VILLAGE Pedawa is one of the Bali Aga villages in North Bali. As an ancient village, it has a variety of local wisdom that is interesting to know more deeply. One of them is about water. What’s that like?
Pedawa Village is in the Banjar District, Buleleng Regency. This village is a fertile mountain area. Most of the people are involved in the agricultural sector. During its development, this village has also become an attraction for foreign tourists. Of course, the emergence of this attraction cannot be separated from the various unique features it has.
This ancient village has a tradition that is still well preserved by the people until modern times. It is collecting 11 colors of water from different sources. This local wisdom was discussed in more depth by Undiksha academic, I Wayan Sadnyana, S.S., M.Si who was a resource person in a public lecture with the theme Asia Ethnoscience and Local Wisdom organized by the Ganesha University of Education (Undiksha) through the Sociology Education Study Program in collaboration with Eurasia Foundation, Monday (18/3/2024).
This academic from Pedawa Village explained that the procession of collecting and offering 11 sources of water was a requirement before the start of major ceremonies related to the god yadnya, the pitra yadnya ceremony, the manusa yadnya ceremony, and other religious ceremonies.
These eleven water sources are obtained from different places in the village area. Among them from the cavity or bamboo pulp, rock or stone holes, plant root holes or bun, seepage at the edge of a well, at the end of the confluence of two rivers or cleavage, put your head down or depression between two hills, clean water from a fountain, clean water that has just come out of the base of the fountain oryeh mara grow, water from cooled rice oryeah cow, water in the used bamboo pieces, and from the remaining bamboo pieces.
Collecting water from different places is certainly not an easy thing. People must understand the surrounding environmental ecosystem, such as rivers, cliffs, and plants, and learn about the condition of water sources.
This tradition, which has been inherited from our ancestors, is not only part of a ritual. More than that, it is also a form of ancient conservation wisdom for water conservation. Throughout its journey, the Pedawa Village Community has remained faithful in maintaining and implementing this tradition. Sadnyana admits that there are challenges faced in preserving water sources. One of them is the reduction of water-producing trees and their replacement by commodity crops.
The people of Pedawa Village did not remain silent when they saw this condition. The conservation and education movement continues to be promoted, led by the community who are members of the “Kayoman Pedawa” group. This group is intensively planting trees around water sources which also involves children. Of course, there is a big mission carried out, namely preserving water and maintaining traditions. (hms)
