Trunyan Cemetery

Trunyan is a Bali Aga village on the eastern shore of Lake Batur, in the caldera of Mount Batur in Bangli Regency. The Bali Aga are regarded as descendants of the island's population before the wider spread of Majapahit-era Hindu culture, and they preserve distinct customs. The village's cemetery, Sema Wayah, is reached by boat and is known for a burial tradition unlike the cremation practised elsewhere in Bali. There the dead of qualifying villagers are laid in the open beneath bamboo canopies, near a great banyan called Taru Menyan, from which the village name is said to derive.

Because remains rest in the open air, the site has attracted many stories and a reputation for the uncanny, often amplified for visitors. Villagers, by contrast, note that the tree's fragrance is said to mask odour, and they describe the practice as a respectful part of their tradition rather than anything sinister. Reports of an eerie atmosphere are understandable personal impressions, and are best held lightly rather than treated as evidence of the supernatural.

Trunyan's real significance is cultural and anthropological: it is a living window into Bali Aga identity, ritual and belief, and one of the few places where this open-air funerary custom endures. Approached with sensitivity, it offers insight into how a community understands death, ancestry and continuity.

Trunyan and its lakeside cemetery are an active village and burial ground rather than a formal tourist attraction. Most visitors arrive by chartered boat from Kedisan across Lake Batur, and access typically involves local boatmen and informal fees or donations; travellers have long reported that arrangements and charges should be confirmed clearly in advance to avoid misunderstandings.

As a genuine cemetery and sacred site, respectful conduct is essential: dress modestly, follow the guidance of local hosts, ask before photographing human remains, and treat the area with the solemnity it deserves. Conditions are rustic, the lake crossing depends on weather, and visitors should behave as guests in a community that continues to use the site for its dead.