Hierarchy in Bali

Hierarchy is an important notion in Bali and still plays a dominant role in Balinese culture. In Bali, hierarchy is believed to be the foundation of order in the family, society, even in the universe. Most aspects of Balinese culture are influenced by this hierarchal system. In short, everything in Bali is set with hierarchal order.

Space and direction are ranked from the most auspicious mountainwards (kaja) to the least auspicious seawards (kelod). House compound is set with standard hierarchal order in which family temple occupy the most auspicious place (kaja), house for the Balinese occupy the middle area and pigsty occupy the least auspicious place (kelod). Person is ranked base on their caste, Brahmana (high priest), Ksatrya (nobleman), Wesya (gentry), and Jaba (commoner) though some reformist abhorred this idea. Priests are elaborately ranked by their kin group, the level of initiation rituals that have been done for them, and the size of temple they tend. Like persons, ancestors and deities are ranked, sometimes indicated by the number of levels (meru) on their shrines. Language is ranked from refined (alus), common (kepara), and rough (kasar). Religious ceremony is ranked from small (alit), medium (madya), and large (agung). Even the cosmos itself is ranked, from demonic beings and animals, to humanity, to ancestors and gods.

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