Release Stress at Rice Field in Bali Island
5 May 2017Rice field is like a seasonal stunning canvas. Sometimes, it looks green and on other occasions, it changes into golden yellow. It looks beautifully wavy when blown by the calming wind. In harmony with the growth of paddy, Balinese farmers put some artistic works for their paddy. It is not only entertaining but also beneficial for their paddy.
When the paddy approaches pregnancy, the farmer takes any necessary measures. They range from performing miseh rituals for welcoming the grains to cleaning up services throughout the embankments. The latter is also meant to make easier the control against mice attack. To scare off mice, they make a cascade on an embankment. A short bamboo log placed in an axis like a lever catches the flowing water. When the hollow bamboo is full, it will move downward. Having poured the entire water inside, it goes upwards, while the other end touches a stone pad and generates a tapping sound. It keeps on sounding as long as the water flows.

Above the paddy, farmers install some wind-powered propellers or pindekan. Sometimes they are attached to some sticks that can engender rhythmical sounds on a bamboo split drum. When the wind blows faster, the rhythm will be faster, too. Another bamboo instrument is sunari. It is made of a log of bamboo and a very small lengthwise hole is made to catch
wind. On blowing by wind, it sounds like a flute. Both pindekan and sunari are shored up by high punting poles to get better wind. In addition, they are equipped with a tail used to adjust them to direction of wind.
Up to this point, farmers are not satisfied with those simple musical instruments. They also made kepuakan from bamboo logs with joints on both ends. It is halved and the lower joint is left undivided. By cutting some spaces around the lower joint, it will be easier to hold and shake it. By doing so, it sounds kepuak-kepuak as both sides hit each other. This kepuakan is used to expel cereal-eater birds like chestnut mania, scaly-breasted munia, white-headed munia, and so forth. It is played around the rice field.
To help the efficacy of these sound-generating instruments, farmers also install some kepuakan at every corner of the rice field. Connected by a rope to a small high hut, farmers easily pull and sound them. Sometimes they also add scarecrows in the form of farmer figures, flying wild ducks, and others. With rhythmical natural sounds and various scarecrows, the ambiance of rice fields during paddy season is getting more and more blissful. Farmers look after their paddy vivaciously. The spectacles resemble a festive season at a tranquil sanctuary because within such bustling 'natural sounds' only a few farmers rejoice in it while carrying their paddy.
When harvest ends, it does not necessarily mean that no happiness and joy are left. Some farmers are encouraged to fly their colorful kites. While cleaning their rice field, farmers stay to have self-entertainment if the season falls during May - October. Virtually during the paddy season, farmers could entertain themselves while taking care of their paddy. It is an amusement park for farmers at work. Of course, if visitors happen to visit Bali during paddy season can also take pleasure in that festive mood.