the personnel of the water temples (Pura Tirta). Religious officials from these water temples exert spiritual and cultural pressure on the participants in this system and ensure its continuation. These water temples are largely located at loci of the irrigation networks and manage the distribution of water from the mountainous water sources of the island to lowland areas where water is too scarce for natural cultivation of rice. There is evidence this system developed as early as the 11th century CE and has been in continuous use since that time. Genetic evidence indicates that this system spread along kinship lines as the original farming villagers of Bali spread from areas where wet-rice farming originated to less climatically favorable areas of the island. The cultural prestige of certain Pura Titra largely correlates to their position within the subak system, with temples located at major water sources having significant cultural influence. Royalty has associated themselves with major temples of this type, to link their own prestige with that of the Pura Titra, and have taken part in the operations of water temples as a means of gaining influence in society. This system of physical infrastructure represents a durable network of belief which encourages its continuation by the people who participate and provides a levelling mechanism where people who would otherwise be incapable of participating in wet-rice agriculture to take part in the same subsistence activities as those who live in regions more naturally supportive of water-intensive crop growth. Festivals Balinese people celebrate multiple festivals, including the Kuta Carnival, the Sanur Village Festival, and the Bali Kite Festival, where participants fly fish-, bird-, and leaf-shaped kites while an orchestra plays traditional music. See also Bali Kingdom Balinese caste system Balinese Kshatriya Nyepi Galungan Sanghyang Kecak Canang sari References Ethnic groups in Indonesia Hindu ethnic groups Balinese culture Ethnoreligious groups in Asia Hindu communities Ethnic groups in Southeast Asia Indigenous peoples of Southeast Asia