Why Bali is set up this way.

This page describes a framework. Every statement is what a named text says, with its number and article (Pasal). It does not say whether the framework is right or how it works in practice.

Where a text states a value, such as Tri Hita Karana or Sad Kerthi, we quote the text and name it. Indonesian wording is in quotation marks and the English is our translation. The Indonesian text is the authoritative one.

Every desa adat and every subak has its own written rules (awig-awig and pararem), and they differ from one to the next. Nothing on this page presents one village's rule or practice as the rule of Bali. What the framework means for your plot and your neighbours is a question for your own banjar or desa adat.

For who decides what, read How power works in Bali. For the provincial rules a buyer meets, read Bali's own rules for building and living. For daily life next to a banjar, read Living next to the customary community in Bali; what a banjar asks of a neighbour is on the pages Village contributions and ceremonies and Registering in Bali: what the state asks and what the village asks. The glossary explains the terms, and the page When offices in Bali are closed lists the Bali holy days.

The 1945 Constitution says that the state recognises and respects customary law communities and their traditional rights, as long as they are still alive, fit the development of society and the principle of the unitary state, as regulated by law. The words are in Pasal 18B ayat (2), added by the second amendment of 18 August 2000: "Negara mengakui dan menghormati kesatuan-kesatuan masyarakat hukum adat serta hak-hak tradisionalnya sepanjang masih hidup dan sesuai dengan perkembangan masyarakat dan prinsip Negara Kesatuan Republik Indonesia, yang diatur dalam undang-undang."

Pasal 28I ayat (3) adds that cultural identity and the rights of traditional communities are respected "selaras dengan perkembangan zaman dan peradaban", in step with the times and civilisation.

Pasal 18 ayat (6) gives regional governments the right to make regional regulations (Perda) to carry out autonomy. The "Mengingat" part of Perda Bali 4/2019 on Desa Adat, which lists the legal basis the Perda rests on, names it first.

UU 6/2014 tentang Desa (Law 6 of 2014 on Villages) defines a Desa as a legal community with its own boundary and authority over local affairs, based on community initiative, origin rights or traditional rights "yang diakui dan dihormati dalam sistem pemerintahan Negara Kesatuan Republik Indonesia" (recognised and respected within the government system of the unitary state). The definition covers both a village and a desa adat (Pasal 1 angka 1). Pasal 6 ayat (1) says there are two kinds, Desa and Desa Adat, and ayat (2) that each is called by the name used locally. UU 23/2014 on regional government repeats the definition (Pasal 1 angka 43) and says a Desa may be formed within a kabupaten or kota, with the authority the village law gives it (Pasal 371).

A chapter of its own, Bab XIII (Pasal 96 to 103), covers the desa adat. The government, the province and the kabupaten or kota arrange customary law communities and designate them as Desa Adat (Pasal 96). A community qualifies when its customary law community and traditional rights are really still alive, whether territorial, genealogical or functional, are seen as suited to the development of society, and fit the principle of the unitary state (Pasal 97 ayat (1)). The last test is met when the community does not threaten the sovereignty and integrity of the state and its customary norms do not conflict with statutes (Pasal 97 ayat (4)).

A Desa Adat is designated by a Perda of the kabupaten or kota (Pasal 98 ayat (1)). The government and the provincial and kabupaten or kota governments may also arrange desa adat, and that arrangement is set in a Perda with a map of the boundary attached (Pasal 101). The authority of a desa adat based on origin rights (Pasal 103) includes governing under its original structure, arranging and caring for its ulayat or customary territory, keeping its social and cultural values, settling customary disputes under its customary law in line with human rights with priority for deliberation, and keeping peace and order under its customary law.

These articles of UU 6/2014 stand as enacted. UU 6/2023 (Cipta Kerja) re-enacted Pasal 1 with the same definition and changed Pasal 87, and UU 3/2024 changed other articles, none of them Pasal 6 or 96 to 103. The implementing regulation is now PP 16/2026 of 27 March 2026, which replaced PP 43/2014 and its amendments. Its Pasal 33 repeats the list of origin-right authority. Its Pasal 177 says the kabupaten or kota government sets the recognition of customary law communities within one kabupaten or kota and the province those across several, and both send it to the Minister of Home Affairs for a register number. Its Pasal 178 ayat (1) says protection is given through arrangement as a Desa Adat.

