Whats in a Name (Balinese Name Traditions)

When i set foot in Bali for the first time, I was utterly confused as almost everyone I was introduced to seemed to have the same set of names. It took me some time to figure out the system and finally get the method or system of recognizing people's names. The naming system is unique and native to the island of Bali and to some extent its neighboring island of Lombok. Bali has a strong majority of Hindus and most of the names given are from Sanskrit origins though many still use the Balinese name. The names given to people are based on their order of birth, regardless of the gender of the person. Only four names are used in this system though they maybe some variations which may arise due to caste, traditions or even because of the difference in language between the regions in the north and the south. The most frequent and widely used four names in Bali are as follows- Wayan, Putu, Gede - The first Born Made, Kadek, Nengah - The second Born Nyoman, Komang - The third Born Ketut - The fourth Born. The Caste system although not as important as compared to the Indian system still has a role to play with regard to the naming system. It is said to have evolved from the Javanese region with influences from the Hindu-Buddhist sects. The naming system of the peasant farmers of Bali precedes the idea of caste. These people are largely a mix of 'native' Balinese and very early Hindu-Buddhist missionaries and their followers, who did not arrive in Bali with successive waves of Javanese nobles and military rulers. They form the caste level that would be called Sudra in India, that is, people outside the triwarna, or three colors (Wesya, overseers and minor aristocracy,Ksatria, nobles, kings and warriors and Bhramana, the highest caste comprising teachers, priests, writers and philosophers). This "farmer caste" comprises the vast freemasonry of the Balinese villages, as set out above, this caste uses names to denote birth position. It is an ingenious way for peasant farmers to keep track of inheritance questions, Wayan, for first born, Made for second, Nyoman for third and Ketut for fourth. The three castes, use a caste identifier as the first part of a name. SUDRA - There are no special names given to people from this caste and they use the names which denotes their birth. In local tradition they will only add 'I' (For males) and 'Ni' (For Females) in front of their names. WESYA - 'Gusti Bagus' (Male) and 'Gusti Ayu' (Female) KSATRIA - I Gusti Ngurah (Male) I Gusti Ayu (Female) Anak Agung (Male) Anak Ayu (Female) I Dewa/ Dewa Agung (Male) I Dewa Ayu/Desak (Female) The word Gusti refers to "Leader" where as Agung refers to "Great" or "Prominent". BRAHMANA - Ida Bagus (Male) Ida Ayu (Female)