Bali Aga architecture

Bali Aga architecture refers to the architecture of the Bali Aga people, the mountain people of Bali, Indonesia. Compared to the lowland Balinese people, the relative isolation of the Bali Aga people meant that they have been less influenced by Hindu-Buddhist traditions. This separate history can be seen in the vernacular architecture of the Bali Aga which shows more similarity with the Austronesian tradition shared with many Indonesian people across the archipelago.

The layout of Bali Aga villages are similarly aligned with the lowland Balinese villages. Villages are laid out in relation with the mountain-sea axis of kaja ("to the mountain") and kelod ("to the sea") axis, and the sun path of kangin (where the sun rises, East) and kauh (where the sun sets, West). House compounds are laid out in a kaja-kelod axis, facing a broad avenue. Each house compound (called a banjaran or pekarangan) are enclosed by an earthen wall or hedge. These house compounds contains houses belonging to an extended family.

The heart of a Bali Aga village is the community longhouses called bale lantang (also bale agung ("great pavilion") or bale banjar ("village pavilion")), a sacred council house. These structures are raised on a brick plinth and oriented longitudinally on an uphill-downhil axis. Village council meeting are held in a bale lantang, which take place every new and full moon. Household heads come together and take their place in the bale lantang according to a strict order of precedence, which requires them to be seated in two parallel rows in order of their seniority. The most senior member is always on the uphill (kaja) end on the kangin (sunrise) side.

Bali Aga villages may be found throughout the mountains around Kintamani in central Bali. Among the most notable Bali Aga village is Tenganan in Karangasem Regency.

The layout and function of the house compound of Bali Aga people is very different with the low Balinese house compound. The first differences is that each building in a house compound are not functionally differentiated. In lowland Balinese, each house (a pavilion or bale) has a specific function, e.g. bale meten is a pavilion for sleeping and paon is a pavilion for cooking. In Bali Aga house compound, each house is a self-contained entity where the sleeping area, kitchen, and all the functions of a house is situated. Unlike the lowland Balinese, where only certain people can use a certain pavilion (e.g. House Meten is only for the head of the household), each Bali Aga house is home to a married couple, their children, and sometimes a dependent elderly parent. A family unit in Bali Aga is known as kuren; kuren is a Bali Aga term for both a hearth and for a group of people who share the food cooked upon it.

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