Subak (irrigation)

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Subak irrigation system.

Subak is the name of water management (irrigation) system for paddy fields on Bali island. For Balinese, irrigation is not simply providing water for the plant's roots, but water is used to construct a complex, pulsed artificial ecosystem.^[1] Paddy fields in Bali were built around water temples and the allocation of water is made by a priest.

Subak had been described by Clifford Geertz, but it was J. Stephen Lansing who drew attention to the importance of the traditional system. He was studying Balinese temples, focusing on the water temples, whose importance tended to be overlooked by foreigners. In 1987 Lansing worked with Balinese farmers and agriculture officials to develop computer models of the subak, demonstrating its effectiveness. Officials finally acknowledged its importance.

[edit] References

^ Lansing, J.S. (1987). "Balinese "Water Temples" and the Management of Irrigation". American Anthropologist 89 (2): 326–341. doi:10.1525/aa.1987.89.2.02a00030.

[edit] Further reading

J. Stephen Lansing, Priests and Programmers: Technology of Power in the Engineered Landscape of Bali Princeton University Press.

"Balinese Water Temples Withstand Tests of Time and Technology" - National Science Foundation
Simulation Modeling of Balinese Irrigation (extract) by J. Stephen Lansing (1996)
"The Impact of the Green Revolution and Capitalized Farming on the Balinese Water Temple System" by Jonathan Sepe (2000). Literature review.