The Island of the Gods or Bali is indeed a paradise for local and foreign tourists. Besides beautiful coastlines, there are also a variety of cool and unavoidable tourist attractions. One of them is Trunyan village.
It is a small village located in Kintamani District, Bangli Regency. The village or usually called Desa Trunyan is remote and located on the shores of Lake Batur, reminiscent of the condition of Balinese people in ancient times who still adhered to the traditions of their ancestors.
The Interesting Facts about Trunyan Bali
The main attraction of this village is the burial of its people. It is still a culture that’s carried out from generation to generation by local people. If Balinese people usually die, they will go through a funeral procession called Ngaben. However, Trunyan people, are left to decompose in bamboo cages. Besides its unique burial process, there are several other things about this village. Check them out below.
The hereditary history
According to history, the Trunyan people are one of the three indigenous tribes in Bali, and they are not a wave of refugees from Majapahit. Two other indigenous tribes are in Karangasem named the Telengan Tribe and the Yeh Ketipat Tribe in Buleleng.
This remote village is included as the ancient Bali Aga. The people refer to themselves as Balinese descendants of Ratu Sakti Pancering Jagat. He is said to be the first person to descend from the sky and occupied the island of Bali. Meanwhile, they call other Balinese people as Bali Tribes, which are descendants of ancient Majapahit kingdom residents who lived and settled in Bali.
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The village name comes from a tree
A long time ago, there were four children of a king in Solo: three boys and one girl, who traveled to the East, Bali because he smelled a very fragrant smell. Long story short, after going through various events during the trip, there was only one child left that was the eldest son.
He then married a goddess whom he met beside the Taru Menyan tree, the source of pungent smell he had been looking for. He finally became the king in that place with the title Ratu Sakti Pancering Jagat and named his village, Trunyan. This name is an abbreviation of Taru Menyan, which means fragrant tree.
The tree cannot grow in another area
According to information from local residents, even though it is thousands of years old, the tree has not changed much. Starting from the smell that stings throughout the village, the villagers follow the smell. It turned out the fragrant smell came from a tree. Based on the agreement between Balinese village officials and residents, it was decided that the place would be a cemetery.
The strange thing is that the tree can only grow in Trunyan village. Although it has been tried to be developed and planted in other areas, it has never succeeded. The tree always wilts and eventually dies even though it is well cared for.
Its unique funeral tradition
The uniqueness of funerals in Trunyan village is still a tradition that’s carried out from generation to generation by local people. The body of the dead person goes through a procession, and it is finally wrapped in a cloth then placed on the ground under taru incense, surrounded by woven bamboo trees called ancak saji.
The dead body doesn’t smell
Usually, a corpse that’s left open without being buried will emit an unpleasant odor. However, this is not happening in this cemetery. It is believed the Trunyan tree growing here can neutralize the air around it, although there is no research that reveals the truth.
If you happen to travel to Bali and visit Trunyan village, you don’t need to be afraid of the pungent smell because the smell has been absorbed by the tree.
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There are three types of graves
According to its village tradition, the three types of the grave are classified based on the age of the person who died, the integrity of the body, and the method of burial.
The bodies buried under Trunyan tree are those whose death was natural and married. This cemetery is called Sema Wayah. The dead bodies due to accidents, suicides, fights, or other causes are not allowed to be buried under the tree. However, the bodies are buried in a cemetery on the border of a village called Sema Bantas.
The last one is a cemetery called Sema Muda for infants, children, and adults who are not married. The division of this cemetery is distinguished according to the customary rules that apply in Trunyan village.
With the interesting uniqueness that Trunyan village has, it feels incomplete if you don’t come to visit directly. Since it is located close to other travel destinations, such as Mount Batur and Kintamani Temple, you can come to visit one package by visiting other travel destinations. If you are from Denpasar it is about 65 km or about 2 hours away by vehicle. You can start by ordering flight tickets or hotels on airpaz.com or via Airpaz apps.