UU 15/2023 tentang Provinsi Bali (Law 15 of 2023 on the Province of Bali) was promulgated on 4 May 2023 and replaced UU 64/1958, which had formed the first-level regions of Bali, Nusa Tenggara Barat and Nusa Tenggara Timur (Pasal 11). Its considerations say that the 1958 law no longer fits legal developments, and that regional autonomy must take account of a region's cultural wealth and local wisdom. Pasal 2 fixes 14 August 1958 as the date the province was formed.

Its Explanation (Penjelasan) says the 1958 law rests on the provisional constitution of 1950 and a 1957 law on regional government, and "tidak lagi mampu menjawab kebutuhan hukum masyarakat Bali, terutama dalam memelihara kebudayaan" (can no longer answer the legal needs of the Balinese people, above all in keeping their culture). It states that customs, tradition, arts and local wisdom have continued to decline in the number and quality of institutions, facilities, human resources and the value system. It says the new law is made to give a legal basis, to recognise the characteristics of the province and to strengthen the advancement of culture and the desa adat in Bali.

Pasal 5 ayat (1) names two characteristics of the province, Tri Hita Karana and Sad Kerthi (quoted below). Pasal 6 says: "Dalam wilayah Provinsi Bali terdapat desa adat dan subak yang diatur dengan Peraturan Daerah Provinsi Bali sesuai dengan ketentuan peraturan perundang-undangan" (in Bali there are desa adat and subak, regulated by a Bali provincial Perda in line with legislation). The Explanation of Pasal 6 defines a desa adat as a Balinese customary community with one body of customs, tradition, arts and culture, with a territory "sama atau berbeda dari desa" (the same as, or different from, the village of the village law), its own institutions, and authority over Balinese custom, tradition, arts and culture based on local wisdom.

Pasal 7 says Bali's development is planned with attention to these characteristics, by an approach that joins nature, people and culture, "dengan memperhatikan pemuliaan adat istiadat, tradisi, seni dan budaya serta kearifan lokal", and in order to realise the principle of a state that is "berdaulat secara politik, berdikari secara ekonomi, dan berkepribadian dalam kebudayaan" (politically sovereign, economically self-reliant, with a cultural personality). Pasal 8 lets the central government support culture, desa adat and subak with funds through the province, and lets the province receive money from the foreign tourist levy and from other lawful, non-binding contributions to protect Bali's culture and natural environment. The levy itself is on Bali's own rules for building and living.

Perda Bali 4/2023 on the Haluan Pembangunan Bali Masa Depan, 100 Tahun Bali Era Baru 2025 to 2125 (the 100 year development charter) states the provincial vision as "Nangun Sat Kerthi Loka Bali", pursued through the "Pola Pembangunan Semesta Berencana" (Menimbang a, Pasal 3). Pasal 3 gives its aim: to give the government and development of Bali a fundamental direction "untuk secara konsisten memuliakan serta menyucikan Alam, Manusia, dan Kebudayaan Bali" (to honour and purify consistently the nature, the people and the culture of Bali), in one territory described as "Satu Pulau, Satu Pola, dan Satu Tata Kelola" (one island, one pattern, one governance).

The charter says it rests on the local wisdom Sad Kerthi (Pasal 1 angka 6). It defines "Masyarakat Bali" (Bali society) as every person officially recorded as living in Bali, including krama desa adat, krama tamiu and tamiu (Pasal 1 angka 10). The duty it places on heads of government and its annex of directions are covered in Bali's own rules for building and living and are not repeated here.

The page How power works in Bali sets out what Perda Bali 4/2019 tentang Desa Adat di Bali says about territory, land, rules and decisions. This section adds the reasons and principles the Perda itself states. Its considerations say that desa adat have grown over centuries with origin rights, traditional rights and original autonomy to run their own household, and have contributed greatly to the life of the nation. They say a desa adat is a customary law community "berdasarkan filosofi Tri Hita Karana yang berakar dari kearifan lokal Sad Kerthi, dengan dijiwai ajaran agama Hindu" (based on the philosophy of Tri Hita Karana rooted in the local wisdom of Sad Kerthi, inspired by Hindu teaching) and so should be protected, guided, developed and empowered, so that the Balinese people are politically sovereign, economically self-reliant and have a cultural personality. They also say that the earlier Perda 3/2001 on Desa Pakraman, as amended by Perda 3/2003, no longer fitted and had to be replaced (Menimbang a to c). Pasal 102 repeals both.

