-Puluk, Rejasa, Sangketan, Soka, Tegallinggah, Tengkudak, Wongaya Betan, Babahan, and Utu.
- 18.
Map of Subak Landscape of Catur Angga Batukaru. https://anthropology.arizona.edu/sites/anthropology.arizona.edu/files/u298/Bali%20Partnership%20for%20Governance%20Transition101027small.pdf. Source: Indonesia. MCT (2011).
- 19.
They are originally people from villages surrounding the lake, who moved from their congested family compounds, and many of whom were also refugees from Karangasem due to the Mount Agung eruption in 1963. As they have no land to live and work on, fishing is their main economic activity, and building a settlement within the lake area that is designated by the Bureau of Forestry as a protected forest where no human settlement is permitted, their status is unrecognised. They have continued to settle in the area, arguing that they play a significant role in maintaining temples and protecting the lake and forest areas.
- 20.
Interview with Ketut Artina, Secretary of Catur Desa Dalam Tamblingan, on 6 February 2014.
- 21.
They raised their voices against the Nusa Bali Abadi (NBA) projects on the basis that the forests and lakes are sacred sites (see Strauss 2015). Moreover, the lake fishermen group have been strong local opponents of the development of the Geothermal project at Bedugul in the middle of the protected forests near their villages. They were concerned by the environmental impacts of the power plant on the lake’s water and the sulphur gas emitted with the steam.
- 22.
Interview with Putu Armini, on 24 March 2014; and interviews with Kadek Jaya; Putu Suciwati; Putu Demen; Andalina Tari, on 25 March 2014.
- 23.
This is what Timothy (2007) terms ‘tokenistic involvement’, by which local people are not empowered to be critical of the nomination or to reject the top-down process.
- 24.
Despite many weaknesses in international law, the right to ‘free prior and informed consent’ (FPIC) at least provides a ‘wider set of tactics’ for local communities to engage in open debates and to defer imposed projects until a consensus is reached (Colchester and Farhan Ferrari 2007).
- 25.
Interview with Tjokorda Oka Artha Ardhana Sukawati (Tjok Ace) on 24 January 2014.
- 26.
Prior to the World Heritage nomination, Catur Angga referred solely to the four water temples in the highland of Tabanan (Temples of Besi Kalung, Petali, Tamba Waras, and Batukaru) which play essential ritual roles for subak associations in the district.
- 27.
The prerogatives associated with this separation are a consequence of Indonesian legislation, especially the regional autonomy regime, which gives authorities to district governments to find their own sources of district revenue. Influenced by the demonstration effect of heavily developed Badung District, the District Government of Tabanan is also very keen to develop its own tourist objects as a development priority.
- 28.
Interview with Nyoman Sutama, Pekaseh of Subak Jatiluwih, on 3 March 2015.
- 29.
Interview with Wayan Yasa, the Bendesa of Desa Pakraman Jatiluwih, on 21 January 2014.
- 30.
Although in theory it is the krama that has the authority to make this determination, the Bendesa ’s statement is indicative of his claim to authority over how the benefits should be spent. In contrast, most informants during fieldwork expected that they would be free from pepeson by allocating the benefits to fund regular festivals and temple renovations so that they would focus solely on the customary services (ayahan-ayahan) through labour (interviews with Putu Armini, Putu Kembariani, Putu Demen, & Putu Suciwati, on 25 March 2014; Ketut Nuraja & Kaka, on 6 February 2014).
- 31.
Interview with Nyoman Sutama, Pekaseh of Subak Jatiluwih, on 7 November 2013. He states that although one farmer may also be a member of those three institutions [ subak , desa adat, and desa dinas], his individual role [within each of those institutional structures] is different. As a Pekaseh , representing the subak and its members, he is dedicated to pursuing the interests of the subak and its members.
- 32.
Interviews with Nengah Kartika, the Administrative Village Head (Perbekel) of Desa Jatiluwih, on 21 January 2014; Putu Purnama, the manager of the Operational Management Committee, on 27 January 2014; and Nengah Tirtatayasa, the secretary of the Operational Management Committee, on 23 March 2014.
- 33.
Interviews with Nengah Sudarma, Pekaseh of Subak Kedampal, and Made Sudira, the Bendesa of Desa Pakraman Wongaya Betan, on 23 March 2014.
- 34.
Jatiluwih, Mengesta, Penatahan, Tegallinggah, Rejasa, Pesagi, Wongaya Gede, Tengkudak, Babahan, Sangketan.
- 35.
KD, a staff of the District Planning Bureau of Tabanan, says that the land tax subsidy would be derived from a cross-subsidy. This would mean either that the government budget would be cut to subsidise tax relief, or increasing land taxes would be imposed upon areas outside Catur Angga to provide the subsidies within the heritage-declared area. The latter is very likely to raise controversy from farmers outside Catur Angga. It would hardly serve the conservation goals of the World Heritage framework if support policies increased the burdens on farmers outside the site. Despite facing similar threats, farmers located outside Catur Angga are treated as ‘second class’ only because their subak landscape is less aesthetically appealing to international tourists. From the government policy perspective, this has more to do with the ‘exchange’ value of the landscape for tourism that has the potential to be exploited for purely economic rather than protected for cultural and ecological reasons.
- 36.
According to Putu Duta, Subak Tempek Kedamaian has the largest percentage of sharecroppers within Subak Jatiluwih. Overall sharecropping in Subak Jatiluwih is around 5% according to the Pekaseh but in Tempek Subak Kedamaian it is up to 16% (interview on 20 January 2014).
- 37.
This reflects a principle of ‘generalised reciprocity’ in anthropological terms (see Sahlins 1974, 193–194), although perceptions of bounded rights nonetheless lead them to exclude outside farmers.
- 38.
Interview with Ketut Suci, Kelian of Subak Tempek Besi Kalung, on 23 March 2014. Similar attitudes are also expressed by Putu Ardana, member of Subak Tempek Besi Kalung, interview on 21 January 2014, and Made Buana, the former Bendesa of Desa Pakraman Jatiluwih and member of Subak Tempek Besi Kalung, interview on 7 November 2013.
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Wardana, A. (2019). The Making of World Heritage Landscape. In: Contemporary Bali. Palgrave Macmillan, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-2478-9_5
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