Qualla: The Village That Lets Its Dead Return to the Earth

The Village That Lets Its Dead Return to the Earth: Introduction

Thu, 02 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Yusuf IJsseldijk, CC BY 2.0. There is no cremation in Trunyan. No burial, either -- at least not for the married dead. In this isolated Bali Aga village on the eastern shore of Lake Batur, the bodies of the deceased are placed on the open ground, covered with cloth and a bamboo cage, and left to decompose beneath the canopy of an ancient banyan tree. The tree is called taru menyan -- literally, "nice smelling tree" -- and its scent is said to neutralize the odor of decay so completely that visitors report no smell at all. The village takes its very name from this tree. Reachable only by boat across the crescent-shaped crater lake, Trunyan sits at the foot of Mount Abang, a peak on the eastern rim of the Batur caldera, and its people practice rituals that predate the arrival of both Hinduism and Buddhism on the island.

Image: Yusuf IJsseldijk | CC BY 2.0

The Village That Lets Its Dead Return to the Earth: Older Than the Temple

Thu, 02 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Djae26, CC BY-SA 4.0. The Bali Aga -- the "original Balinese" -- are mountain-dwelling communities whose customs diverge sharply from the Hindu-influenced lowland culture that most visitors to Bali encounter. Trunyan is among the most notable of these communities, alongside the villages of Tenganan an...

Image: Djae26 | CC BY-SA 4.0

The Village That Lets Its Dead Return to the Earth: The Cemetery Beneath the Canopy

Thu, 02 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Kochiana, CC BY-SA 4.0. The funeral rites are what draw most attention, and they deserve to be understood on their own terms rather than treated as spectacle. When a married person dies, the body is carried by boat to a burial ground 500 meters north of Banjar Kuban, a site reachable only from the water...

Image: Kochiana | CC BY-SA 4.0

The Village That Lets Its Dead Return to the Earth: The Four-Meter God in the Underground Chamber

Thu, 02 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Kochiana, CC BY-SA 4.0. The Trunyanese worship a local deity called Bhatara Da Tonta, also known as Ratu Gede Pancering Jagat, a figure connected to the Batur volcano itself. His effigy is extraordinary: a four-meter-tall Neolithic statue housed in an underground chamber, regularly cleansed with rainwat...

Image: Kochiana | CC BY-SA 4.0

The Village That Lets Its Dead Return to the Earth: The Weight of Ceremony

Thu, 02 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Arfiana Rahma Shanti, CC BY-SA 4.0. Life in Trunyan is governed by expectations that can feel crushing. Like other Balinese communities, the Trunyanese place enormous emphasis on prestige, and ceremonies must be held lavishly or not at all. Wedding celebrations are expected to be spectacular -- so spectacular that ...

Image: Arfiana Rahma Shanti | CC BY-SA 4.0