10.6092/issn.1973-9494/12800
Gli spazi nella casa tradizionale balinese non erano solo luoghi per ospitare attività domestiche e socioculturali, ma anche luoghi per tramandare tradizioni. In questo processo di trasmissione, le persone hanno insegnato e imparato partecipando ad attività collaborative in cui le giovani generazioni osservavano, aiutavano o imitavano i loro anziani. Al centro di questo argomento c'è un'esplorazione di come le vecchie generazioni trasferiscono le loro tradizioni a quelle successive, sulla base di nuove condizioni. Questa trasmissione è un processo di apprendimento iniziato fin dalla tenera età in cui genitori e nonni hanno svolto un ruolo predominante. Tuttavia, con la crescita del turismo, un numero considerevole di case sono state trasformate in strutture turistiche demolendo e modificando spazi sociali e cerimoniali. In quanto fenomeno culturale, la trasformazione implica una complessità di aspetti e fa sorgere l'interrogativo sulla continuità del processo di trasmissione culturale in questi nuovi contesti. Mediante documentazione visiva e interviste, è stato possibile raccogliere e inventariare attività culturali nel tempo per ricostruire la trasformazione della casa e contestualizzare il processo di trasmissione delle tradizioni. Questo articolo evidenzia che la trasformazione è avvenuta in vari modi, sia sotto l'aspetto fisico che socioculturale. Il cambiamento nel settore turistico ha significato perchè lo spazio e il tempo, che le persone dedicano alla trasmissione delle tradizioni, sono limitati: quindi la loro conservazione è a rischio. È un'indicazione del processo di declino delle tradizioni nella casa tradizionale ed è probabile che influenzi la continuità della cultura balinese in futuro.
application/pdf
1973-9494
12800
en
I Dewa Gede Agung Diasana Putra
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0
Conservation Science in Cultural Heritage
Balinese house
Transmission of Traditions in the Transformation of the Traditional Balinese House
Text.Serial.Journal
https://conservation-science.unibo.it/
20
Articles
2021-05-13
2021-04-27
2021-05-13
2021-05-13
213-226
CSCH
I Dewa Gede Agung Diasana Putra
2020
10.6092/issn.1973-9494/12800
213
Department of Architecture, Udayana University, Bali, Indonesia
1973-9494
Balinese house
en
226
Transmission of Traditions in the Transformation of the Traditional Balinese House
https://conservation-science.unibo.it/article/download/12800/12516
20
T    RANSMISSION OF TRADITIONS IN THE
     TRANSFORMATION OF THE TRADITIONAL BALINESE
     HOUSE


   I Dewa Gede Agung Diasana Putra*
   Department of Architecture
   Udayana University, Bali, Indonesia



   Keywords: transmission, traditions, transformation, historical spaces, Balinese house




   1. Introduction

     The traditional Balinese house has various functions to accommodate both domes-
tic and socio-cultural activities. People perform these activities within the spaces of the
house and previously, were a way of handing down traditions. However, the economic
benefits from tourism have encouraged Balinese people to transform their house and
to accommodate additional functions, namely in the way of tourist activities. This article
discusses how the transformation of these spaces has caused the adjustment of cer-
emonial activities and has influenced the transmission process of traditions in the new
setting.
     Transmitting traditions in the traditional house involves a particular collaborative
learning process among members of different generations [1]. In this process, tradi-
tions are transmitted through family dissemination, where parents and grandparents
play a predominant role. Young generations observe, help and imitate the old who
perform the traditions. Old generations transfer their traditions to the next by perform-
ing them together in the house, from the initial preparations to the main ceremony. As
a consequence, young generations experience and learn traditions by being actively
involved in them from an early age.
     Ceremonial activities and their preparation, therefore, have a significant role in the
different spaces of the house. A family temple, for example, is a place where young
members can learn about performing rituals related to religion and family ancestors.
Indoor and outdoor spaces are stages where the young generation are not only able to
witness the rituals that are performed, but also be involved in them by helping their
parents or grandparents. The young carry out particular tasks as a way of learning fam-
ily traditions. The pavilions and the courtyard, called natah, are places where peo-
ple perform ceremonial activities related to the human life cycle: birth – life – death – re-
birth [2]. It is where people prepare the ceremonies, for which they make offerings,
ceremonial equipment and food. During the activities, all family members have time to
witness, help and imitate the activities carried out by the older generations; performing
these collaborative activities helps to keep these traditions alive.


   * Corresponding author: diasanaputra@unud.ac.id
                                                                                                                  However, development of the tourism industry has encouraged people to transform
                                                                                                              the spaces [3] where traditionally Balinese people carried out their family rituals, a
                                                                                                              transformation which can influence the process of transmitting traditions in Balinese
                                                                                                              communities. The aim of this paper is therefore, to explore the continuity of traditions
                                                                                                              in the transformation of the traditional house in four tourist destinations: Ubud, Taro,
                                                                                                              Kendran and Peliatan, through documentation and examination. To this end, the his-
                                                                                                              torical dynamics of the specific activities were collected to contextualize and recon-
                                                                                                              struct the process of transformation and transmission of traditions. The paper begins
                                                                                                              by exploring traditions in Balinese communities and the role of spaces in houses and
                                                                                                              then moves on to present and explain how these traditions are performed and trans-
I D.G.A. Diasana Putra - Transmission of traditions in the transformation of the traditional Balinese house




                                                                                                              mitted. The last part presents a picture of the physical transformations in the house and
                                                                                                              their impact on the transmission of traditions.


