Tracing Historical Footsteps at Puri Pemecutan: A Legacy of Bali's Struggle Against Colonizers

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Although Denpasar is known as a modern city in Bali, traces of historical struggles remain for visitors to discover in the island’s capital. One such place is Puri Pemecutan Denpasar, a royal palace that serves as a reminder of the significant influence of ancient kingdoms on Bali’s development.

Located on Jalan Tamrin, Puri Pemecutan stands proudly on a 4.2-hectare estate. This area does not include the expansions made to the west, north, east, and south at Puri Tanjung Pemecutan, which serves as the residence of royal descendants. To the west of the palace, there is an armory with rifles and cannons. On the eastern side are Jero Ukiran and Jero Kanginan, which now form the new Puri Agung Pemecutan.

The palace has also been a symbol of Bali’s resistance against Dutch colonial forces. In 1906, during the Puputan war, the palace was set ablaze in a dramatic standoff against the Dutch. Today, the palace is in excellent condition, retaining its distinct Balinese ornaments that cover nearly every corner of the building.

The architecture of Puri Pemecutan is still reminiscent of its original form before the fire, featuring traditional elements. The front courtyard, known as Jaba Jeroning Cerangcang, greets visitors, while the Jaba Bale Gong, located in the western corner, serves as a storage space for ancient musical instruments like gamelan. There are also kitchens and rooms that once housed royal family members. The bale kulkul, a watchtower on the southern side of the palace, silently witnessed the Puputan war and remains intact, the only structure that survived the flames.

Visiting Puri Pemecutan feels like stepping back into a pivotal chapter of Bali’s history, reflecting on the island's resistance against Dutch occupation. If you're lucky, you might not only catch a glimpse of what the royal palace looked like in the past but also witness a film crew on-site, as the palace is occasionally used for national movie productions. So, what are you waiting for? Plan your visit to Puri Pemecutan and experience a piece of Balinese history firsthand.

Lumintang City Park: An Integrated Recreation Destination in the Heart of Denpasar

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Here is the favorite city park for the people of Denpasar. It is located on Jalan Gatot Subroto Tengah. This city park offers complete facilities for families with various purposes in the capital of Bali. For those who aren’t familiar with this park, let’s take a look at the available facilities at Lapangan Kota Lumintang.

Taman Kota Lumintang is not just equipped with sports facilities; it has transformed into a beautiful city park that serves as a new choice for recreation and education for families. The park is divided into several themed areas, such as a traffic park, a senior park, a fitness park, a bird park, a digital park, and a children's playground. All of these areas provide recreational opportunities for relaxation in the city. The park is bisected by Jalan Gatot Subroto Tengah.

On the southern side of the road, there is a traffic park that has been inaugurated with traffic signs and facilities to educate children about road safety. One of the newest facilities in this southern area is an internationally recognized skatepark. Moving to the northern side of Lapangan Lumintang, there is a digital park that provides easy access to information technology through comfortable internet services, complete with seating and tables. This area is also equipped with CCTV and free Wi-Fi for information access.

There is also a Youth Park, which is often used as a coworking space, a mini food court, for youth entrepreneurship training, live music shows, dance, theater, and creative exhibitions (such as paintings, photographs, and architecture). The Youth Park features its own jogging track, allowing visitors to jog while enjoying the clean and well-maintained Tukad Tagtag river.

The main facility on the northern side is an open area featuring a jogging track. This facility is most frequently used by residents in the early morning, with peak usage in the late afternoon. There is also a senior park, which is often utilized by elderly residents for activities such as aerobics and light exercises like walking.

Additionally, there is a bird park where children can learn about the agility of pigeons while interacting directly by feeding them. For those exercising, various fitness facilities are available at no cost.

One indicator of a city’s livability is having a proper city park. Taman Kota Lumintang certainly meets this criterion.

Exploring History and Traditions at Pura Petilan Pengerobongan: From Majestic Penjor to Ngurek Dance

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Have you ever been curious when seeing viral videos of large and beautiful penjor (decorative bamboo poles) displayed together? If you’re wondering where this location is, we inform you that it is in Kesiman, specifically at Pura Petilan Pengerobongan. This temple is located in Kesiman village, East Denpasar. The installation of these beautiful, large penjors is just one of the activities at this temple.

Pura Petilan, situated on the northern side of Jalan WR. Supratman, Denpasar, has historical significance and a unique tradition known as Ngerebong, celebrated every Redite Pon Medangsia. In addition to being famous for its large penjors, one of the interesting cultural aspects of this temple is the Tari Ngurek or Ngunying, which is a dance performed in a half-trance state using a kris (traditional dagger) at certain times.

