The Merajan: Bali's Family Shrines
Inside the family shrine every Balinese Hindu home must have — its meaning, history, shrines, and rituals
The merajan, or sanggah, of a Balinese Hindu family is a holy place which, based on the concepts of Tri Mandala, Tri Angga, and Tri Hita Karana (Balinese principles of spatial order and harmony), serves as a sanctuary for worshipping God as well as the ancestral spirits. A merajan exists in every household, as it is a customary and religious obligation for Hindus in Bali. The word sanggah comes from the term "Sanggah Pamerajan": sanggah means holy place, and pamerajan derives from the word praja, meaning family. A sanggah pamerajan is therefore the holy place of a family. Balinese people often regard the sanggah and the merajan as two different places according to caste — the sanggah considered to belong to those without caste (jaba), the merajan associated with those who hold one. In essence, however, both are the same holy place.
According to the Tri Angga concept, the merajan is the foremost (utama) part of the compound, likened to the head; the family house is regarded as the body, the middle (madya) part; and the lowest (nista) part is the garden or grounds. Tri Angga is a Balinese philosophical concept that divides the human body into three parts (head, body, feet) — or any space into three levels of value (utama, madya, nista) — to achieve harmony and balance. Applied in architecture, spatial planning, and even traditional dress, it reflects the harmony between the human being (bhuwana alit, the small world) and the universe (bhuwana agung, the great world), and it forms an integral part of the Tri Hita Karana teaching that underpins the balance between humanity and the cosmos. Under the Tri Hita Karana concept, meanwhile, the merajan is a parahyangan — a place where the worship of God and of the ancestral spirits becomes one. The merajan is thus a holy place found in every family compound for venerating the greatness of God together with the ancestral spirits.
There are several types of sanggah pamerajan in Bali: 1. Sanggah Pamerajan Alit Owned by a single nuclear family living together in one house. It consists of a padmasari (small lotus shrine), a kemulan rong telu (three-chambered ancestral shrine), and a taksu shrine. 2. Sanggah Pamerajan Dadia Owned by several families sharing the same paternal lineage (purus). It consists of a padmasana (lotus-throne shrine), a kemulan rong telu, a limas cari, a manjangan saluang, and other shrines. 3. Sanggah Pamerajan Panti Owned by a community group within one village made up of several dadia (lineage groups). This sanggah is usually larger and also has a meru (tiered tower) or a gedong shrine of Bhatara Kawitan, the deified founding ancestor.
According to its tatwa, or history, the merajan/sanggah goes back to the Stone Age — roughly 2500 to 500 BC — when the Balinese already held a belief in ancestral spirits. The media used for worship, however, were very simple: piles of stones commonly called menhirs, along with various kinds of stone pillars. After Hinduism arrived in Bali, the island's places of worship were reshaped according to the concepts brought by holy figures such as Rsi Markanyeya (Markandeya), Dang Hyang Siddhimantra, Dang Hyang Nirartha, and the four sons of Hyang Gni Jaya; only then was a place called the mrajan built. Around the turn of the 11th century, Mpu Kuturan came to Bali; it was he who united the nine sects then present on the island — Pasupata, Bhairawa, Siwa Sidhanta, Waisnawa, Sogata, Brahma, Resi, Sora, Ganapatya — into the Tri Murti concept, the worship of the three gods Brahma, Wisnu, and Siwa, much as Java's Prambanan temple complex is dedicated to Brahma, Wisnu, and Siwa. When Dang Hyang Nirartha came to Bali in 1540, he brought the Tri Purusa concept — the worship of Sang Hyang Tunggal, God as the One — in the form of the padmasana shrine. Under the Tri Murti concept, at the island's public temples (parhyangan jagat) holy places called the kahyangan tiga were established — Pura Dalem, Pura Puseh, and Pura Bale Agung — to worship Siwa, Wisnu, and Brahma.
Within the sanggah pamerajan stand several palinggih structures — shrines that serve as places of worship. Among the pelinggih commonly found in the merajan/sanggah of Balinese Hindus are: 1. Pelinggih Sanggaran A place of worship for Sang Hyang Surya, the manifestation of Ida Sang Hyang Widhi Wasa (God Almighty) as the Sun God, venerated as the witness of all human activity, especially during religious ceremonies (yadnya). 2. Pelinggih Gedong Sari A place to worship Ida Bhatara Sri, who symbolizes fertility, prosperity, and well-being. 3. Pelinggih Menjangan Seluang This shrine symbolizes the unification of Bali's various religious sects and harmony within the family, and stands as a mark of homage to Mpu Kuturan for his service in uniting the island's sects into the single Tri Murti doctrine. 4. Pelinggih Taksu The place to pray for strength, success, and smooth progress in whatever profession the residents of the house pursue. 5. Pelinggih Kemulan/Rong Tiga The place to worship Ida Sang Hyang Widhi Wasa in the form of the Trimurti — Dewa Brahma (the Creator), Dewa Wisnu (the Preserver), and Dewa Siwa (the Dissolver) — and also the means of venerating and drawing close to the purified ancestral spirits, since ancestors who have been purified are regarded as part of Bhatara Guru. 6. Pelinggih Ngerurah Serves as the guardian, or pecalang (watchman), of the gods, above all Bhatara Kala. 7. Pelinggih Hyang Dewa or Rong Due Serves as the seat of ancestral spirits who have not yet been fully purified. 8. Bale Piasan Strictly speaking, the bale piasan is not a pelinggih but a bale (pavilion) used for decorating and arranging religious symbols — such as the daksina, pelengkung, and pratima — before they are placed on the pelinggih, and for staging the banten (offerings) about to be presented. During ceremonies this pavilion can become a gathering place for the gods and goddesses (dewata-dewati and betara-betari). Beyond its role in adornment, the bale piasan is also known as the bale pawedaan — the place where a sulinggih (high priest) completes the ceremony and a pemangku (temple priest) presents the offerings, with the seating levels naturally adjusted between sulinggih and pemangku.
Life around the merajan in Bali is continually colored by a regular series of rituals. The most fundamental is Banten Saiban, or Yadnya Sesa — a simple daily offering always made immediately after cooking is finished, as an expression of gratitude for one's sustenance. There are also important monthly rituals: the Purnama (full moon) and Tilem (dark moon) prayers, regarded as holy days for worshipping the manifestations of Dewa Siwa. The peak of the merajan's ritual cycle is Piodalan, or Petirtan — the anniversary celebration of the family temple, held every 210 days in accordance with one cycle of the Balinese Pawukon calendar. Piodalan is a major ceremony that calls for the full and active participation of every family member in preparing all the ceremonial paraphernalia (upakara) and carrying out the sequence of rites.