Subak is the water management (irrigation) system for the

paddy field A paddy field is a flooded field (agriculture), field of arable land used for growing Aquatic plant, semiaquatic crops, most notably rice and taro. It originates from the Neolithic rice-farming cultures of the Yangtze River basin in sout ...

s on

Bali Bali () is a province of Indonesia and the westernmost of the Lesser Sunda Islands. East of Java and west of Lombok, the province includes the island of Bali and a few smaller neighbouring islands, notably Nusa Penida, Nusa Lembongan, and Nu ...

island,

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

. It was developed in the

9th century The 9th century was a period from 801 ( DCCCI) through 900 ( CM) in accordance with the Julian calendar. The Carolingian Renaissance and the Viking raids occurred within this period. In the Middle East, the House of Wisdom was founded in Abbasid ...

. For the Balinese, irrigation is not simply providing water for the plant's roots, but water is used to construct a complex, pulsed artificial ecosystem. The system consists of five terraced rice fields and water temples covering nearly . The temples are the main focus of this cooperative water management, known as ''subak''.

Religious relationship

Subak is a traditional ecologically sustainable irrigation system that binds Balinese agrarian society together within the village's Bale Banjar community center and

Balinese temple A pura is a Balinese Hindu temple, and the place of worship for adherents of Balinese Hinduism in Indonesia. Puras are built in accordance to rules, style, guidance and rituals found in Balinese architecture. Most puras are found on the island o ...

s. The water management is under the authority of the priests in water temples, who practice

Tri Hita Karana Tri Hita Karana is a traditional philosophy for life on the island of Bali, Indonesia. The literal translation is roughly the "three causes of well-being" or "three reasons for prosperity." The three causes referred to in the principle are: # Harm ...

Philosophy, a self-described relationship between humans, the earth and the gods. Tri Hita Karana draws together the realm of spirit, the human world and nature. The overall subak system exemplifies this philosophical principle. Water temple rituals promote a harmonious relationship between people and their environment through the active engagement of people with ritual concepts that emphasize dependence on the life-sustaining forces of the natural world. Rice is seen as the gift of god, and the subak system is part of temple culture.

System

Subak components are the forests that protect the water supply, terraced paddy landscape,

rice Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice) or less commonly ''Oryza glaberrima ''Oryza glaberrima'', commonly known as African rice, is one of the two domesticated rice species. It was first domesticated and grown i ...

fields connected by a system of

canal Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface flow un ...

tunnel A tunnel is an underground passageway, dug through surrounding soil, earth or rock, and enclosed except for the entrance and exit, commonly at each end. A pipeline is not a tunnel, though some recent tunnels have used immersed tube cons ...

s and

weir A weir or low head dam is a barrier across the width of a river that alters the flow characteristics of water and usually results in a change in the height of the river level. Weirs are also used to control the flow of water for outlets of l ...

s, villages, and temples of varying size and importance that mark either the source of water or its passage through the temple on its way downhill to irrigate subak land. Rice, the water required to grow rice, and subak, the cooperative canal system that controls the water, have together shaped the landscape over the past thousand years. Water from springs and canals flows through the temples and out onto the rice paddy field. In total, Bali has about 1,200 water collectives and between 50 and 400 farmers manage the water supply from one source of water. The property consists of five sites that exemplify the interconnected natural, religious, and cultural components of the traditional subak system. The sites include: # the Supreme Water Temple of

Pura Ulun Danu Batur Pura Ulun Danu Batur (also known as "Pura Batur" or "Pura Ulun Danu") is a Hindu Balinese temple located in the island of Bali, Indonesia. As one of the Pura Kahyangan Jagat, Pura Ulun Danu Batur is one of the most important temples in Bali whi ...

on the edge of

Mount Batur Mount Batur ''(Gunung Batur)'' is an active volcano located at the center of two concentric calderas north west of Mount Agung on the island of Bali, Indonesia. The south east side of the larger 10×13 km caldera contains a caldera lake. Bot ...

crater lake, (Lake Batur) is regarded as the ultimate origin of every spring and river; # the Subak landscape of the Pakerisan river watershed the oldest known irrigation system in Bali; # the Subak landscape of

Catur Angga Batukaru Catur means "four" in Sanskrit, and may refer to: * Chaturanga, an ancient Indian strategy board game * Turiya In Hindu philosophy, ''turiya'' (Sanskrit: तुरीय, meaning "the fourth") or chaturiya, chaturtha, is pure consciousness ...

with terraces mentioned in a 10th-century inscription making them amongst the oldest in Bali and prime examples of Classical Balinese temple architecture; and the Royal Water temple of

Pura Taman Ayun Pura Taman Ayun is a compound of Balinese temple and garden with water features located in Mengwi subdistrict in Badung Regency, Bali, Indonesia. Henk Schulte Nordholt wrote in his book ''Negara Mengwi'' that Taman Ayun was renovated in 1750. T ...

