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

Status in the Balinese Village ofTrunyan 485
groups who are identified with the origin of life as a whole, including, as is
the case with Trunyan, that of society, agricultural fertility and social prosperity.
In such cases, the progenitors/genitors relation provides a 'system
of order for the settlement as a whole' (Fox 1990b:20). In Trunyan the
relation between progenitors and genitors serves primarily as an idiom in
terms of which the entire village society is classified. The myths of origin
collected by Danandjaja show that the progenitor line is identified with
access to sources of life and natural fertility, and that for a group to be
associated with it means that it also has the control of the political and
ritual power represented by this line. In other words, supremacy of status
within the village hierarchy is linked to appropriation of the symbolic
representations of the progenitor line. It is not surprising, therefore, to find
that the origin group associated with this line, that of the Pasek Gelgel,
who, according to Danandjaja's informants, appropriated the shrine of the
hermaphrodite elder brother when they took over the government of the
village and thus established themselves as the progenitor line, is politically
the most powerful group in the village. A result of this is that Trunyan
provides an example of an interesting situation, where the 'life-giving line'
is not associated with the first settlers, as is usually the case, but with an incoming
group whose present status is linked to their political power.
This raises interesting questions about what hierarchy represents for the
people involved. In the case of Trunyan, this is not so much a principle of
organization according to which all origin groups are integrated into the
society of the village, as an expression of a continuous negotiation of
status between origin groups competing for supremacy. The hierarchical
ranking of origin groups is never permanent, although it is presented as
such in the myths. This has important implications for the study of social
change, since it leaves open the possibility of reinterpreting the hierarchical
order of the origin groups should the social conditions happen to
change. It suggests also the existence of a complex social set-up where, as
Dumont indicated in more general terms, acceptance of the existing
hierarchy is validated by reference to a value considered fundamental and
prized as such by the community (Dumont 1980; Houseman 1984;
Tcherkezoff 1987); but the configuration of the hierarchical relations may
change without affecting, or in order to preserve, this value. In Trunyan
the fundamental value is without doubt the unity and cohesion of a village
which is currently struggling to maintain a separate cultural identity within
an increasingly normative Balinese state, and it is expressed in the myth
through the male/female dyad - a dyad which takes precedence over all
other dyadic relations and encompasses them. Danandjaja's study shows
that the concern for preserving the unity and cohesion of the village
determines the extent of the moves considered possible by individual
groups to maintain or raise their status. It affects in particular the balance
of power between thefirst settlers and the political rulers, two key origin
groups, since the nature of their relations has repercussions for the