Friday night Chris and I were out in a bar called Malibu Café, you’ll know it because its located in the middle of the main street with a knock off Malibu drink sign. It is one of the only places with live music and the guys who work here lean strongly to the Bob Marley direction as far as attitude and music.
We chatted to barman Komang who was a super well spoken guy. Aged around 22, he told us he was from the Bali Aga village of Tenganan and then went on to educatre us about Balinese culture. Komang told us that his people, the original Balinese, are genetically simialr to the people in Orissa India. There was a French group of scientists who studdied DNA samples from both areas. Komang told us that there are many cultural similarities too, working with wild water buffalo, the making of cloth etc. Komang told us that Tenganan has a lot of land per inhabitant, compared to other villages in Bali. Tenganan has 600 people, and 900 hectares of land. The people do not want to give away their land to outsiders or polute their traditional lineage with outside blood, so must marry someone from the village. Tenganan is split into west, central and east, and the east is split into north and south. Komang said the north part is for people from the village who have violated the traditional laws and have been expelled, the south part is for outsiders, meaning other Balinese. Fascinating stuff.
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Sounds like my friend Komang. A faily small, nice looking young guy, who dresses casually but well.
We went with him to Tenganan in August of last year and met his family. His mother weaves double ikat material on a hand loom on the floor. I have a piece on display in my home. He is a very good guide and a wealth of information.
Emiko and I were on the back of Komang’s and his mate’s motorbikes. Of course, none of us were wearing helmets. On the way back, we’d just turned into Candi Dasa main street. Suddenly the two guys pulled off the road into a shop parking area. I thought it was to let a big truck go past, rather than have him tailgate us. Not so, the guys hed spotted the police roadblock up ahead and people getting pulled over for not wearing helmets. Another lucky escape from the traditional Balinese donation ceremony!
If you see Komang again Nick, please remember me to him.
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