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The general Balinese philosophy guiding the subak system adheres to the principle of Tri Hita Karana which emphasises that happiness can only be reached if the Creator (God), the people (the farmers) and nature (the rice fields) live in harmony with each other. Based on this philosophy are the ceremonies which are a substantial part of the rice cultivation cycle. The ceremonies are carried out at the various temples which are associated with the subak.

They are organised hierarchically as follow: the simple shrine (chatu) at the individual water inlet, Bedugul temple at the dam or tunnel intersection, Ulun Suwi / Ulun Carik temple at each subak area, penyungsungan subak temple ’sanctuaries which were originally desa temples that one or more subaks helped to worship, after which in the course of time, all the expenses connected with the temple services and offering ceremonials have, gradually fallen to the subak or subaks and Ulun Danu temple, the Baliwide inter-subak temple at the crater lake Batur, the most sacred lake in Bali. For all the temples and other places of worship there are certain times when religious ceremonies are held, either periodically or as occasion demands.

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