Bali Governor. Wayan Koster is closing a blind eye to Indonesia’s Official Family Planning guideline that recommends a maximum of 2 children per household and, instead, is urging native Balinese to have at least four children to preserve Balinese culture.
Speaking plainly, and as quoted by Beritabali.com, Governor Koster stated that the National Family Planning Agency’s Guideline of two children is inappropriate and detrimental to the Island of Bali, as it would ultimately reduce the number of Balinese living on the Island.
“I am working hard to protect Balinese culture. If not, it will become dangerous. If Balinese culture is not well maintained, the area is small, the population is small, who will take care of it in the future?” commented Koster on Sunday, 13 April 2025.
Koster emphasized that Bali’s uniqueness lies in its culture. If the local Balinese population shrinks, then the sacred traditions that define Bali’s identity, such as ngaben, mebanjar, odalan, and Purnama-Tilem, will be threatened with extinction.
“If no one is any longer doing mebanjar, no one is doing ngelawar, no Purnama-Tilem, no Odalan, Galungan, Kuningan, Ngaben. Various cultural activities will be threatened with extinction,” Koster explained.
Four Children – A Full Count in Bali
Therefore, Koster has initiated the Bali Four Children Family Planning (KB) Program to ensure the future sustainability of Balinese culture. The Governor insists that this program is not only about numbers but about the sustainability of cultural heritage.
This initiative also received support from intellectuals, including alumni of the Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB), who were attending a local congress. The academics showed symbolic support by taking a group photo while raising four fingers.
Some argue that a minimum of four children in a Balinese family is intrinsically linked to Bali’s age-old identification system. Balinese have three names: a title, a birth order (a repetitive cycle of one to four), and a personal name. Balinese do not have familial or surnames.
The birth order name will vary somewhat due to caste and regional linguistic differences. Similar to the role of nicknames elsewhere, Balinese use their birth order names to refer to each other informally.
The name order for Balinese names:
- Wayan of Putu or Gede or Luh (fem): Used for first-born.
- Made or Kadek, second-born
- Nyoman or Komangm third-Born
- Ketut fourth-Born
- The cycle is restarted for the fifth born, “Wayan.”
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