When visiting a temple festival, you will find some officers in traditional costumes helping devotees to cross the road leading to the temple or controlling the queue in front of the entrance gate at the temple. They are easily recognized because they always where red, black and white shirts, headdress, dark vests, checkered chessboard-like ‘saput’, which is a covering that is worn around the waist and over a kamen or sarong.
This officer is called a pecalang, a supporting apparatus of the costumary village in charge of security affairs. They play an important role in the execution of costumary village activities like temple festivals and other ritual processions. On account of their presence, devotees can worship conveniently. The number of devotees allowed to enter is always arranged in such a way that meets the space availability.
Historically, the pecalang have existed since the time of the kingdom administration. In addition to maintaining the village territory, there are also some kinds of pecalang in charge of different fields, such as pangliman toya (at subak irrigation cooperatives), pecalang bendega (fishermen communities), jagawana (forest territories) and sawang tanggur (cockfight events). On some occations today, Pecalang are also involved in other events in cooperation with civilian defense units and the police.

News by International Bali Post

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