For those who loves cultures, traditional local traditions and local people in their daily life, they can visit one or more of these villages called Bali Aga Village. Here are 5 traditional villages of Bali whose residents still preserve their tradition passed for generations.
1. Penglipuran Village
Located 700 meters above sea level between bamboo forests and coffee plantations, tourists can find one of the most traditional villages in Bali. Penglipuran Village is one of the villages of Bali Aga, whose traditions are different from the habits of the majority of Balinese, besides Hinduism still practicing their very strong animistic beliefs. Therefore it can be likened to the time almost stopped at Penglipuran and even the name of the village itself roughly translates into “remembering ancestral lands.” In an effort to preserve the village from its original condition, Penglipuran Village has undergone a recovery program whose results are arranged roads neat and pure like the original and the houses are polished. It may look too clean to be real, but the calm atmosphere and longhouse with their bamboo roof are very unique and the village managed to display good conditions as a traditional Balinese vill
Along the main road, Bale Agung, the village meeting house and the main temple are the most important buildings. While the temples of smaller families are oriented to Mount Agung for worship. The village as a whole faces directly north towards Mount Batur, not to offend this sacred mountain and honor the two Mountains. Outside the village there is a main source of income for villagers, namely bamboo forest covering 75 hectares. Every family must use one hectare of forest to make fine woven baskets, a well-known trade commodity in all corners of Penglipuran. Tourists can take a peek at the business and home of this family and of course are expected to buy baskets too.
2. Tenganan Village
Tenganan Village is undoubtedly one of the rarest places in Bali. Unlike other villages, Tenganan is not inhabited by Hindus as in other areas of Bali but by the original Balinese people known as Bali Aga, a small proportion of the population has retained their pre-Hindu beliefs and traditions. They did not have a caste system and they also did not apply other Balinese Hindu traditions such as cremation, they chose to bury their dead instead. Desa Tenganan has always been strictly isolated from the outside world and even marriage is only permitted among fellow villagers. Those who do not comply with village rules will be excluded from the village, and it is not surprising that the village population is diminishing and today there are only around 500 people living there.
A village with a square shape and a square plan consists of only two parallel roads and is surrounded by a long boundary wall. Simple houses with their alang-alang roofs look like Polynesian longhouses. The view of the village is also filled with the presence of several temples and pavilions, roosters in cages, dogs and cows that roam the streets. Apart from some modern electric poles, the architecture is mostly still original. Because the people of Bali Aga see themselves as artists and preservers of their religion, their village not only has a unique style of building but also its people practice very different dances, which are cultural expressions. One of the famous crafts of this village is the valuable art of double weaving fabric. These woven fabrics and typical Balinese hand-drawn maps with macadamia ink on bamboo leaves can be purchased at kiosks. There are no mass-produced handicrafts and on the contrary everythin
3. Tigawasa Village
Tigawasa Village which is located in Buleleng Regency in northern part of Bali is famous for its bamboo handicrafts in the form of bamboo baskets for daily use and ceremonies as well as traditional woven bamboo mat making. Small children, adults and the elderly all can make woven bamboo handicrafts at this village. The making of this crafts is the way to preserve ancestral traditions. They market their products to remote areas as well as various cities within and out of the regency of Buleleng.
Besides its woven bamboo making, Tigawasa Village residents also live from Agriculture by planting cloves and coffee. They harvest cloves and coffee once a year and it is sufficient for household needs.
Tigawasa village has a unique tradition that is different from other Bali aga villages in Buleleng. The tradition is the burial of corpses of the dead. In this village the real “cremation” is not known. There is indeed a cremation ceremony but there is no corpse to be burned, it is just symbolic as the body of the dead is buried. The corpse is not placed in a coffin, it is only wrapped in batik cloth, and simply buried. And this tradition has been passed down from generation to generation. One more distinctive culture from Tigawasa is Meboros Kidang (hunting deer) for the traditional sipeng holiday (Village Silent Nyepi day).
4. Sidatapa Village
Sidatapa village is one of the old villages in Buleleng district in northern Bali. This village is lstill holds the natural and cultural wealth of the past.
Sidatapa village is famous for bamboo handicrafts, almost every head of the family work in the field of bamboo weaving activities in this village. They market bamboo crafts at traditional markets all over Bali. Now there are more and more foreign tourists who visit this village to see and buy their bamboo crafts.
The village is an old village that still maintains ancestral traditions and the community ipractice ancient traditions.Located on a beautiful hilltop with unspoiled views, it is now a tourist destination.
In this village there are 2 waterfalls with facilities and access routes that are still under arrangement. Those are the Mampah waterfall and the Tamblang waterfall, located only about 1.5 km from the village center, along the road to the bamboo weaving waterfall community and surrounded by clove gardens and fruit orchards.
5. Cempaga Village
Cempaga Village which is a Bali Age village is located at Banjar District. This village has natural beauty with very beautiful sea views, it also has a village forest with an amazing waterfall.
As an old village, Cempaga has some sacred dances which are very unique and different from dances of other villages in Bali. The dances that exist in Cempaga Village include the Jangkang Dance, Baris Dance (Baris Jojor and Baris Dadap), Rejang Dance of various types such as Rejang Beneh, Rejang Tuding Pelayon, Rejang Lilit Nyali, Rejang Sirig Buntas, Rejang Embung Moringa, Rejang Kepet , Rejang Galuh, Rejang Check Galuh, Rejang Dephe, Rejang Bungkol, Rejang Renteng, Rejang Legong, and Rejang Unda.