Bali Culture: The Caste System

The social order was recognised to some extent by the original animist Balinese, the Bali Aga. Living in their walled villages in the mountains they recognised their leaders and their descendants as members of their own primitive aristocracy, with their own rights and authority. The communities of the lowlands recognised rank and position more widely, extending aristocratic status to priests, rulers and some administrators. It was not until Bali came under the Hindu-Javanese rule of the kingdom of Madjapahit after the conquest of Gadja Nlada that the Ifindu caste system was introduced, albeit on a much less strict basis.
The Hindu castes were never recognised by the Bali Aga villagers, but the villagers of the principalities which then controlled Bali on behalf of the ruler of Madjapahit, introduced a wide range of castes and ranks between the princes and the peasantry. These have now fallen into disuse and today there are four broad ranks of caste recognised in Bali.
Three of these castes belong to the 'nobility'. The high priests arc the Brahmanas; the ruling princes and their families and the military class are the Satrias; the merchant class are the Wesias. These castes originate from the gods, for the Indian legends teach that the Brahmanas (the Brahmins of India) came out of the mouth of Brahma, the Satria (Ksatriya) from his arms and the WVesia (Vesiya) from his feet.
The Balinese had always worshipped their ancestors as part of their animistic beliefs. It was not difficult for the new lords of Bali to establish their own kings and princes as gods.These kings in turn were said to be descended from the deities, or to be reincarnations of then. They were readily accepted by the Balinese as such. It was not unusual formerly, for a prince or a priest to claim divine descent, even from the supreme god, Siwa. The balance of the Balinese population, comprising some ninety percent of it, belong to the fourth and non-aristocratic caste of the Sudras. The caste system has become a complex with some Balinese, who will pose as members of a superior caste on occasions in places where they are not known, or who will claim that their former higher caste was lowered as the result of some bad behaviour by an ancestor. In some circumstances, persons of a lower caste have been raised to a higher one.
The highest caste, the Brahmanas, are said to claim descent from the priest Wait Rauh. who created the priesthood of Bali in legend by having many children by his own wives, by their servant women, and in fact by women of all classes. These children became the heads of the Brahmana families. A caste distinction is made between the priests, the initiated Brahmans, an([ the uninitiated. Even today there is rivalry between the Brahmanas and the Satrias. The Brahmanas formerly served as judges in the courts (kertas), but nowa
days have no administrative powers whatsoever. They are forbidden to attend cot kfights and are not permitted to make any money in commerce under their own caste rules. The latter consideration, however, is nowadays ignored. Many Brahmanas are prosperous and rich. They tan be recognised by the use by the men of the prefix Ida Bagus and by the women of the prefix Ida Ayu before their names, both terms meaning 'high born and beautiful'.