Pura Petilan, also known as Pura Pangrebongan, is one of the temples in Denpasar closely related to the history of Puri Kesiman. The son of the Badung king, who later became the king of Kesiman with the title Cokorda Kesiman or Batara Inggas, established a new palace to the west of Puri Kedaton or Puri Kesiman Baru. To strengthen the support from the people of Kesiman, the worship sites in the area were also improved.

To the east of Pura Petilan, worship places for the Pasek community, Warga Gaduh, and Warga Dangka were built. Similarly, worship sites connected to Pura Petilan were restored by the king. These included Pura Kedaton, Pura Urasana, Pura Kesiman, and Pura Tojan. The ceremonies at Pura Petilan continued, with the king participating in worship alongside the people. The statue of the additional king was also brought and installed at Gedung Agung along with the statue of Dalem Kesiman.

At Pura Petilan Kesiman, there is a gedong agung (main shrine) located in the center, with a bedawang nala base to place the statues. Next to the gedong agung, there is another gedong to accommodate the manca pengerob temple and all the pecanangan or pratima from all the temples in the Kesiman area during the Pengerebongan ceremony at Pura Petilan.

Pura Petilan is very interesting as it unites the people, in this case, the residents of Kesiman with various communities or citizens from different professions. They are united by the strength of their religious beliefs, as the temple not only serves as a medium for worshiping God and the sacred spirits of ancestors but also reaches out to social and cultural aspects.

Bali Mangrove Forest or Ngurah Rai Forest Park: A Nature Tourism Destination that Combines History, Beauty, and Conservation

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One of the natural attractions in the city of Denpasar that you should never miss is the Bali Mangrove Forest, or Ngurah Rai Forest Park (Tahura). This destination has historical significance as it was once the site where heads of state from G-20 countries, including U.S. President Joe Biden, gathered, took photos together, and planted mangroves. It is located on Jalan By Pass Ngurah Rai, Km 21, Suwung Kauh, Pemogan Village, Kuta, Denpasar. When entering this location, look for the large sign indicating G-20.

There are various activities to enjoy in this 1,373-hectare mangrove park, which features a 1.5-kilometer-long mangrove track. Here, you can walk along the wooden track above the mangrove forest, where visitors can observe and identify a variety of mangrove plants on either side. This mangrove track offers a view of the Bali Mandara Toll Road.

Visitors can also take a moment to relax and breathe in the fresh air from a special tower in the middle of the forest. This tower is also Instagram-worthy, making it a popular backdrop for photos. From the top of the tower, visitors can enjoy the beauty of the mangrove forest from above. Another activity you can try here is renting a jukung (traditional fishing boat) owned by local fishermen. The mangrove forest is home to boats from the Segara Guna Batu Lumbang Fishermen Group, which has around 40 members.

Tourists are invited to explore the mangrove forest for 25-30 minutes, even passing beneath the Bali Mandara Toll Road. The Guna Batu Lumbang Fishermen Group also manages a mangrove nursery, where they replant dead or damaged mangroves. Replanting efforts extend into the deeper parts of the forest using boats or canoes.

There are at least 16 species of mangrove vegetation in the Bali Mangrove Forest, predominantly Rhizophora, Bruguiera, and Xylocarpus. These mangroves provide shelter for various aquatic and terrestrial wildlife in the area. The Ngurah Rai Forest Park Technical Implementation Unit has recorded approximately 61 bird species, four reptiles, 30 species of crustaceans, and eight fish species living within it.

Isn’t it interesting to explore activities in the Denpasar Mangrove Forest? Who says tourism in Denpasar is only about culture and beaches? The mangrove forest is also worth visiting.

 

Pura Dalem Kedewatan

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Pura Dalem Kadewatan located at Sanur Village was one of the cultural heritage of Denpasar in Sanur. This Pura was built in XV-XX Masehi and before moved to Sanur, this Pura was located in Tangtu, at the edge of Ayung River.

When Tangtu was heavily flooded by the river, all the ceremony was postponed. That’s the moment when the locals decided to moved this Pura to the south, to Tegal Asah, where the land countour has stages and they found a higher place and shine. The place inspired the name Sanur, it came from the word Sa = means one single and Nur = means holy light.

The rituals held in this Pura is using the spiritual timing on Tilem day to triwara kajeng, often named as Tilem Kajeng. Tilem was a prabhawa from Sang Hyang Siva that also had a form as Sang Hyang Yamadipati (The God of the dead) who had the vanishing power.

The dances of Sang Hyang will be performed on the piodalan day.  One of the dance is Sang Hyang Jaran. This dance is very sacred and stopped performed in 1938 and then finally resume on 2016.

 

This dance showed a horse played and showered with fire with two Pratima in red and white. This sacred dance will feel scary when the dancer as Sang Hyang Jaran playing with a real fire in the middle of the pura and all the songs played in sacred way.

