The Legend of Dalem Bedaulu: Bali

By Wombat | October 30th, 2005 | No Comments

One of the group had a copy of Rough Guide’s ‘Bali’ and I flicked through it the other day and came across this fascinating legend.

The Legend of Dalem Bedaulu:

Between the 10th and 14th Centuries, the sacred land between the Pakrisan and Petanu rivers was the seat of the Pejeng dynasty, which ruled the region from a court located a few kilometres south of the modern Pejeng, in the village of Bedulu.

The most notorious of the Pejeng rulers was also its last, Dalem Bedaulu, whose armies were the last on the island to capitulate to the invading forces of East Java’s Majapahit empire in 1343.

Legend relates how Dalem Bedaulu had enormous supernatural powers which he liked to show off to his courtiers by regularly cutting off his own head and then replacing it. The god Siwa became so incensed by this boastful behavious that, on one occasion he made Dalem Bedaulu’s severed head roll away into a fast-moving river. The King’s quick thinking servant cut off the head of the nearest living thing, a pig, and placed it on the royal neck.

After this, the King was so embarassed about his pig’s head that he established himself in a special high tower, passed a law forbidding anyone to look up at his face, and forced everyone to speak to him from ground level, eyes down-cast.

When East Javanese Prime Minister Gajah Mada heard of this, he plotted to get round the prohibition by asking, in Dalem Bedaulu’s presence, to be brought drinking water from a traditional vessel with a very long spout.

To drink he was obliged to tip his head backwards, and so caught a glimpse of Dalem Bedaulu’s pig’s head. Dalem Bedaulu was so furious at Gajah Mada’s cunning that he immediately self combusted; that was the end of the Pejeng dynasty and the start of Majapahit’s complete hegemony over Bali.