                                                                                                                 2. The transmission of Balinese traditions

                                                                                                                   A tradition is not defined as static but is a process of gradual transformation [4].
                                                                                                              This gradual transformation is influenced by the interaction of the members of a soci-
                                                                                                              ety with foreign cultures, and the growth of social and cultural movements [5]. The
                                                                                                              concept of tradition is flexible and might be reformulated in the process of transmission
                                                                                                              [6, 7]. Shils suggested that the transmission of traditions refers to the idea of people’s
                                                                                                              reactions to old traditions with or without alterations. This theory focuses on the inter-
                                                                                                              action that happens in intergenerational communication, which acts as a “chain” and a
                                                                                                              “bridge” in the handing down of traditions in a society [6]. Using this theory, the trans-
                                                                                                              formation of the house and related traditions are examined to understand the way
                                                                                                              people construct their houses as a physical form of culture and as a response to new
                                                                                                              social conditions.
                                                                                                                   The traditional house represents traditional building practices in a society. Tradition
                                                                                                              is not stable. It can change, based on the demand of the people. The change can be
                                                                                                              influenced by people’s interactions in a society with other cultures. In this interaction,
                                                                                                              the new tradition is not only transferred but also analysed. The recipients might receive
                                                                                                              a tradition without analysis and perform it unconsciously [6]. On the other hand, some
                                                                                                              traditions are accepted after being analysed to determine whether they accommodate
                                                                                                              new conditions through an adaptation process. In this process, the old might be ad-
                                                                                                              justed or be used for new purposes [8]. This process of analysis shows that tradition
                                                                                                              changes over time. The changes become an on-going process of transformation or
                                                                                                              renewal and modification [9] in which a connection between “an invented present” and
                                                                                                              “imagined past” is formed [10].
                                                                                                                   In a transmission process, the new traditions consist of “memory” or a “record of
                                                                                                              the past” as a medium to maintain the connection and to pass on former icons as ele-
                                                                                                              ments of “present attachment” [7]. The memory of the old icons can be presented in
                                                                                                              new objects, such as buildings. There is still a bond and a sense of sharing the old
                                                                                                              traditions in contemporary construction practices, as architectural traditions provide
                                                                                                              people with “profitability, convenience, and desired opportunities” [7].
                                                                                                                   As part of architectural production, a house experiences a process of reformula-
                                                                                                              tion. This reformulation process parallels the reformulation process in the beliefs of a
                                                                                                              community, which in turn are translated into forms in architectural production. In an-
                                                                                                              cient traditions, the house is simply an unselfconscious physical form representing the
                                                                                                              demands, desires, and passions of people, where the assistance of a designer or ar-


                                                                               214
chitect is unnecessary [11]. All members of a community are familiar with the local
building practices so that in this “primitive” tradition, everyone can design and/or build
their own house [12]. The process of constructing a building changed when artisans
began to help people with the task. These practices reveal that primitive architecture
was reformulated into vernacular architecture. In the vernacular, the owner actively
participates in the design process [11, 13]. Based on Shils’s theory [6, 7], this is a
method for assessing and reviewing where the old patterns have changed in the
process of transmission and is based on the new generations’ critical thought and
actions as recipients, to suit new demands and conditions. In a vernacular tradition,
few changes occur within a framework of a given common heritage and hierarchy of
values [14, 15].
    Culture is comprised of a whole series of distinctive spiritual, material, intellectual and
emotional features [16]. It has a role in developing the character of a society. The char-
acters of some groups might differ, though they live in similar natural conditions. These
differences cause a variety of cultural forms [11, 17]; the different societies of South-
east Asia, for example, offer an incredible range of religions, kinship systems, as well
as traditional architectural structures [18]


   3. The traditional house, socio-cultural activities and the transmission process

     Balinese culture, which was inspired by the Hindu religion, is represented by the
performance of socio-cultural practices both in the village and in the house. These
practices are a medium to show identity and create boundaries with others. This iden-
tity is handed down over generations [19 - 23]. Culture, as noted by Raymond Williams
[24], is a form of communal activity demonstrating a unique reaction to facing new
social circumstances. A culture cannot simply repeat the concepts of the past, the re-
sponse involves an endless process of adaptation and adjustment [25]. Parallel to




                                                                                                    Conservation science in Cultural Heritage
these theories, the continuous renewal of Balinese culture involves the collaboration of
social relationships among the Balinese authorities with Javanese kingdoms, and co-
lonial and postcolonial orders to express their superiority [26, 27]. The transformation
does not imply that the Balinese totally adopted the new culture. Nor were the old cul-
tures rejected or replaced. Rather, the transformation involved a selective adoption,
where the new was filtered and modified to address the novel situation of the Balinese.
     The traditional Balinese house is ordered within the framework of a religious cere-
monial procession that holds a complex meaning [2]. The use of spaces shows the
divine symbolism of the positions and movements used in religious ceremonies. These
spiritual symbols indicate that the spaces in the house are interrelated and understood
as places having different levels of holiness [2, 28].
     The traditional Balinese house consists of a family temple, a courtyard, many pavil-
ions and a backyard. For houses located in the southern part of Bali, the family temple
(①) is located in the north-east corner and consists of shrines and at least one pavilion
called piyasan. The family temple gate is in the south-western part of the family temple
facing the natah (⑦). Near the family temple gate is a shrine facing west, located be-
tween the bale daja (②) and the bale dangin (④). The bale dauh (③), located near the
kitchen, is called paon (⑥) and the rice barn (⑤) is called jineng. The backyard, called
teba (⑨), is situated at the back of the house and is used for planting coconut, banana
and many kinds of fruit trees. A pigpen also, is located in the teba, near the kitchen
(Figure 1).


