The Payoff With the terrace so wet and slick, walking is precarious. Making my way up a 4-foot tier, I slip and land butt first, sending a wave of mud into one of the little waterfalls. Ni giggles as she fixes the damaged irrigation, saying the only English word she knows: “slow.” Each waterfall is just a trickle, maybe 6 inches wide, but every one is vital in the water delivery system called a subak. Water originates atop the volcano, Mount Agung, and flows down through a network of canals, aqueducts and tunnels, supplying the valley’s farmers with clean, happy water. Rice is considered a gift from the gods, and a happy god gives happy water, which yields ample rice. At night the Punduhs gather and laugh even though their backs ache. That they can have a harmonious relationship with each other and with nature under these conditions is remarkable. I ask Wayan what he would do if he suddenly came into a lot of money. He thinks and says, “Buy another cow.” Behind him, everyone laughs. It is one of the happiest families I’ve ever met, brought together by the rice.
64 ISLANDS
MAY