Die Sozialorganisation balinesischer Reisdörfer unter besonderer Berücksichtigung des Subak-Systems

Abstract

The social organization of the Balinese villages has been more for med by indigenous partnerships and connections of the Gemeinschafts-type in the sense of Tonnies than through the hierarchical administrative community. Subaks, which are socio-religious agrarian cooperatives dealing with matters related to water management and particularly rice production, have a special signification for the social organization of agriculture. As an autonomous body, each subak can organize its own affairs according to its own regulations (awig-awig) in order to keep peace and order as well as to secure the welfare of its members.Subak decisions are based on mutual agreement or consensus. The chairman is not directing the subak but merely implementing what has been agreed upon by the whole majority of subak-members. Subaks finance themselves using their own resources. A greater percentage of about 60 to 80% of subak expenditures are for ritual activities, which play a very important role among the subak activities. A greater percentage of the expenditures should be allocated to the maintenance and repairs of the irrigation facilities. For the subak, however, the religious belief of its members is still very strong. The ritual activities seem to be the basic strength in cementing the sense of solidarity amongst the members. The construction of permanent dams and canals by state authorities has eased the burden in the maintenance and repairs of irrigation structures for the subak members. Intervention to subak autonomy seems to have been intensified since the advent of the green revolution. Apparently, the government prefered subaks as media for implementing agricultural development programmes. As a consequence the subak chairman gets additional jobs and duties to perform outside the traditional ones. As far as subaks are studied, the intervention of the various government agencies does not seem to result in great strain and stress to the subaks. Subaks seem to be quite adaptable to change suited to space, time, and situation without giving up their basic identity and spirit of gotong-royong.