                                                                                                  215
I D.G.A. Diasana Putra - Transmission of traditions in the transformation of the traditional Balinese house




                                                                                                                                 Figure 1. Typical layout of the traditional Balinese house.


                                                                                                                  Related directly to the teaching of the Hindu religion, pavilions and spaces in the
                                                                                                              traditional Balinese house were designed to accommodate not only ceremonial activi-
                                                                                                              ties but also the preparation of the ceremonies. Represented in ritual activities, the
                                                                                                              house is an assembly point for Balinese people, who are the members of the kinship
                                                                                                              group, to prepare, organize, and perform rituals [29]. The family temple in ideal tradi-
                                                                                                              tional Balinese houses, for example, is not only a place for worship but also a represen-
                                                                                                              tation of the family formation as a social group and its kinship relationship [30]. The ar-
                                                                                                              rangement of domestic activities and rituals has therefore colored social relations inside
                                                                                                              the house.
                                                                                                                  Domestic activities in the Balinese house involve the compound spaces and the
                                                                                                              backyard, where the occupants are preoccupied with daily practices. Women’s activi-
                                                                                                              ties take place mostly in the house moving across different places: from the kitchen to
                                                                                                              the pigsty, to the backyard, to the granary for pounding or husking un-hulled rice, and
                                                                                                              sometimes to the rice field to help the men, as well as to the market. In their spare time,
                                                                                                              they sit in the pavilions or under the shade of a tree to chat with other women and watch
                                                                                                              their children playing in the natah. Men, on the other hand, move across spaces in the
                                                                                                              house to help women prepare for their daily needs. They collect materials from trees in
                                                                                                              the backyard, such as coconuts, go to the granary to take the un-hulled rice and dry it
                                                                                                              in the natah, and then go to the field. In their spare time, the men also move across the
                                                                                                              places: to the front of the house for chatting and cockfighting, to a pavilion for painting or
                                                                                                              carving, to the backyard for planting or cutting trees for building materials. In these do-
                                                                                                              mestic activities, women and men produce separate spaces that express particular
                                                                                                              characteristics [31]. The activities are not just the specific layering of domestic spaces,
                                                                                                              which, in the end, produce a system, but, as suggested by Lozanovska [32], the bind-
                                                                                                              ing of the domestic spaces occurs through the repetitive nature of these activities by
                                                                                                              and through the continuous movement of the occupants. The spaces become meaningful
                                                                                                              through the interaction that occurs between the architectural spaces, objects and activi-
                                                                                                              ties therein. Without such activities, the spaces would be abstract and without meaning.


                                                                               216
    Rituals in the family temple are a demonstration of the main social and religious
events for the entire paternal kin group. The rituals are a moment for family members
to work together in the preparation of the rituals. Those who relied on agriculture as
their main occupation and source of income had enough freedom and leisure time for
spiritual activities [33]. In ritual activities, especially in odalan ceremonies, the mem-
bers of the paternal kin group go to the house, especially the house of origin, to make
offerings, decorate the family temple, and perform other activities to prepare for the
ceremonies. This moment is a proper time for parents to hand down traditions in their
house to their children (Figure 2).




                                                                                               Conservation science in Cultural Heritage
                     Figure 2. The use of space in the Balinese house.


    Traditionally, ceremonies dedicated to God and ancestors were performed in the
family temple; ceremonies related to the human life cycle were performed in the bale
dangin, the natah and the bale daja. The bale dangin is a place where people lay a
dead body in a cremation ceremony. In this pavilion, many kinds of ceremonies related
to the human life cycle, including telu bulanan (ceremony for a three-month-old baby),
otonan (the birthday ceremony), wedding and tooth filing ceremonies, were also per-
formed. The natah is a place for many kinds of ceremonies, such as the rituals for the
dead, weddings, and telubulan ceremony. The natah is also a place for temporary build-
ings for high priests and offerings.
    Preparations for the ceremonies were also performed in the backyard, called teba,
where the owner planted different kinds of trees and raised animals. During the prepa-
rations, the house became a crowded place where women sat in some of the pavilions
to make offerings and men assembled in the teba to prepare food for the offerings and
the feast. The teba also supplied many materials for offerings and food. For women, the
main activity during the preparation of the ceremonies was mejejahitan, that is, a pro-


                                                                                             217
                                                                                                              cess to make the parts of the offerings. They cut materials such as young coconut leaves
                                                                                                              called busung and mature coconut leaves called slepan. After being cut into various
                                                                                                              shapes, the cut leaves were then folded and skewered together with a sliver of bam-
                                                                                                              boo or the central spine of a coconut leaf; they were then used as part of the offerings.
                                                                                                              Each shaped item was put into one or several containers with flowers, leaves, rice,
                                                                                                              fruits and other items. This activity, called metanding, produced offerings called banten.
                                                                                                                    In the past, the abovementioned moments were a good time for mothers to transfer
                                                                                                              and hand down traditions. Mothers and other relatives (women) made the more com-
                                                                                                              plex, detailed components of the banten, while their daughters helped to prepare the
                                                                                                              materials and made the simple components. Gradually, the daughters learned how to
I D.G.A. Diasana Putra - Transmission of traditions in the transformation of the traditional Balinese house




