Balinese Architecture. Julian Davison
one of the eight cardinal and intercardinal points of the compass, while the ninth square occupies the center of the rose.
Deities and Dimensions
| Units of Measurement | Deity | Status or Attribute | Compass Direction |
| One | (Dewi) Sri | Goddess of Rice | Kaja-kangin |
| Two | Indra | Lord of the Heavens | Kangin |
| Three | Guru | Supreme Teacher | kelod-kangin |
| Four | Yama | Lord of Hell | Kelod |
| Five | Rudra | Dissolver of Life | Kelod-kauh |
| Six | Brahma | God of Fire | Kauh |
| Seven | Kala | Lord of Darkness | Kaja-kauh |
| Eight | Uma | Mother of all Nature | Kaja |
Distance and Position
The first building to be erected in the compound is the householder’s sleeping pavilion (meten). All subsequent structures are laid out in relation to this starting-out point. The distance between the different buildings in the compound, and their position and proximity to the compound’s walls, is critical.
The principal unit of measurement employed is the length of the house owner’s foot (tampak), and again the number of units for a particular dimension is calculated by reference to the Balinese compass rose. The system works as follows: each of the four cardinal points—and their intermediaries—are associated with a particular deity in the Balinese Hindu pantheon, and as the compound is measured out in paces, the names of the deities are recited (p. 6). A single pace is identified with the rice goddess Dewi Sri, two paces with Indra, three paces with Guru, and so on until one arrives at eight paces (Uma), whereupon the cycle begins again.
Each deity in the Balinese Hindu pantheon is also associated with one of the cardinal directions and a particular set of attributes (see table, p. 12) that together determine the number of units employed in setting out the dimensions of individual buildings. The householder’s sleeping pavilion, for example, is the most important structure in the compound after the family temple, and for this reason it has to be be located at the kaja end of the compound.
In southern Bali, where most of the island’s population live, kaja roughly corresponds to north, this being the direction of the central mountain range. Consequently, the sleeping pavilion should be placed eight tampak, or multiples thereof, from the kaja-most wall, because the number eight is associated with the deity Uma, who in this scheme of things is identified with the north. The cookhouse, or kitchen, on the other hand, should be set out at a distance of six tampak, or multiples thereof, to the south of the house owner’s pavilion since the number six is identified with Brahma, who is, in turn, associated with fire and with the hearth.
Similar considerations apply for all other structures in the compound. Their relative positions must be carefully worked out in order to ensure that all is for the best in the best of all possible worlds.
Position of the Entrance
The main entrance to the Balinese compound should ideally be placed on the west (kauh) side and at the seaward (kelod) end. For various reasons this is not always possible, in which case the “blind” wall (aling-aling) that stands just behind the doorway is designed so that anyone coming into the compound must first proceed toward the kelod-kauh end before they reach the center of the compound around which the main buildings are arranged.
The aling-aling is built directly behind the compound entrance, screening off the interior and obstructing malevolent influences.
Layout of the Compound
1 Temporary family shrine
2 Meten
3 Paon
4 Entrance and aling-aling wall
The Dwelling Compound
The Balinese residential compound is home to an extended family typically consisting of a married couple, their married sons with their wives and children, their unmarried daughters, and, if they are still alive, the parents of the husband. If a group of brothers decides to stay together, each brother will have his own living quarters within the compound with its own kitchen facilities.
A family shrine dedicated to the ancestral spirits.
Entrances
Balinese compounds have only one entrance, on the side bordering the street. Entrances define the threshold between inside and out and are viewed ambivalently; although they may admit welcome visitors they may also allow in malign influences. Thus, the entrance belongs to the vile sphere and should therefore be located at the compound’s kelod end, and to the west. A small wall (a!ing-a!ing) is often placed directly behind the doorway. This screens off the interior, but more importantly obstructs the entry of malevolent spirits, which are believed to have difficulty making abrupt changes of direction.
The level inside the compound is generally a little higher than that of the street outside. This serves both a practical and symbolic function. On the one hand, it makes it easier to provide drainage for the compound simply by creating conduits that empty into a ditch running on either side of the road. On the other hand, the superior elevation is part of a hierarchical ordering of space that runs from the street to the family temple (sanggah) situated in the kaja-kangin corner of the compound. The family temple is the highest point in the compound, reflecting its status as sacred ground.
The Family Temple
The family temple is set off from the rest of the buildings in the compound by a low wall which provides a sacred enclosure (pamerajan) for the family shrines. The relative dimensions of this walled-off space are governed by ritual prescriptions similar to those that regulate the shape and size of the compound as a whole. Different dimensions have different implications. For example, the gods are said to favor a family whose sanggah enclosure is only one unit longer than it is wide; even higher esteem is attached to those whose place of worship differs by two units, and great purity where the difference is one of five units. These attributions are not always positive: marriage to an unfaithful wife may be the fate of those where the difference between length and width is eight units. The location of the entrance to the sanggah enclosure is also important and should ideally be placed between the sleeping pavilion (umah meten) of the family head and the bale kangin, the pavilion occupying the eastern side of the central court. A north-facing entrance is considered to be particularly inauspicious.
Gods and Ancestors
The family temple contains a number of different shrines dedicated to both the gods and to family ancestors.