Gelgel

The old court center of Gelgel is situated 5 km south of Klungkung town and actually comprises a number of distinct villages, notably Tojan and Kamasan. The entire area is filled with ancient and legendary sites from Bali's "Golden Age" - the 16th and 17th centuries - and this is the area to which all Balinese nobility and just about everyone else on the island trace their ancestry. The most important site lies at the very heart of Gelgel - the sacred Pura Jero Agung or "Great Palace Temple," which stands on the site of the former Gelgel palace. The temple is the ancestral shrine of the old palace, which was abandoned in the 17th century following a rebellion. Adjacent to it is the Pura Jero Kapal, all that remains of the second largest palace in Gelgel that of the Lord of Kapal. To the east of the Pura Jero Agung is ancient temple, the Pura Dasar or "base temple." This is the lowland counterpart Besakih, providing a direct connection with the sacred "mother temple" up on Mt Agung. The festivals held at Pura Dasar are spectacular, as all members of the royal family join in. It is here that the deified ancestor are worshipped - inside are a number stones set on a stone throne, archaic symbols of ancestral worship. Nearby is the Gelgel Mosque, the oldest on Bali, which was set up to serve the spiritual needs of Muslims came from Java to serve the king in ancient times. Further to the east of Gelgel is a large complex of graveyards and temples, which are cited in the genealogies of many families from all over Bali. Just north of this is a set of two unusual shrines, the Pura Dalem Gandamayu, which was the dwelling of Pedanda Nirartha - Bali's greatest priest and the ancestor of all Siwa brahmans on the island. He established this as a branch of the legendary graveyard of the same name on Java. One of the shrines at Gandamayu is dedicated to the descendants of Nirartha, while the other belongs to the pande or black smith clan. The present temple of Gandamayu was restored in the 1970s after being partially destroyed by the 1963 eruption of Mt Agung, which devastated the whole area. The Paksabali is famous for its Dewa Mapalu or Pasraman Dewa festival - the dramatic "clashing" or "meeting of the gods." This is held during the annual Kuningan festival, when idols are borne from the temple aboard palanquins down a steep ravine to the Unda River to be ritually bathed and given offerings. As the palanquin bearers proceed back up to the temple gates, they are possessed by the gods they are carrying and race madly in circles, colliding against each other in an effort to get back into the temple compound. The nearby village of Sampalan is the home of Bali's foremost traditional architect, Mangku Putu Cedet, who is a builder of fabulous cremation towers and traditional houses. He has traveled all over the world exhibiting his skills, and is thoroughly steeped in the arts of healing and white magic as well. When the royal family of Klungkung holds major ceremonies, it is he who is asked to perform a ritual to prevent it from raining. An important village further to the east is Dawan, home of one of Bali's most famous high priests, Pedanda Gede Keniten. He is directly descended from the court priest of Gelgel and is in great demand for major rituals. North of Dawan is the village of Besang, famous for its main temple which has an ancient inscription under a giant pagoda. The Dawan area, situated among small hills, is another "hot spot" or center of natural andMystical power on Bali.