                                                                                                              make the more complicated offerings. This process came about from generation to
                                                                                                              generation, where the old generation handed down their skills to the next in a natural
                                                                                                              family environment. This shows how the many spaces of the traditional houses played
                                                                                                              an important role in handing down family traditions.
                                                                                                                    While women made offerings using leaves, flowers and many kinds of fruit, fathers
                                                                                                              accompanied by their sons and other male relatives with their sons, made offerings using
                                                                                                              animals and vegetables. They worked together in the pavilions or the backyard to pre-
                                                                                                              pare food for the offerings and feast. They also decorated the shrines using leaves or
                                                                                                              cloth. Some men climbed the coconut trees to collect coconuts, coconut leaves, or flow-
                                                                                                              ers to use as materials for offerings or food. They also picked bananas, banana leaves
                                                                                                              or other materials from trees in the teba. The others slaughtered pigs, chickens and
                                                                                                              ducks for food and offerings. Similar to the women, these intergenerational collabora-
                                                                                                              tive activities were a good moment for the men to teach their sons and young people
                                                                                                              to do many of the activities related to the rituals in the house. However, since the trans-
                                                                                                              formation of the spaces in the traditional house, these preparatory and ceremonial
                                                                                                              activities are no longer performed in the house. They are now performed in village fa-
                                                                                                              cilities or bought in markets or offering sellers. This transformation has altered the trans-
                                                                                                              formation process of traditions.


                                                                                                                 4. The transformation of the house and the transmission process of Balinese
                                                                                                                    traditions

                                                                                                                  Tourism in Bali has impacted the economy encouraging people to transform their
                                                                                                              traditional houses. Thus, in spite of tourists’ desire to witness local customs, which has
                                                                                                              had a positive influence and encouraged the Balinese to use traditional architectural
                                                                                                              styles as an attraction [34], there have still been several negative consequences. Some
                                                                                                              structures have installed air-conditioning devices, resulting in the traditional elements of
                                                                                                              cross ventilation being closed, for example, by installing glass. Modern devices have
                                                                                                              been installed to replace old models because they indicate a lack of progress or are seen
                                                                                                              as being out of date [35], so as to represent an image of modernity. This consequently
                                                                                                              increases social prestige and creates more luxurious and comfortable facilities to entice
                                                                                                              tourists and to provide the thermal comfort that meet tourists’ standards of well-being.
                                                                                                              This modernization has become a way of gaining economic benefits [36].
                                                                                                                  It is evident then that tourism has contributed to the transformation of the tradi-
                                                                                                              tional Balinese house. In general, the front part of the house has experienced the most
                                                                                                              massive transformation. Seen from the street, most of the houses, especially in some
                                                                                                              tourist villages in Bali, have no gate, but the passage next to the kiosks, which sell
                                                                                                              many clothes and handicrafts, is the entrance to the house [37]. Tourism has changed


                                                                               218
the setting of the house, where these kiosks have been built at the front by demolishing
the walls and traditional gates. In some, pavilions have also been demolished and new
buildings constructed in their stead. Other structures have also been added adjacent
to the traditional pavilions or in the backyard.
     The house is an example of the transformation that has helped to discourage the
transmission of traditions in the house. The transmission of tradition typically occurs in
almost all parts of the house during the preparation of the ceremonies and the ceremo-
nial days themselves. A natah (④) and a bale dangin (⑤) would be full of preparatory
activities, offerings and rituals. In some big ceremonies, such as the cremation (ngaben)
and purification of the soul (nyekah), temporary bamboo structures would be built in the
natah called bale pemiosan (A) and petak (B). All extended families accompanied by
their children and members of the neighborhood came to the house to witness it and
help the family. The pavilions, including the kitchen (⑥), the bale daja (②) and the bale
dauh (③), were places for women to prepare the offerings (Figure 3A). The teba ⑨,
were places for the adult men, who were helped by the younger men and boys, to pre-
pare food and any supported activities, such as making ceremonial equipment and ele-
ments for decorating the family temple and house. Many kinds of raw materials were
taken from the teba, other extended families’ houses or the families’ fields.
     The transformation of this house is the result of a sequence of demolition and con-
struction, to accommodate the growth in family numbers and its struggle to survive in
today’s tourist economy. The new constructions that have substituted some of the old
pavilions have become more practical in their utilization, rather than retaining the so-
cio-symbolic function and setting of the old house. The house no longer has a granary
and a backyard since the area has often been sold (Figure 3B). Seen from the street,
the house has no gate, but the passage next to the four kiosks selling clothes, handi-
crafts, and traditional sculptures (⑩) is actually the entrance to the house. At the end
of the passage is a gate (⑪) near a new kitchen (⑫) that has been built by demolishing
the old (⑥). The house no longer has an aling-aling, which spiritually is a barrier to stop