 

One day after piodalan Tilem Kajeng, the people will do the gebogan offerings along the village. This gebogan will be carried by the womens wearing white and yellow kebaya to praise God for all the blessings. This ceremony called Mepeed.

Pura Dalem Penataran

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PURA DALEM PENATARAN

PURA DALEM PENATARAN

Pura Dalem Penataran located close to Pura Siwa Dampati. This Pura was built around XVIII-XIX. In Its Gedong Dalem there are sculpture mentioned the year 1793 or 1871 Masehi. Most part of this building which is Gedong Dalem, Palinggih Sumur Suci, Palinggih Hyang Api (Lebuh Geni), Paduraksa Candi Kurung (Kori Agung) and other statues was made from red bricks and rockstone.

Dampati Shiva Temple

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PURA SIWA DAMPATI

DAMPATI SHIVA TEMPLE

Experts predicted that Pura Siwa Dampati was made within XVIII-XIX century. This pura still in good shape with red bricks and related to Pura Dalem Penataran.

Dampati means The Meeting. In Regweda writings, Dampati also refer to a unity between a man and a woman that cannot be separated. This meanings was believed as a manifests of the unity of Siwa and Sakti, the Durga Goddes in Pura Dalem Penataran.

This complex consists of

Gedong Siwa Dampati, Paduraksa Candi Kurung (Kori Agung), dwarapala statue, and a priest statue (Brahmana).

Segara Temple

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PURA SEGARA

SEGARA TEMPLE

PURA SEGARA

SEGARA TEMPLE

Experts predicted that Pura Siwa Dampati was made within XVIII-XIX century. This pura still in good shape with red bricks and related to Pura Dalem Penataran.

Dampati means The Meeting. In Regweda writings, Dampati also refer to a unity between a man and a woman that cannot be separated. This meanings was believed as a manifests of the unity of Siwa and Sakti, the Durga Goddes in Pura Dalem Penataran.

This complex consists of

Gedong Siwa Dampati, Paduraksa Candi Kurung (Kori Agung), dwarapala statue, and a priest statue (Brahmana).

Dalem Jumeneng Temple

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PURA DALEM JUMENENG

DALEM JUMENENG TEMPLE

PURA DALEM JUMENENG

DALEM JUMENENG TEMPLE

Still within the beachside of Segara Ayu, there is Pura Segara Ayu. Since there is no authentic history about this Pura, but the structure is very similar with Pura Dalem Jumeneng with layers of Gamping stones. Therefore the experts made an assumption that this Pura was built in Megaliticum age.

The fishermen and all the village people surround that area use this Pura to give offerings, celebrations, and praying. Mostly, they use it to ask a blessing for fishing.

In Balinese, Segara means the beach or seaside, and also known as the territory of Wisnu, the Hindu God. They celebrate piodalan (the birthdays of the pura) on Purnama Kedasa (Purnamaning Sasih Kedasa)

There are 3 spot to place offerings; Palinggih Gunung Agung, Palinggih Gunung Batur, and Palinggih Dalem Segara. All the offerings send for the goodness of the nature, and the mountain. Later in the days, the people surround the area made 3 statues to completed the architectural design; dragon, turtle, and elephant fish statues.

Palinggih Bathara Bayu

is the place to praise Bayu, the God of the wind for Hindu Bali

Penyawangan Ratu Mas Melanting

Queen Melanting and Queen Jilih Lambih was the goddess for fertility, life goodness, and prosperity.

Linggih Ratu Manik Kembar

Made from gamping stone layers with three throne chambers. The thrones are made from stones and believed as the place for the Gods to sit and heard prayers.

Tahta Batu          

A throne with a big seat back. Was made from a single gamping stone with a very minimalist sculptures.

Sumur                  

An ancient dwell that brings water. The people used the water from this dwell only for special prayers and made a wall surround it also with gamping stones.

Menhir                 

It’s a very solid vertical stone used to be a tombstone and also  believed there are spirits inside this.

Kedok Muka        

These masks was made very simple, the simple lines made a siluet of eyes, noses, and mouths.

Baris Cina Dance at Kesumajati Temple Semawang

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Baris Cina Dance that held specially in Pura Kesumajati, Semawang, is a very sacred dance and performed only in Piodalan Ceremony of the Pura. This Dance was counted as intangible heritage in October 10th 2018. Unwritten history that told from generations mentioned that this dance was once performed by Ida Ratu Tuan who had tranced and speak with Chinese language, since then, they named this dance as Baris Cina Dance.

The move in this dance similar to Kungfu move, accompanied by Gong Bheri music, the gong is flat and similar to chinese’s musical instruments.