Pasal 2 lists thirteen principles for regulating desa adat, each given in Balinese and Indonesian. Among them are padumpada (justice), manyama braya (kinship), gilik-saguluk (togetherness), parasparo (deliberation), salunglung sabayantaka (mutual help), sarwaada (diversity), Bali mawacara (the unity of Bali) and sareng-sareng (participation).

Pasal 3 ayat (1) gives nine aims. The first three are to recognise and respect the position and role of desa adat, in their diversity, "sebelum dan sesudah terbentuknya Negara Kesatuan Republik Indonesia" (before and after the unitary state was formed); to give desa adat clear status and legal certainty in the constitutional system; and to advance custom, tradition, arts, culture and local wisdom "secara sakala dan niskala" (in the visible and the unseen world). Pasal 5 gives the desa adat the status of a legal subject in the government system of the Province of Bali.

Pasal 21 sets the task of a desa adat as bringing about "kasukretan": tranquillity, welfare, happiness and peace in the visible and the unseen world. Its tasks (Pasal 22) include running Parahyangan, Pawongan and Palemahan, carrying out activities in line with the values of Sad Kerthi (huruf e), keeping the sanctity, preservation, cleanliness and order of the territory (huruf j), and managing waste in its territory (huruf l).

Three official texts define the two values: UU 15/2023 Pasal 5 ayat (1), Perda 4/2019 Pasal 1 angka 27 and 28 and Pasal 6, and Perda 4/2023 Pasal 1 angka 7. We quote what each says and add nothing to it.

Tri Hita Karana. UU 15/2023 Pasal 5 ayat (1) huruf a calls it a "filosofi masyarakat Bali mengenai tiga penyebab kebahagiaan", the philosophy of the Balinese people about three causes of happiness: a harmonious attitude of life between people and God, among people, and between people and their environment, "berdasarkan pengorbanan suci (yadnya)", based on sacred sacrifice. Perda 4/2019 Pasal 1 angka 27 words it as a balanced or harmonious attitude of devotion to God, service to fellow human beings and love for the natural environment, on the same basis of yadnya.

Perda 4/2019 turns the three relationships into the three basic elements of a desa adat (Pasal 6 ayat (1)): Parahyangan, the harmonious relationship with God (Pasal 7); Pawongan, the harmonious social system among the krama, the people of the territory (Pasal 8); and Palemahan, the harmonious relationship between the krama and the environment of the territory (Pasal 10). Pasal 6 ayat (2) says Tri Hita Karana includes devotion (bhakti) to God, togetherness, care and solidarity (punia) among people, and harmony and compassion (asih) towards nature and the environment.

Sad Kerthi. UU 15/2023 Pasal 5 ayat (1) huruf b calls it a value of Balinese local wisdom, an effort towards the purification of six things. Perda 4/2019 Pasal 6 ayat (3) says Tri Hita Karana springs from it, "6 (enam) sumber utama kesejahteraan dan kebahagiaan kehidupan masyarakat Bali" (six main sources of the welfare and happiness of Balinese life). Perda 4/2023 Pasal 1 angka 7 gives the same six, each as "Penyucian dan Pemuliaan" (purification and honouring). The table gives the six as worded in UU 15/2023 and in Perda 4/2019 Pasal 1 angka 28.

The texts do not word Sad Kerthi alike. Perda 4/2019 Pasal 1 angka 28, repeated in its Explanation, describes the six as efforts, among them building the quality of human resources (jana kerthi) and dynamic social and natural harmony (jagat kerthi). Pasal 6 ayat (3) of the same Perda, UU 15/2023 and Perda 4/2023 give jana kerthi as purification of humans and jagat kerthi as purification of the universe. We report both wordings and found no text that says which one governs.

Perda Bali 2/2023 on the Provincial Spatial Plan 2023 to 2043 (RTRW) says in its considerations that it implements the vision "Nangun Sat Kerthi Loka Bali" on the basis of the local wisdom Sad Kerthi (Menimbang a). Pasal 2 says the plan is made on principles "yang dijiwai oleh filosofi kearifan lokal Sad Kerthi dan Tri Hita Karana" (inspired by the philosophy of Sad Kerthi and Tri Hita Karana), among them integration, harmony and balance, sustainability, openness and legal certainty. Pasal 5 gives its aim: a quality, safe and productive territory as a centre of a green economy based on tourism, agriculture, marine affairs and creative industry, "dalam rangka menjaga keharmonisan Alam, Manusia, dan Kebudayaan Bali berlandaskan nilai-nilai kearifan lokal Sad Kerthi dan filosofi Tri Hita Karana".

