Copy by Made Oka Salain (2024)
Pura Bale Agung, Sukawana Village, Kintamani District, 882 AD
Copper Plate
Dimensions: 41.6 x 9 x 0.2 cm
The subak system has a long history that can be traced back to the eight century AD. The Sukawana Charter A1, the earliest dated royal inscription from 882 AD, mentions the word huma, which refers to upland rain-fed and lowland irrigated rice fields. This term, derived from Old Javanese, became uma in Balinese. The charter also mentions the word parlak, meaning a field or an open area of land, typically larger than a lawn, used for agricultural or pastoral purposes.
Translated Passage: “The remaining expenses for burial are offered to Hyang Api for the needs of guests. If there is rice fields, gardens, they are regarded as property (tanah laba) of Hyang Tanda, but all of this is offered there at the satra (pesanggrahan; resting place) which is my contribution (punia) used to buy jars, mats, used for cooking, for people who do not have mats, for people who travel at night.”
The text outlines the burial and inheritance traditions under Bali's customary laws, detailing how rice fields and gardens were dedicated to the gods.