                                                                                                  Conservation science in Cultural Heritage
evil spirits, and visually, is a partition to screen off the interior [33].
     A new structure (⑯) has been constructed next to the family temple (①) to accom-
modate the increase in the size of the household since the paternal sons of the owner
are now married and live in the house. The new bale daja (⑮) and bale dauh (⑭) have
also been constructed by demolishing the old ones (② and ③). The house is the result of
a self-motivated act of configuring and celebrating the owners’ preferred status and con-
dition. The status of the family, from a peasant one – represented by the granary (⑦) –
has been transformed into a business status, represented by the commercial activities
in the house (Figure 3B).
     In spite of the new structures in the house, a few socio-cultural spaces are still main-
tained in the new setting, where many ceremonial activities are still performed, espe-
cially in the natah and bale dangin. The rituals related to niskala have been maintained
or simply adjusted, based on the suggestions of a high priest. In order to maintain es-
sential components of the rituals, people adjust some of the pavilions so that they can
accommodate additional functions. In the process of the transformation, people try to
create new features to address their needs, not only for the purpose of facilitating do-
mestic and tourist activities, but also rituals. It is a creative movement, so people can
more easily accommodate the increase in family numbers and tourist activities without
losing the spaces where they perform their rituals. Despite this, some of the prepara-
tion for the ceremonial activities is no longer done in the house because the space is
more limited.


                                                                                                219
                       I D.G.A. Diasana Putra - Transmission of traditions in the transformation of the traditional Balinese house




220
      Figure 3. Example of the transformations in a traditional Balinese house.
    Several socio-cultural activities are no longer performed in the house, such as the
ngaben and nyekah ceremonies, but take place in village facilities. With other village
members, they manage and perform ngaben and nyekah called ngaben ngerit. The vil-
lage board supervises this activity. The village facilities therefore become crowded plac-
es, while the houses become quiet places. Women make many offerings in these village
buildings or even in temporary buildings built just for ceremonies, while men use them
to prepare food or other offerings.
    The materials used in the ceremonies are bought in markets. In some cases, ready-
made offerings are bought from people who make and sell them, called tukang banten.
The places where the ceremonies are held are very busy places where all village mem-
bers work together to prepare for the occasion. During the days of the ceremony, the
family members of the dead, the relatives, and the members of the village, men and
women, go to a ceremonial avenue to attend the rituals.
    The limited space in the house is not the only factor to have influenced the prepara-
tion of offerings in the era of tourism. The development of tourism in the area has ad-
ditionally created many variations in various workplaces [38], including employees in
hotels, restaurants and cafés. While traditionally in the agricultural economy, Balinese
people had adequate “freedom and leisure time for spiritual activities” [33], in today’s
tourist economy, it is difficult for them to have the same conditions. The increasing
number of tourists has stimulated local people to become increasingly involved in the
tourist sector as employees in many companies. As employees, they work to a tighter
schedule which makes it difficult to arrange a time to work together.
    Balinese people have only a limited time to perform voluntary work to help their
relatives or neighbours in preparing ceremonies such as mejejahitan (skewering coco-
nut leaves to be part of the offerings). The limitation of time has already caused this
domestic activity to decrease. The Balinese prefer to buy the many parts of the offer-
ings in markets and then assemble them (known as metanding), to produce complete
offerings. In some cases, people buy ready-made offerings in marketplaces, and only put




                                                                                                  Conservation science in Cultural Heritage
the offerings in the many shrines and family temples called ngungahin banten assisted
by experts in offerings called tukang banten. Therefore, mejahitan and metanding, and
even ngungahin banten, formerly the traditional domain of the members of the family
and extended families, often falls to “specialized professionals” [21]. Preparation of the
offerings, which was once a voluntary social activity, and therefore priceless, has now
become a marketable activity. The offerings as “part of things that constituted gifts and
the spirit of sociability now constitute profit-oriented things and calculated spirit related
to the circulation of commodities” [39]. The change in employment from agriculture to
the service sector, including tourism, has changed people’s habits and their way of pre-
paring rituals. The change in occupation from agriculture to tourism has also changed
people’s approach to doing voluntary communal works as in the past, since it has be-
come difficult and almost impossible to carry them out because of limits, such as time
and cultural spaces [21].
    Balinese people today, therefore, tend not to have enough time to actively engage
in the time-consuming work of traditional responsibilities in traditional houses, which
consequently means there is little time to hand down in-house traditions. Therefore,
the process of acquisition of behaviours and attitudes through imitation and active
learning in a society [40] has been difficult to accomplish. In addition, the practices
of transmission through learning and teaching by doing collaborative activities dur-
ing which young generations observe, help, or imitate the old who perform the tradi-
tions [41] are in a vulnerable state. This condition influences the transmission sys-


                                                                                                221
                                                                                                              tem in the house, in which, as stated by Bruner [42], the predominant role is played
                                                                                                              through family dissemination. The role that involves collaboration between parents
                                                                                                              and grandparents is challenging to perform. Traditions, including the preparation of
                                                                                                              ceremonies, that was once voluntary work, has now become a marketable activity,
                                                                                                              in which traditions are performed by experts who offer their services and can be bought
                                                                                                              in the market.
                                                                                                                  The combination of a shortage of raw materials and people’s lack of free time
                                                                                                              has changed people’s habits regarding the preparation of rituals. Nowadays, young
                                                                                                              people learn traditions when they become members of a village or sometimes nev-
                                                                                                              er learn them, especially those relating to how to prepare offerings. It means they
I D.G.A. Diasana Putra - Transmission of traditions in the transformation of the traditional Balinese house




                                                                                                              often start to learn when they are already adults. By applying the Bruner [42] the-
                                                                                                              ory above, the sustainability of Balinese traditions will be gradually threatened be-
                                                                                                              cause they are not being learned from infancy and early childhood. The number of
                                                                                                              people who are able to perform Balinese traditions, including the preparation of of-
                                                                                                              ferings, are consequently decreasing. They are concentrated only in particular peo-
                                                                                                              ple or groups. People are now more dependent on experts and are not able to act in-
                                                                                                              dependently, as their predecessors did. It is a sign in the process of waning traditions
                                                                                                              in the traditional house and is likely to affect the continuity of Balinese culture in the
                                                                                                              future.