, the largest and most architecturally distinguished regional water temple, exemplifying the fullest expansion of the subak system under the largest

Bali Kingdom The Kingdomship of Bali was a series of Hindu-Buddhist kingdoms that once ruled some parts of the volcanic island of Bali, in Lesser Sunda Islands, Indonesia. With a history of native Balinese kingship spanning from the early 10th to early 20t ...

of the 17th century. These architectural sites are inspired by several different ancient religious traditions, including

Shaiva Siddhanta Shaiva Siddhanta () (Tamil: சைவ சித்தாந்தம் "Caiva cittāntam") is a form of Shaivism that propounds a dualistic philosophy where the ultimate and ideal goal of a being is to become an enlightened soul through Shiv ...

and Samkhyā Hinduism,

Vajrayana Vajrayāna ( sa, वज्रयान, "thunderbolt vehicle", "diamond vehicle", or "indestructible vehicle"), along with Mantrayāna, Guhyamantrayāna, Tantrayāna, Secret Mantra, Tantric Buddhism, and Esoteric Buddhism, are names referring t ...

Buddhism and Austronesian cosmology.

World Heritage Site status

On 6 July 2012, subak was enlisted as a

UNESCO World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...

. Cultural Landscape of Bali Province: the Subak System as a Manifestation of the Tri Hita Karana Philosophy, consist of Supreme Water Temple ''Pura Ulun Danu Batu''r and Lake Batur, Subak Landscape of ''Pakerisan'' Watershed, Subak Landscape of ''Catur Angga Baturkaru'', and Royal Temple of ''Taman Ayun'' has been inscribed upon a World Heritage List of The Conservation concerning the protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage. Inscription on this list confirm the outstanding universal value of cultural or natural property which deserves protection for the benefit of all humanity.

Museum

In 1981, the

Subak Museum Subak () is an ancient martial art that originated in Korea and uses bare hand techniques. The term was also used in Korea to refer to any fighting style that used bare hands. It is a different fighting style from Soo Bahk Do, which is a modern ...

opened in

Tabanan Regency Tabanan is one of the regencies (''kabupaten'') in Bali, Indonesia. Relatively underdeveloped (compared with Badung and Denpasar to the east), Tabanan Regency has an area of 1,013.88 km2 and had a population of 386,850 in 2000, rising to 42 ...

Gallery

File:Mount batur and lake.jpg,

Lake Batur Lake Batur is a volcanic crater lake in Kintamani, Bali, Bangli Regency of Bali, located about northeast of Ubud in Bali. The lake is inside of the caldera of an active volcano, Mount Batur, located along the Ring of Fire of volcanic activity. ...

File:PuraUDBaturNewShrinesDetail.JPG, Ulun Danu Batur Temple File:Pura Tirta Empul, Ubud, Bali, Indonesia.JPG,

Tirta Empul Temple Tirta Empul temple () is a Hindu Balinese water temple located near the town of Tampaksiring, Bali, Indonesia. The temple compound consists of a ''petirtaan'' or bathing structure, famous for its holy spring water, where Balinese Hindus go to ...

File:1 pura taman ayun bali 2011.jpg, Royal Temple of Taman Ayun File:COLLECTIE TROPENMUSEUM Waterspuwers op de badplaats bij de Pura Goa Gajah of Olifantsgrot TMnr 20027326.jpg, Balinese water-spout statue in

Goa Gajah Goa Gajah, or Elephant Cave, is located on the island of Bali near Ubud, in Indonesia. Built in the 9th century, it served as a sanctuary. History Although the exact origins of the cave are uncertain, it is believed to have been built as pla ...

petirtaan (sacred bathing pool) File:Bali panorama.jpg, Rice Terraces at Tegalalang,

Gianyar Gianyar Regency is a regency (''kabupaten'') in the Indonesian province and island of Bali, Indonesia. It has an area of 368.0 km2 and had a population of 469,777 at the 2010 Census, and 515,344 at the 2020 Census, making it the second most ...

References

External links

Cultural Landscape of Bali Province: the ''Subak'' System as a Manifestation of the ''Tri Hita Karana'' Philosophy
*
Pengakuan Subak Sebagai Warisan Budaya Dunia
{{World Heritage Sites in Indonesia World Heritage Sites in Indonesia Agriculture in Indonesia Indonesian culture Natural history of Indonesia Irrigation Irrigation canals

Cultural Properties of Indonesia in Bali