Province backs Wuku Bala pasamuhan and paruman at Puri Agung Klungkung

Puri Agung Klungkung — The head of Bali’s agency for the advancement of customary communities represented the governor at a major pasamuhan and paruman Wuku Bala gathering at Puri Agung Klungkung, signalling provincial support for adat institutions and calendar-based ritual life.

According to the Bali provincial adat affairs agency, its chief I G.A.K. Kartika Jaya Seputra attended the Pasamuhan dan Paruman Wuku Bala Tahun 2026 on behalf of the governor on 20 September 2026 at Puri Agung Klungkung.

The agency said the event brought together key customary figures to discuss Bali’s traditional calendar and its implications for ritual practice and community governance. Wuku Bala is one of the weeks in the traditional Javanese-Balinese wuku cycle, and 20 September 2026 marked the transition into the Bala week.

Local media reported that the gathering at Puri Agung Klungkung combined a Pasamuhan Agung Dharma Ghosana, a Paruman Wuku Bala and a Pasamuhan Agung Dharma Prawerthi Sabha. The meetings involved discussions among Hindu religious leaders and scholars on procedures for ngalinggihang Dewa Hyang, or the ritual enthronement of ancestral deities, as well as broader questions of religion and sacred texts.

The adat affairs agency stated that the provincial government views such assemblies as an important forum for coordinating desa adat, or customary villages, and reinforcing the role of traditional decision-making bodies such as pasamuhan (high-level working meetings) and paruman (customary deliberative councils).

Perkumpulan Dharmopadesa Pusat Nusantara, an association active in Hindu religious discourse, was reported as one of the organisers of the series of meetings at Puri Agung Klungkung. The organisation convened hundreds of pedanda, or Hindu priests, from Bali and other regions to take part in the pasamuhan and paruman sessions.

Discussions at the Paruman Wuku Bala focused on religious doctrine and scripture, while the Pasamuhan Agung Dharma Ghosana concentrated on ritual rules, including distinctions in practice between nista, madya and utama levels, which denote differing degrees of ritual elaboration.

The presence of the provincial adat affairs agency chief was framed by officials as a sign of ongoing government commitment to supporting desa adat and religious communities as they adapt customary law, ritual practice and institutional structures to contemporary needs.

In Bali’s customary governance system, pasamuhan and paruman are recognised as high-level forums for setting strategic directions for desa adat, translating decisions into annual programmes and evaluating the implementation of previous initiatives. Documents recorded by the province’s adat institutions describe paruman and pasamuhan as binding decision-making forums that must meet at least once a year.

Sources

• Dinas Pemajuan Masyarakat Adat Provinsi Bali
• NusaBali
• Kontan Regional