                                                                                                                 5. Conclusion

                                                                                                                   The tourist industry has caused the spaces in traditional Balinese houses, to undergo
                                                                                                              a process of transformation. Ceremonial spaces in the house have been reduced and
                                                                                                              the limited free time left to people means that some traditions and voluntary communal
                                                                                                              work, have become a thing of the past. Young people learn traditions in village facilities,
                                                                                                              rather than in the family house or even never learn them, which generally means they
                                                                                                              start to learn when they are adults. Performing activities that were previously a time for
                                                                                                              handing down traditions from parents or older generations to children or younger gen-
                                                                                                              erations has been made difficult today.
                                                                                                                   The family has lost the ability to transmit traditions in the house, especially the learn-
                                                                                                              ing process from infancy and early childhood as happened in the past. The substantial
                                                                                                              changes that have taken place in the house have affected the transmission process of
                                                                                                              traditions in Balinese society. Since the family has a predominant role through family
                                                                                                              dissemination in transmitting Balinese traditions, the transformation of the house can
                                                                                                              be linked to the process of waning traditions within the traditional house. The dimin-
                                                                                                              ished role of the family in transmission traditions is therefore likely to affect the continu-
                                                                                                              ity of Balinese culture in the future.


                                                                                                                 Acknowledgements

                                                                                                                  The leaders of the villages and staff are gratefully acknowledged for their assis-
                                                                                                              tance in this research. The owners of the houses who allowed the inclusion of their
                                                                                                              house in the survey and patiently answered questions are also acknowledged and
                                                                                                              thanked. Finally, thanks go to the master’s degree students of the School of Architec-
                                                                                                              ture, Udayana University (Bali) for their practical assistance during the collection of
                                                                                                              the data.


                                                                            222
      References

[1]   Mandillah, K.L.L., Ekosse, G.I. (2018) African Totems: Cultural Heritage for Sus-
      tainable Environmental Conservation, Conservation Science in Cultural Heritage,
      pp. 201-218.
[2] Hobart, M. (1978) The Path of Soul: The Legitimacy of Nature in Balinese Con-
      ceptions of Space. In Natural Symbols in South-East Asia, ed. Milner G., pp. 5-28.
      London: School of Oriental and African Studies
[3] Qin, B. (2014) Spatial Turn in History and Heritage Site as an Interface between
      Past and Present, Conservation Science in Cultural Heritage, pp. 55-65.
[4] Eisenstadt, S.N. (1973) Post-traditional societies and the continuity and recon-
      struction of tradition. Daedalus (the MIT Press on behalf of American Academy of
      Arts & Sciences) 102 (1), pp. 1-27.
[5] Gusfield, J.R. (1967) Tradition and Modernity: Misplaced Polarities in the Study
      of Social Change. American Journal of Sociology 72 (4), pp.351-362.
[6] Shils, E. (1971) ‘Tradition’, Comparative Studies in Society and History 13 (2) Spe-
      cial Issue on Tradition and Modernity, pp. 122-159.
[7] Shils, E. (1981) Tradition. London: Faber and Faber Limited, p: 50, 67.
[8] Hobsbawm, E. (1983) Introduction: Inventing Traditions. In the Invention of Tradition,
      ed. Hobsbawm, E. and Ranger F., 1-14. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
[9] Hoben, A. and Hefner, R. (1991) The Integrative Revolution Revisited. World De-
      velopment 19 (1), pp. 17-30.
[10] Wood, R.E. (1993) Tourism, Culture and the Sociology of Development. In Tourism
      in South-East Asia, eds. Hitchcook, K. and Parnwell, pp. 48-70. London: Routledge.
[11] Rapoport, A. (1969) House, Form and Culture. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice Hall Inc.
[12] Redfield, R. (1965) Peasant Society and Culture. Chicago: University of Chicago
      Press.
[13] Oliver, P. (1998) Encyclopaedia of Vernacular Architecture of the World, vol. 1.




