Strong Social Organization System
The basis of this
community structure is called
Subak and
Banjar. Everyone who owns a rice paddy must join the Subak in their village. The Subak controls who will plant rice and when (plantings are staggered so that pestilence is minimized). As well and more importantly, the Subak ensures that all farmers receive their fair share of irrigation water since traditionally the head the Subak was the farmer whose field was at the bottom of the hill and water first had to pass through everybody else's field before it was allowed to irrigate his. The other important community structure is the Banjar that organizes all other aspects of Balinese life (i.e. marriages, cremations, community service, festivals and the like). When a man marries, he is expected to join the village Banjar and must participate in community affairs. Meetings are held at a large open-air building called the Bale Banja.
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