Four Names in Bali: Balinese Naming Traditions

 

Yell “WAYAN!” on a crowded street and observe how many people are looking at you! Have you ever wondered why it seems like there are only four names in Bali? This article will shed some light on the naming customs of this unique island.

 

How Balinese Names Work

 

In Bali, a name isn't just a label, but has deep meaning, often reflecting a person's caste, birth order, and gender. In the past, castes were used to categorize people according to their role in society. Today, however, these castes are maintained mainly to preserve family lineage.

 

Balinese names are a combination of the person's ancestor's caste, gender, and birth order.

 

Caste-Based Names

 

Balinese society has traditionally been structured into four castes, each with its own set of names:

 

1. Brahmana: The highest caste, typically consisting of priests and scholars. Men often have names starting with "Ida Bagus," and women with "Ida Ayu."

 

2. Ksatria: The warrior caste, including royalty and nobility, often uses names like "Gusti Ngurah" for men and "Gusti Ayu" for women. In this caste, you might also encounter names like Cokorda, Anak Agung, Dewa, and Desak.

 

3. Waisya: This merchant and artisan caste traditionally employed names beginning with 'Ngakan,' 'Kompyang,' 'Sang,' and 'Si.' However, these names are becoming less common.

 

4. Sudra: The lowest caste, typically composed of laborers and farmers. Names for males start with “I,” and for females with “Ni,” followed by the order of birth. For instance, "Wayan" for the first-born, "Made" for the second, and so on. About 90% of the Balinese population falls into this category.

 

The significance of these caste classifications has dwindled in contemporary Balinese society as many traditional rules, such as assigning specific professions to particular castes, have become obsolete. For instance, it's no longer uncommon to find someone named "Ida Bagus" working in the hospitality industry or even "I Wayan" serving as Bali's provincial governor.

 

Birth Order-Based Names

 

Birth order plays a significant role in Balinese names, leading to a relatively small pool of names that are frequently recycled:

 

1. The first-born child can be named Wayan or Putu, which works for both sexes. Other variations include “Gede” (meaning "big" for males) and “Luh” for females.

 

2. The second child is often named Made, or "Madé." Variations include Nengah and Kadek.

 

3. The third child might be named Nyoman or Komang, derived from the word ‘Anom’ meaning young.

 

4. The fourth child is named Ketut.

 

5. For families with more than four children, the cycle repeats, with the fifth child receiving the same name as the first, followed by additional variations like “Alit” or “Balik.”

 

And that's how names work in Bali

What makes Luwak Coffee so famous and valuable are its processes of selection and digestion by the Asian palm civet. Yes, you read me correctly, digestion!

The selection occurs if the civets choose to eat coffee cherries, the digestion improves the flavor of the coffee beans that have been eaten. The animal eats the cherries for the pulp’s taste, then the digestion begins and followed by fermentation of the bean. Later, the cherries go across the civet’s intestine, then the fruits are defecated with other fecal substances and finally collected by the farmer.

The civet produces enzymes during the digestion process which are altering the taste of the product. This coffee is lusted for by a lot of persons across the world, to the point where consumers are willing to pay $200 per pound of Luwak Coffee.

This kind of coffee is produced mostly in Sumatra but also in Java and even in Bali. If you want to try Luwak coffee's peculiar taste you have to leave the coast and penetrate into the center of the island, such as Ubud area for example.

The banjar are the local community that apply the traditional laws, each area of Bali has its own Banjar which is supervised by the representative chiefs (klian adat) of each family living in the area. The leader is elected and a medium is used to approve whether or not his nomination speaks in the name of Gods. They commonly meet every month to discuss different matters: they determine dates for local religious events, they raise funds for ceremonies and allocate them for temple maintenance. They also have a role in property transactions happening in the area. A commonplace is shared in a Banjar and used as a common room as well as a meeting room for the gatherings.

Every married man has to belong to a Banjar. Every ceremony has to be approved by the Banjar and different Banjar can split the organization of ceremonies throughout the year. When it comes to making a decision it has to be unanimous among the families. Since 1979 the Banjar is an official Indonesian structure, the lowest and more local one.

Whereas the Banjar represented a physical space in the past, nowadays two Banjar can share an area, and the term Banjar represents more the group of people that compounds it. Every member of a Banjar has responsibilities and has to help the community. A Banjar is also a keeper of traditions: they watch that local people are hired rather than foreigners, regulate the traffic when there are ceremonies and are sometimes acting as an intermediary in some conflicts.