                                                                                               Conservation science in Cultural Heritage
      Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
[14] Kowaltowski, D.C.C.L., Watrin, V.D.R., & Pina, S.A.M.G. (2007) ‘Tradition and
      Thermal Performance: An Investigation of New Vernacular Dwelling in Campinas,
      Brazil. Traditional Dwellings and Settlements review (TDSR) XVIII (II) pp. 79-92.
[15] Wang, N. (1997) Vernacular House as an Attraction: Illustration from Hutong Tourism
      in Beijing. Tourism Management 18 (8), pp. 573-580.
[16] UNESCO (1982) Mexico City Declaration on Cultural Policies. World Conference
      on Cultural Policies, Mexico City.
[17] Oliver, P. (1969) Shelter and Society. London: Barrie and Jenkins.
[18] Sparkes, S. (2003) Introduction: The Changing Domain of the House in South-
      east Asia. In the House in Southeast Asia: a Changing Social, Economic and
      Political Domain, eds Sparkes, S. and Signe, H., pp. 1-15. London: Routledge
      Curzon.
[19] Geriya, I.W. (2007) Konsep and Strategi Revitalisasi Kearifan Lokal dalam Pena-
      tan Lingkungan Hidup Daerah Bali. In Kearifan Lokal dalam Pengelolaan Lingkun-
      gan Hidup, eds. Dalem, A.A.G.R., Wardi, I W., Suarna, I W. and I W. S., pp. 52-60.
      Denpasar: Penerbit Universitas Udayana.
[20] Mantra, I. B. (1993) Bali Masalah Sosial Budaya dan Modernisasi. Denpasar: Upa-
      da Sastra.
[21] Hobart, A, Ramseyer U., Leemann, A (2001) The People of Bali. Massachusetts:
      Blackwell Publishers Ltd, pp: 124-125.


                                                                                             223
                                                                                                              [22] Eiseman, Jr, F.B. (1989) Sekala and Niskala: Essays on Religious, Ritual and Art,
                                                                                                                   vol. I. Singapore: Periplus Editions.
                                                                                                              [23] Fushiki, K. (2013) Social and Political Effects of Pop Bali Alternatif of Balinese
                                                                                                                   Society: The Example of “XXX,” International Journal of Asia Pacific Studies
                                                                                                                   (IJAPS) 9 (1), pp. 37-67.
                                                                                                              [24] William, R. (1983) Culture and Society: 1780-1950. New York: Columbia Univer-
                                                                                                                   sity Press.
                                                                                                              [25] Clifford, J. (1994) The Predicament of Culture: Twentieth-century Ethnography,
                                                                                                                   Literature, and Art. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
                                                                                                              [26] Nordholt, H.S. (1986) Bali: Colonial Conceptions and Political Change 1700-1940
I D.G.A. Diasana Putra - Transmission of traditions in the transformation of the traditional Balinese house




                                                                                                                   from Shifting Hierarchies to ‘Fixed’ Order, Rotterdam: Erasmus.
                                                                                                              [27] Vickers, A. (1989) Bali: a Paradise Ccreated. Ringwood Victoria: Penguin Books
                                                                                                                   Australia Ltd.
                                                                                                              [28] Tan, R.Y.D. (1967) The Domestic Architecture of South Bali. Bijdragen tot de
                                                                                                                   Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde, Koninklijk Instituut voor Taal-, Land-en Volkenkunde,
                                                                                                                   Leiden, 123 (4), pp 42—75.
                                                                                                              [29] Putra, I. D. G. A. D., Lozanovska, M., Fuller, R. J. (2019) From Spiritualistic to-
                                                                                                                   ward more Pragmatic Pattern: Re-ordering Balinese Houses and Viability of the
                                                                                                                   Household Traditions in Tourism Economy, Journal of Architecture and Urbanism,
                                                                                                                   vol 43 (1), pp. 47-61.
                                                                                                              [30] Geertz, H., Geertz, C. (1975) Kinship in Bali. Chicago: University of Chicago Press,
                                                                                                                   pp: 4, 13.
                                                                                                              [31] Nyaga, D., Torres, R.A. (2017) Gendered Citizenship: a Case Study of Paid Fili-
                                                                                                                   pino Male Live in Caregivers in Toronto. International Journal of Asia Pacific Stud-
                                                                                                                   ies (IJAPS) 13 (1), pp. 51-71.
                                                                                                              [32] Lozanovska, M. (2002) Architectural Frontier/ Spatial Story: the Problematic of
                                                                                                                   Representing the Everyday. Space and Culture 5 (2), pp. 140-151.
                                                                                                              [33] Covarrubias, M. (1974) Island of Bali. Kuala Lumpur: Oxford University Press, pp: 15.
                                                                                                              [34] Putra, ID.G.A.D., Lozanovska, M., Fuller, R.J. (2013) The Transformation of the
                                                                                                                   Traditional Balinese House for Tourist Facilities: Managing a Home-Based Enter-
                                                                                                                   prise and Maintaining an Architectural Identity. Journal of Asia-Pacific Manage-
                                                                                                                   ment and Business Application 2 (2), pp. 120-131.
                                                                                                              [35] Dove, M.R. (1988) The Real and Imagined Role of Culture in Development: Case
                                                                                                                   Studies from Indonesia. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press.
                                                                                                              [36] Horrison, D. (2015) Development Theory and Tourism in Developing Countries:
                                                                                                                   What Has Theory Ever Done for Us? International Journal of Asia Pacific Studies
                                                                                                                   (IJAPS) 11 (supplement 1), pp. 53-82.
                                                                                                              [37] Putra, I. D. G. A. D., Lozanovska M., Fuller, R.J. (2017) A Metodology to Evaluate the
                                                                                                                   Transformation of Traditional Balinese Houses as a Consequence of Tourism, Inter-
                                                                                                                   national Journal of Architecture Research (Archnet-IJAR), vol 11 (1), pp. 83-100.
                                                                                                              [38] Snow, J.C., Wall, G. (1993) Tourism Employment, Perspectives Form Bali. Tourism
                                                                                                                   Management 14 (3), pp. 195-201.
                                                                                                              [39] Appadurai, A. (1986). The Social Life of Things: Commodities in Cultural Perspec-
                                                                                                                   tive. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, p. 15.
                                                                                                              [40] Cavalli-Sforza, L.L., Feldman, M.W., Chen, K.H. and Dornbusch S.M. (1982) Theory
                                                                                                                   and Observation in Cultural Transmission. Science 218 (October 1982), pp. 19-27.
                                                                                                              [41] Lozanda, M., Ladio, and Weigandt, M. (2006) Ethnobotanical Knowledge in a Ru-
                                                                                                                   ral Community of Northwestern Patagonia Argentina. Economic Botany 60 (4),
                                                                                                                   pp. 374-385.