Pasal 4 ayat (6) says the land area the plan covers, and part of the coastal waters, "mencakup total Wewidangan Desa Adat di seluruh Bali berdasarkan konsep kearifan lokal Bali" (includes the whole of the territories of all desa adat in Bali, on the Balinese concept of local wisdom).

The plan names sacred places in its definitions. Pasal 1 angka 45: a Kawasan Suci is an area made sacred by Hindus, such as mountains, hills, lakes, springs, river confluences (campuhan), the sea and beaches. Angka 46: a Kawasan Tempat Suci is the area around a temple whose sanctity is to be kept within a radius set by the status of the temple in the 1994 Bhisama Kesucian Pura of the Parisada Hindu Dharma Indonesia. Angka 108 defines that Bhisama as a religious norm set by the Sabha Pandita of the Parisada as a guide to the sanctity of temple areas that the scriptures do not explain in detail.

Pasal 33 ayat (1) and (2) puts both kinds of area among the "kawasan kearifan lokal" (local wisdom areas), which are part of the locally protected areas (kawasan perlindungan setempat). Pasal 33 ayat (3) lists the Kawasan Suci: a mountain from the foot of the slope to the peak; four named lakes; the meeting of any two rivers in the province; beaches used for adat and spiritual activity and for melasti; sea areas used for the same; and springs used to take holy water. For temples, the details are left to the spatial plans (RTRW) and detailed plans (RDTR) of each kabupaten or kota (Pasal 33 ayat (6)).

The rules for building near these places, such as the radius of a temple zone and the height limit, are in the section on temple zones in Bali's own rules for building and living, and on the pages on building permits and on zones and map colours. This page does not repeat them.

Perda Bali 9/2012 tentang Subak (17 December 2012) defines a subak in Pasal 1 angka 4 as an "organisasi tradisional di bidang tata guna air dan atau tata tanaman di tingkat usaha tani pada masyarakat adat di Bali yang bersifat sosioagraris, religius, ekonomis yang secara historis terus tumbuh dan berkembang": a traditional organisation for water use and, or, crop planning at farm level among Bali's customary communities, at once social and agrarian, religious and economic, which has grown and developed through history. UU 15/2023 (Explanation of Pasal 6) and the spatial plan (Perda 2/2023 Pasal 1 angka 112) use nearly the same words.

The Perda's considerations say that the subak, as part of Balinese culture and a social organisation, must be "diakui dan dihormati keberadaannya beserta hak-hak tradisionalnya" (recognised and respected with its traditional rights), and is to be preserved "berdasarkan falsafah Tri Hita Karana" (Menimbang a and b). Pasal 2 says a subak is based on Pancasila, the 1945 Constitution and the concept of Tri Hita Karana, "dijiwai Agama Hindu" (inspired by the Hindu religion). Pasal 7 gives it the position of a traditional organisation that shelters Bali's customary communities in agriculture and irrigation.

Every subak must have an awig-awig, which may not conflict with Pancasila, the Constitution or statutes (Pasal 9). The members (krama subak) make and approve it and it is recorded at the office of the bupati or walikota (Pasal 10). The boundary and the function of a subak's territory may be changed on the agreement of its members, after the approval of the bupati or walikota concerned (Pasal 5 ayat (1)); the farmland rules of Perda 4/2026 are in Bali's own rules for building and living. The Perda calls the working relations between a subak's officers and the desa dinas, the desa pakraman (the earlier name of the desa adat) and other bodies "koordinatif dan konsultatif" (Pasal 14).

UU 15/2023 Pasal 6 leaves subak, like desa adat, to a Bali provincial Perda, and Pasal 8 ayat (2) lets the central government fund culture, desa adat and subak through the province. The spatial plan treats the Subak Bali Landscape as a strategic area of national interest for social and cultural purposes (Pasal 48 ayat (2) huruf b) and as an area under international ratification, the world heritage subak cultural landscape of Bali (Pasal 48 ayat (3) huruf a). Its policy for the heritage areas is to protect and honour the preservation of water sources and a lasting subak farming system as protection of Balinese local wisdom (Pasal 61).

