The Contradiction of Coconut Tree Rule in Bali
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The coconut tree rule is my own term and some of you might wonder what the heck coconut tree rule is. It is referring to a rule in Bali stating that any building on the island must not higher than coconut trees. This rule is belong to a Perda a.ka Peraturan Daerah (literally: local regulation) meaning it has been approved and legalized by the local government of Bali. Of course this rule is not be applied perfectly 100%, just like people said, rules are made to be broken. There are still many building that are built way too higher than coconut trees such as the Grand Bali Heach Hotel in Sanur area.
The main reason behind the regulation is in order to protect (again) the holiness of the Balinese Hindu temple. Simply speaking, when a building is higher than a coconut tree, it must be also higher than the average height of Balinese Hindu Temples. Any building that are higher than the surrounding temples are considered to ‘pollute’ the holiness of the temple it self. A classic example: if there is someone ‘dirty’ in that high building (such as having monthly period), it will endanger the holiness of the temple.
In my opinion, it is pathetic. Sometimes, Balinese people are way too straight forward in understanding the concept of some Hindu principles. How we can judge the holiness of a temple just by what height are the surrounding buildings? How will Balinese people explain about the air plane? It is much much higher and just flies right over all temples in Bali. Shall we create a forbidden fly zone in Bali? What will happen with the productive land if this rule is applied continuously? Since they can build things higher than coconut tress, that means more and more land are needed.
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hi devari,
your blog is filled with a lot of interesting reads about bali, the balinese, their culture, rituals, et cetera, et cetera….
have you ever though of putting together all these articles into a book? it would give readers the other side of knowing about bali that readers do not get to know.
hi Wind Mill
heheh thanks for your compliment. It’s a good idea. Bali for Dummies
but I am not confident yet though, my English is not so perpect
I also agreed with Wind Mill. I think you have a unique perspective of Balinese people including the religion and the culture. For me some of your opinions are the same with mine thus I have agreed with most of your posts here. Go for it mate!
hi ghozan, thanks. you can help me pls with my grammar.
how to make a standard of tall, because the high level of coconut tree are variation ? using the maximum average ? is there the regulation has documented as “PERDA” and legalize in “Lembaran Negara” ?
using the possible highest coconut tree.
yes it is a PERDA already.
wow, new visual. Just Like it..
I aggree to respepct the Balinese culture and religion, but we need to find a better solution to protect the earth from massive expansion of real estate and tourism projects.
save the planet!
When you say:
pesawat terbang khan bukan bangunan, coy hehhehe kalo airplane diitung juga, ntar burung2x pun dilarang terbang.
hehe iya memang bukan bangunan, tadi itu pake analagi aja bahwa misalnya orang datang bulan yg berada di bangunan lebih tinggi dari pura dianggap mencemarkan kesucian pura, nah bagaimana dengan orang datang bulan di atas pesawat?
tapi memang msh banyak kok ya bangunun lebih tinggi dari puun kelapa di bali.
bagimana ya jadinya jika semua pohon kelapa di bali tiba2 jadi bonsai?
wah bisa2 ada peraturan baru, harus buat rumah/bangunan di bawah tanah
Hi, if you want, I can correct your English once you’re done writing the book. Asal bukunya jangan tebel2 ya… hehehehe
hi there thanks a lot. i will should i proceed