Pecalang

Pecalang at Jatiluwih, Bali

Pecalang (pronounced "pechalang") are a type of local, traditional security officers of an administrative village in Bali, Indonesia. ^[1] They are uniquely present in Bali and usually engage in mundane tasks such as assisting traffic control, but during large, usually religious events, they are tasked with general security.^{[ citation needed ]} Pecalang work in coordination with other state security and law enforcement agencies, such as the Satpol PP and the police, but they only report to the village head, known as kepala desa.^{[ citation needed ]} Bali has had hansip and pecalang security bodies for hundreds of years, and these forces traditionally reported to one of the royal families of the historic Bali Kingdoms.^{[ citation needed ]}

It has been reported that some 22,000 pecalang were deployed for Nyepi celebrations in 2017. ^[2]

Uniform

Pecalang wear white and black-checkered Balinese sarongs and black vests over their shirts. They also wear the traditional Balinese headdress, known as udeng.

References

1. "Pecalang involved in keeping big events secure in Bali". indo.com. Archived from the original on 24 March 2015. Retrieved 21 February 2025.
2. "Balinese Hindus to Parade 7,000 Giant Puppets Ahead of Nyepi Celebration | Jakarta Globe". Jakarta Globe. Jakartaglobe.id. Retrieved 1 April 2017.