Kulkul: The Wooden Slit Drum and Its Village Tower

Kulkul tower Bali: the village signal in its setting

A kulkul is a hollow wooden slit drum. It is commonly made from teak, jackfruit wood or bamboo, and it is struck to send sound across a settlement. The raised pavilion that holds it is called a bale kulkul, and it works as a watchtower: a base, a timber structure where the drum hangs, and a roof canopy above it. In a Balinese village the tower is often the most prominent thing in a cluster of buildings, and its job is to be heard rather than admired from a distance.

It helps to separate the drum from the structure around it. The kulkul is the instrument; the bale kulkul is the place where it lives. A village tower and a temple tower share the same basic idea but not the same build. The sections below look at what the drum does, how the tower is made, how village and temple examples differ, and how a visitor should behave when a kulkul sounds.

What the drum does and what its sound means

The drum is a timber body with a long slit cut into it, so that the walls vibrate when struck with a beater. Its sound is a resonant knock rather than a melody. Because the instrument is hollow and raised, the sound carries across lanes and open ground, which is the whole point: a call that reaches the households it is meant for.

In village settings the kulkul is used to call residents. Village drums are described as a means of communication, placed at convenient locations so that villagers can be summoned easily. This is why the drum is sounded from a raised position in the middle of community life rather than tucked away in a corner of a compound.

Rhythm matters. The patterns of strikes are learned within each community, and a visitor cannot read them from the outside. No single island-wide code can be read off the sound, and a visitor should not assume that a rhythm heard in one village carries the same meaning in another. The sound tells you that a message is being sent; its content is for the people who live there.

Temple drums serve a different purpose. Temple versions belong to religious life, and their sounds are part of ceremonial communication rather than a general call to a meeting. Visitors should not assume that a temple drum is sounded on the same occasions as a village one.

Use of the drum is a community responsibility. Who strikes it is for the community that looks after it to decide, and no passer-by should assume the right to do so. The safest way to understand the tower is as shared civic equipment with a purpose of its own.

How a bale kulkul shapes the village view

The tower solves a practical problem. The drum needs a stable, elevated place where its sound can travel, and the instrument needs cover from the weather. The structure has a base, a timber upper section where the drum hangs, and a roof canopy that shelters it.

Height makes the bale kulkul easy to recognise in a settlement. Village towers are built at convenient points so that the call can be heard by the households it concerns. A tower placed at a point where people already pass or gather explains its location better than any single design rule. Its position in the settlement is part of its function.

The tower should be understood as part of everyday village life rather than as a freestanding monument. Its position makes sense in relation to the spaces it serves. The same outline can appear in different settings, and location changes how a visitor should interpret it and how to behave near it.

The vocabulary is useful. Bale means a pavilion or built structure, so bale kulkul describes the drum’s architectural home, and the tower is often described as a watchtower structure. The name does not turn every example into a uniform type. Materials, the purpose of the compound and local building habits all change the form, so look at the actual support, roof and relationship to surrounding buildings rather than expecting an identical profile from village to village.

Village and temple towers are not interchangeable

In a village, the kulkul is part of community communication. A tower near a village centre can be prominent without being a tourist attraction. Its public visibility does not mean the public has permission to climb its platform, handle the drum or interrupt the gathering that a call has summoned.

Temple examples are different. Temple towers are usually made of masonry and are often decorated with mythical figures. They are commonly found straddling a wall corner, so the structure sits on the edge of a sacred precinct rather than in an open village space. Their decoration is part of the temple’s architecture and should not be read as a message in itself.

Some contemporary buildings borrow the tall silhouette of the bale kulkul. A tower-shaped feature does not by itself prove that a working village signal drum hangs inside. When looking at a building, distinguish a genuine communal instrument from an architectural reference that uses the outline as a marker.

Reading the construction without guessing

Start with the visible relationship between the drum and the tower. The kulkul hangs in the upper, open part of the structure, so a person can reach it and the sound is not enclosed in a solid room. The roof shields the instrument from direct weather. The support has to carry the drum and leave room for the beater to swing.

The drum is shaped from a single piece of timber, hollowed out and opened with a slit. Teak, jackfruit wood and bamboo are all used, so the material of one drum cannot be assumed for another. The wear on the wood and any repairs may tell you more about continued care than about its age, and a visitor should not guess a date from appearance.