In 2012 UNESCO inscribed the Cultural Landscape of Bali Province: the Subak System as a Manifestation of the Tri Hita Karana Philosophy on the World Heritage List. The property is five sites with their water temples, 19,519.9 ha with a buffer zone of 1,454.8 ha, under criteria (iii), (v) and (vi). UNESCO's description says the subak "reflects the philosophical concept of Tri Hita Karana", which it describes as joining the realms of the spirit, the human world and nature, and notes that most subaks have written awig-awig setting out the rights and duties of members.

The texts above do not mention foreigners. They set up two kinds of village. UU 6/2014 Pasal 6 ayat (1) says there are two kinds of village, Desa and Desa Adat, and UU 15/2023 and its Explanation say that Bali has desa adat and subak and that a desa adat's territory may be the same as, or different from, the village of the village law. So on one plot the administrative village (desa dinas) and the desa adat can have different boundaries.

Both are, in the words of the texts, part of one state system. The village law speaks of villages and desa adat "diakui dan dihormati dalam sistem pemerintahan Negara Kesatuan Republik Indonesia", and Perda 4/2019 Pasal 1 angka 14 says the same of the government of a desa adat.

The people of a desa adat territory are in three groups: krama desa adat, krama tamiu and tamiu (Perda 4/2019 Pasal 8 ayat (2)). A tamiu is a person other than the first two who is in the territory for a time, or lives there and is recorded (Pasal 1 angka 12). The definition does not mention nationality; Bali's own rules for building and living explains how we read it for a foreign owner. Tamiu have limited duties and rights in the fields of Pawongan and Palemahan, set in the awig-awig and pararem (Pasal 9). The awig-awig apply to krama desa adat, krama tamiu and tamiu (Pasal 1 angka 29).

One duty is addressed to everyone, not only to members. Perda 4/2019 Pasal 12 says: "Setiap orang yang berada atau bertempat tinggal di Palemahan Desa Adat wajib menjaga kesucian, kelestarian, kebersihan, dan ketertiban": every person who is or lives in the territory of a desa adat must keep its sanctity, preservation, cleanliness and order.

The Balinese side of the law counts people who live in Bali as part of Bali society: the development charter defines the Balinese people as everyone officially recorded as living in Bali, tamiu included (Perda 4/2023 Pasal 1 angka 10). The state side, national law on land, permits, taxes and immigration, applies across Indonesia and is described in How power works in Bali.

Next to the desa adat there is a third body for farmland, the subak, with its own members and awig-awig (Perda 9/2012). The Perda says its relations with the desa dinas and the desa adat are coordinative and consultative. What a banjar asks of a neighbour is set out on the pages Village contributions and ceremonies and Registering in Bali: what the state asks and what the village asks; daily life next to the community is in Living next to the customary community in Bali.

UU 15/2023 Pasal 5 ayat (2) says that the characteristics named in ayat (1), Tri Hita Karana and Sad Kerthi, are "dikecualikan karena alasan keagamaan" (excepted for religious reasons). The Explanation says only "Cukup jelas" (clear enough) for Pasal 5. We found no text that says what or whom this excepts, and we do not read more into it.

Perda 4/2019 words Sad Kerthi in two ways (see above), and we found no text that says which one governs.

Perda 4/2019 lists the laws it rests on in its "Mengingat" part, including UU 23/2014 but not UU 6/2014. Its Explanation cites Pasal 18B ayat (2) and Pasal 28I ayat (3) of the Constitution and Pasal 236 ayat (4) of UU 23/2014. UU 6/2014 Pasal 98 ayat (1) places the designation of a Desa Adat in a Perda of the kabupaten or kota, and Pasal 101 lets the province arrange desa adat by Perda. We state the texts and draw no conclusion.

PP 16/2026 is read here only for Pasal 33, 177 and 178, from a scanned copy on JDIH BPK whose text layer has errors. Check the original before relying on an article number.

The copies of Perda 9/2012 on JDIH BPK and on the provincial JIDHAT portal carry the word "Rancangan" (draft) above the title. They also carry the signature block of 17 December 2012, the number in the regional gazette (Lembaran Daerah 2012 Nomor 9) and the Explanation. The JDIH BPK record gives the status as in force and lists no amendment. In JDIH BPK we found no later provincial Perda on subak. Some kabupaten have their own Perda on subak, for example Perda Kabupaten Gianyar 9/2013 tentang Subak, which we have not read.

This page reads texts. We have not read the awig-awig of any desa adat or subak, the governor's regulations made under Perda 4/2019 beyond what other pages cite, the annex of the development charter, or the spatial plans of the kabupaten. A Balinese co-author has not yet reviewed the page, so read it as a draft.