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

Status in the Balinese Village of Trunyan 507
of minister at the court of the first king of Trunyan. One day the king sent
him to his father's court in Solo to fetch a gamelan for his brother residing
in Tirta Empul and buffaloes for himself. The king of Solo entrusted
Nyoman Trunyan with the gamelan and a gourd containing, he said,
buffalo seeds (bibit kerbau). Unfortunately Nyoman Trunyan, who could
not believe that such a small container could hold buffaloes, surreptitiously
opened it to check, whereupon the buffaloes escaped. Feeling remorseful,
Nyoman Trunyan presented the king of Trunyan with the gamelan,
instead of giving it to his brother. On hearing what had happened, the
king of Solo became so angry that he cursed Nyoman Trunyan's descent
line into extinction. As such, the Pasek Kayu Selem are descended from
the line of Nyoman Trunyan's sister (Danandjaja 1980:124). This myth is
all the more interesting as it duplicates the pattern found in the origin
myths of Trunyan. In each case the elder brother's line is non-productive -
either because the elder brother is a hermaphrodite or, as in this instance,
because he is cursed - and the group traces its origin to the younger sister.
Thus, besides integrating the Pasek Kayu Selem into the category of first
settlers, its origin myth also repeats the ideal pattern by asserting the
precedence of the progenitor line (elder brother) over the genitor line (the
younger sister's husband, who, in the present myth, remains unknown).
The ambiguous status of this origin group is further borne out by the
fact that, although they are included in the category of first settlers, the
Pasek Kayu Selem are not connected with the mythical village founders
by an apical ancestor. They support, with the Pasek Gelgel, a shrine named
Jero Sangyan Melinggih or Ibu (map 2, shrine 52), dedicated to a deity
who is credited with having built the kepasekan complex (Danandjaja
1980:636).
Two further dadia are included in the category of first settlers. The first
is the dadia Nang Megati, a member of the Pande origin group, which is
unrelated to any other origin groups in Trunyan. This dadia is made up of
three similarly unrelated sub-dadia, each with their own origin temple
(sanggah) (Danandjaja 1980:651). As a member of the group of first
settlers, this dadia helps support the shrine of the younger sister / wife
(shrine 39), as well as the twin shrines of the goddess of food and
cultivated plants, Dewi Sri, and her companion, the god of Gunung Agung,
Ratu Sakti Gunung Agung / Gunung Emas (shrines 45 and 47). lts apical
ancestor, Ratu Agung Muter, is not connected in any way with the village
founders. The second dadia is the dadia Nang Kremi, a group whose
apical ancestor is the anonymous son of the youngest wife of the king of
Trunyan, the daughter of Batara Kehen from Pura Kehen in Bangli. She
brought with her a dowry of irrigated rice fields located in the village of
Jehem, near Pura Kehen, whose produce is shared between Trunyan and
Jehem. Her marriage is said to have terminated a feud between Batur and
Bangli, arising from Batara Batur's refusal to allow Batara Kehen Bangli a
share of the water from the lake for irrigation. When she moved to