Carving and paint can distinguish one example from another. Some drums and towers have carved ends or painted details, while others are plain. Such ornament belongs to the particular object, compound or maker, and it is not a universal key to a fixed meaning. Describe what is visible rather than assigning a symbolic name to a motif.

Decoration also sits within a building that has a working purpose. Looking only for elaborate carving can make a practical tower seem like scenery, and ignoring the structure can reduce it to a drum on a post. The platform, supports and roof explain how the instrument is stored and sounded. The location explains who uses it.

Finding a tower during a Bali visit

Village lanes in the Ubud area can offer views of bale kulkul as part of lived-in settlements. Looking for one is a way to notice the architecture, not a promise that a particular tower is open or set up for visitors. A public road may pass close to a village tower, but its platform remains a community space. Keep your visit observational unless someone clearly invites you closer.

Visitors usually see a tower from the lane. The structure can be photographed from a public path, but the tower is not a stage. Do not build an itinerary around hearing a call, because the drum is sounded when the community has a reason to send a message, not on a visitor timetable.

If you are already visiting a village or temple, the tower is best understood as one element of that setting. A visit may include architecture, daily life or a temple, and the tower adds context to what you see around it. Pay attention to the people who live nearby, and let their activity set the pace of your walk.

For those interested in the island’s material culture, a museum in Denpasar, the Bali Museum, is a useful place to learn about Balinese history and objects. A museum visit gives a different kind of context from a village walk, and it is worth combining the two if your schedule allows.

What to do when the kulkul sounds

If a kulkul sounds while you are nearby, pause and observe the people around you. A call may be organising residents for a real task or gathering, and their attention belongs there. Move aside if people are heading towards the tower or a meeting place, keep your voice low, and do not cross through a group to get a clearer photograph.

At a ceremony or a funeral, treat the drum as part of an active communal occasion. Do not photograph people at close range without asking, and do not turn a solemn signal into a social-media moment. If it is unclear whether visitors may remain, take the more distant position and follow the behaviour of residents.

Never climb the structure, touch the drum or take hold of the beater without explicit invitation. A tower can look accessible from the lane while its platform remains restricted. Even a small strike carries a message to people who know the convention, so respect here means leaving the signal in the care of those responsible for it.

Photography is easiest with a simple distinction. A view of the exterior from a public path is usually fine, but photographing a meeting, a ceremony or people doing communal work calls for more care. Ask before making people the subject of a picture. If no one is available to ask, photograph the architectural details from a respectful distance or put the camera down.

Words that help identify the setting

Kulkul is the slit drum. Bale kulkul is the pavilion or watchtower that houses it, and bale means a pavilion or built structure. Banjar is the local community association, and in village settings the tower is closely connected with it. These terms help separate the instrument from its structure and from the organisation that may use it.

Ngayah refers to voluntary, unpaid collective work for the community, often connected with temples and ceremonies. The practice has its roots in agriculture, in the work of maintaining irrigation within the subak system, and it now covers temple work and public spaces as well. The word describes how communal labour is organised, but it does not tell you which individual is responsible for sounding a particular kulkul. That arrangement belongs to local practice.

When asking about a tower, a useful question is not simply what a beat means. Ask whether it is a village or temple kulkul, who looks after it, and whether the structure is still used. That gives a local person room to explain the object in its own setting.

Questions visitors often ask about kulkul towers

Does every kulkul tower use the same rhythms?

No. Communities use their own signal patterns, and a visitor can recognise that a message is being sent without assuming a universal meaning.

Can visitors strike the drum?

Only if a person responsible for that kulkul clearly invites you. The drum communicates real information to a community, so it is not an instrument to try for fun.

Is a bale kulkul always in the middle of a village?

No. Village towers stand at convenient points in the settlement, while temple examples are usually masonry structures set against a temple wall. Their setting differs, and so does their role.

Can I expect to hear one during a visit?

No. A kulkul is sounded when the community has a reason to communicate, not on a visitor timetable. Enjoy the structure from an appropriate place, but do not plan a visit around a performance.

Continue from the tower to the wider cultural setting

To place the bale kulkul among Bali’s other built forms, read Balinese culture and community life. If your interest is how village and temple spaces fit into a respectful visit, use temples across Bali alongside the practical page on everyday etiquette in Bali. For a broader plan, return to things to do in Bali and choose experiences that fit the area you are already visiting.

For more on the built forms of the island, see Balinese Architecture: Temples, Gates and Shrines. Related reading on the drum is in kulkul bali, and a short note on greetings can be found in om swastiastu greeting.