                                                                         224
[42] Bruner, E.M. (1956) Cultural Transmission and Cultural Change. Southwestern
     Journal of Anthropology 12 (2), pp. 191-199.


   Biographical notes

    I Dewa Gede Agung Diasana Putra has twenty years of experience as an archi-
tectural lecturer in the School of Architecture, Universitas Udayana, Bali. He holds a
Ph.D. from Deakin University, Victoria, Australia and a Master’s degree from the Institut
Teknologi Bandung, Indonesia. He teaches and does research on architectural issues,
such as architectural building technology, cultural ecology in architecture and architec-
tural design. His most significant contribution to education is how architecture, espe-
cially traditional Balinese architecture, represents and can become a part of Balinese
identity, traditions and culture. His Ph.D. research on the “Impact of Tourism on the
Transformation of the Traditional Balinese House” established a new cultural framework
for rethinking traditional Balinese architecture and its relation to traditional practices in
a new environment. His work is driven by attention to the techniques that architecture
can provide, as a way to present human dignity and cultural identity. This attention has
shaped his approach to design, architectural education and research.


   Summary

     Spaces in the traditional Balinese house were not only places for accommodating
domestic and socio-cultural activities, but also locations for handing down traditions. In
this transmission process, people taught and learned by participating in collaborative
activities where the young generation observed, helped or imitated their elders. Cen-
tral to this argument is an exploration of how the old generations transfer their traditions




                                                                                                    Conservation science in Cultural Heritage
to the next, based on new conditions. This transmission was a learning process which
started from an early age in which parents and grandparents played a predominant
role. However, along with the growth of tourism, there are now known to be a substan-
tial number of houses that have been transformed into tourist facilities by demolishing
and relocating social and ceremonial spaces in the house. As a cultural phenomenon,
the transformation involves an interrelated complexity of aspects and gives rise to the
question about the continuity of the transmission process in these new settings. Using
visual documentation and interviews, dynamic cultural activities over time could be col-
lected and inventoried to reconstruct the transformation of the house and contextualize
the handing down process of traditions. This article found that the transformation has
happened in various ways, both as physical and socio-cultural aspects. The change in
the tourist industry has meant the space and the time people dedicate to voluntary work
to perform traditions is limited, so that their preservation is at risk. It is an indication of
the process of waning traditions in the traditional house and is likely to affect the con-
tinuity of Balinese culture in the future.


   Riassunto

   Gli spazi nella casa tradizionale balinese non erano solo luoghi per ospitare attività
domestiche e socioculturali, ma anche luoghi per tramandare tradizioni. In questo pro-


                                                                                                  225
                                                                                                              cesso di trasmissione, le persone hanno insegnato e imparato partecipando ad attività
                                                                                                              collaborative in cui le giovani generazioni osservavano, aiutavano o imitavano i loro
                                                                                                              anziani. Al centro di questo argomento c’è un’esplorazione di come le vecchie genera-
                                                                                                              zioni trasferiscono le loro tradizioni a quelle successive, sulla base di nuove condizioni.
                                                                                                              Questa trasmissione è un processo di apprendimento iniziato fin dalla tenera età in cui
                                                                                                              genitori e nonni hanno svolto un ruolo predominante. Tuttavia, con la crescita del turi-
                                                                                                              smo, un numero considerevole di case sono state trasformate in strutture turistiche
                                                                                                              demolendo e modificando spazi sociali e cerimoniali. In quanto fenomeno culturale, la
                                                                                                              trasformazione implica una complessità di aspetti e fa sorgere l’interrogativo sulla con-
                                                                                                              tinuità del processo di trasmissione culturale in questi nuovi contesti. Mediante docu-
I D.G.A. Diasana Putra - Transmission of traditions in the transformation of the traditional Balinese house




                                                                                                              mentazione visiva e interviste, è stato possibile raccogliere e inventariare attività cultu-
                                                                                                              rali nel tempo per ricostruire la trasformazione della casa e contestualizzare il processo
                                                                                                              di trasmissione delle tradizioni. Questo articolo evidenzia che la trasformazione è avve-
                                                                                                              nuta in vari modi, sia sotto l’aspetto fisico che socioculturale. Il cambiamento nel settore
                                                                                                              turistico ha significato perchè lo spazio e il tempo, che le persone dedicano alla trasmis-
                                                                                                              sione delle tradizioni, sono limitati: quindi la loro conservazione è a rischio. È un’indica-
                                                                                                              zione del processo di declino delle tradizioni nella casa tradizionale ed è probabile che
                                                                                                              influenzi la continuità della cultura balinese in futuro.




                                                                          226
