A. Ottino Origin myths, hierarchical order, and the negotiation of ...

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Trunyan (elder brother) Status in the Balinese Village of Trunyan 497 Abang Dukuh (middle brother) Batur (younger sister) Figure 3. Elder/younger dyad. Kedisan (younger brother) temples, Pura Batur, as the regional temple of the younger sister, takes precedence over the temples of the villages in which each of the three brothers reside, whereas from the perspective of the asymmetry that is inherent in the birth-order dyad, the three brothers take precedence over their sister. As the two middle brothers are subordinated to their first-born brother, a further dyad comes into play, namely that of the first-born son who becomes king of Trunyan, and the last-born daughter who governs the lake. 15 The asymmetrie relations inherent in all these dyads remain undecided, according to whether it is the regional temple that is given precedence over the state temple of the small kingdom of Trunyan, natural fertility over society, first-born over last-born, or female over male. The second part of the myth consolidates the hierarchical order proposed in the first part. It affirms two points: the positive value of exogamy for the continuity of the ancestral line, and the precedence of the progenitor line over the genitor line. A distinction is made in myths A and B between the origin of life which results in non-productive twins but establishes a social order subordinating the life-bearing line (the younger sister) to the progenitor line (the elder brother), and the continuation of life which requires the intervention of a third party, the genitor line, in the person of the in-coming husband. It is only in so far as incest is rendered impossible because of the hermaphrodite character of the elder twin that the precedence of the progenitor line over the genitor line can be maintained, since it is only then that an outsider is required. The hermaphrodite attributes of the elder brother therefore constitute an essential element in the legitimation of social hierarchy, as well as representing a statement on the ideal of the union of the male and female principles. The mythical union between the younger sister and the son of the king of Solo is a reversal of the accepted norms of ordinary marriages. Whereas 15 However, as Danandjaja did not investigate the links between Trunyan and the regional temples of Batur, it is not possible to pursue this point further.
498 Arlette Ottino in Bali women are usually identified with the earth and men with the sky, in this case the wife comes from the sky while the husband, through his father the king of Solo, belongs to the earth. 16 The union also is a nyeburin marriage, a reversed marriage of the type commonly practised in Bali, in which the husband moves to his wife's house yard. In nyeburin, the incoming husband marries with the ritual and legal status of a female {mawak luh, literally: has the body of a woman), while his wife acquires the status of a male {mawak muni: has the body of a man). The value of nyeburin is linked to Balinese ideas relating residence to ancestral identity; the incoming spouse is always subordinated to the spouse in whose ancestral space the couple reside. Nyeburin marriages occur for many reasons - usually to do with inheritance - but this type of union can also be used to enable a man to enter a prestigious and powerful group in order to gain access to a high-status position. 17 This seems to be the case here, as the Javanese prince leaves his ancestors to enter his wife's prestigious ancestral line of purely divine origin and become the founding ruler of the kingdom. The myth thus offers a model for the precedence of the progenitor line by suggesting that the in-coming husband rules in the name of the line of the elder brother. Nyeburin transforms the in-coming husband into a medium for the perpetuation of that line. This is an important dimension of the marriage, which supports the idea that the myth is primarily about explaining the hierarchical order. Since, as a hermaphrodite, the elder brother cannot marry his own sister, this means that he cannot rule as a king either, since fertility (the purpose of marriage) and kingship are seemingly related in the myth. However, he can do so through the medium of another man, but only under the conditions entailed by a nyeburin. When these are fulfilled, the inability to ensure the continuity of life gives the elder brother access to political power. The reverse marriage has important consequences for the male/female dyad as well as for the relations between first settlers and later arrivals. By virtue of her superior position in the marriage, the younger sister / wife partakes of female and male values, while her in-coming husband takes on, as well as the male value, the female value that his subordinate position entails. However, as well as establishing the asymmetry between progen- 16 The association of the king of Trunyan with the earth is reinforced in the next myth, which describes how his effigy grows out of the soil where the dead are buried. 17 I must refer here to my own forthcoming study of strategie alliances in a village of Gunung Batukau, where my findings show that nyeburin, which accounts for more than a third of all marriages, is sometimes contracted between parallel cousins in order to reunite property divided one generation earlier or to keep family assets such as esoteric knowledge or temple guardianship within the family. Nyeburin marriage within a powerful family can also enhance a man's status and enable him to have access to positions of political or ritual leadership which would otherwise not be open to him.
Page 1 and 2: A. Ottino Origin myths, hierarchica
Page 3 and 4: 482 Arlette Ottino Howe 1989), no s
Page 5 and 6: KEDISAN EED BUAHAN Kelod (West) SON
Page 7 and 8: 486 Arlette Ottino organization of
Page 9 and 10: Map 2. Pura Bali Desa Pancering Jag
Page 11 and 12: 490 Arlette Ottino 39 and 40. Pepel
Page 13 and 14: 492 Arlette Ottino unit for the anc
Page 15 and 16: 494 Arlette Ottino from that of Tru
Page 17: 496 Arlette Ottino younger sister.
Page 21 and 22: 500 Arlette Ottino transformation i
Page 23 and 24: 502 Arlette Ottino sub-dadia Panyar
Page 25 and 26: 504 Arlette Ottino such as the tute
Page 27 and 28: 506 Arlette Ottino Trunyan and his
Page 29 and 30: 508 Arlette Ottino Trunyan, the you
Page 31 and 32: 510 Arlette Ottino As I mentioned i
Page 33 and 34: 512 Arlette Ottino krama desa retir
Page 35 and 36: 514 Arlette Ottino However, because
Page 37 and 38: 516 Arlette Ottino REFERENCES Bates

A. Ottino Origin myths, hierarchical order, and the negotiation of ...

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