BALI, KILASSULAWESI– It was drizzling when the G2 Communications and Media Team arrived in Penglipuran Traditional Village, Kubu subdistrict, Bangli, Sunday (11/6/2022). Entering the area, the Team and other visitors were welcomed by rows of bamboo-made traditional houses.
On the village’s main street, people were walking around, most of them were tourists. They seemed to enjoy all the beauty Penglipuran village has to offer, while once in a while taking pictures to capture the moment.
Amidst the intensifying recovery of tourism activities in Bali, many destinations on the Island of Gods beautify themselves for welcoming the international great event of the G20 Summit. Along with other traditional villages, Penglipuran has become one of the areas targeted for infrastructure development.
Kelian (head of village) of Penglipuran Traditional Village I Wayan Budiarta stated that his party has received an infrastructure aid from Bangli Regency government in the form of asphalt pavement installation for village’s street.
He ensured that the village is ready to welcome visitors of the G20 Summit participants. Besides making preparation in its infrastructure, the Traditional Council of the village has also established well-trained tourism managers.
“They are well-trained staffs, ranging from road cleaning staff, ticketing staff, to security staff, all of them are local residents,” Budiarta stated.
Being one of the world’s cleanest villages, Penglipuran has in fact become one of the most popular tourism destinations in Bali. It is not surprising that the village received visits from G20 Delegates last September. The visitors were the participants attending the Energy Ministers’ meeting.
“They expressed their impression on the well-organized and tidy village with orderly society who care for the environment cleanliness and preserve the ancestors’ heritage,” he added.
Still in the same month, tourism ministers participating the 2022 World Tourism Day also paid Penglipuran a visit. There were seven ministers, accompanied by Indonesia’s Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy Sandiaga S. Uno, who visited the village.
Preserving Ancestors’ Heritage
Wayan explained that Penglipuran Village is an ancestor heritage from the 13th century. The village community keep preserving their hundred-years ancestors’ tradition. Since 1993, the Government established this traditional village as tourism village.
The village layout consists of three parts that stand parallel from north to south, called as Tri Mandala, namely Utama Mandala (main sphere), Madya Mandala (middle sphere), and Nista Mandala (lower sphere).
Utama Mandala is located in the north’s summit. There are two pura (shrine), namely Pura Penataran and Pura Puseh that stand side by side. Locals come to these pura to pray. This area is also home to clean and neat bamboo forest.
Meanwhile, Madya Mandala is the residents’ settlement that consists of 78 angkul (doors). Every angkul is inhabited by one clan. Each angkul has varied number of heads of family. Overall, he explained, there are 245 heads of family with total population of 1,100 people.
Lastly, Nista Mandala. It is located in the southern area, where funeral for the locals is also located.
In addition to its landscape, the village’s buildings also have their architectural uniqueness. There are some classical structures in the form of angkul-angkul which means main gate. Cited from penglipuran.net page, the structure of these angkul is all identical.
“Some of them are made of concrete. But since1990, all are made identical by having bamboo roofs,” he further explained.
According to Budiarta, the natural beauty of Penglipuran that has made it a tourism destination is just a bonus. The most important point is residents’ high awareness in preserving ancestors’ heritage culture.
In their day-to-day activity, they apply the concept of Tri Hitha Karana, centering on relations among human being who live in tolerance and full of harmony.(*)