On a sunny Tuesday in late August, the roads of Tojan village in Klungkung district on the eastern coast of Bali were notably quiet. The streets, lined with resident homes, small pockets of rice fields and elaborate gates leading to pura (temple), saw little motion, only broken by a handful of motorbikes and cars that drifted by and chimes of traditional instruments, hinting that something significant was happening beyond view. Located within this village is UD Kamasan Bali, a home industry specialising in the Balinese coins of pis bolong, also known as uang kepeng. Mirroring the calm outside, the only gentle signs of activity came from a female staff sitting comfortably at her post and two artisans painting intently on a bark cloth.
“There’s a ngaben ceremony going on right now, so most of the villagers are there,” explained the friendly staff, Komang Ayu Pramadewi. She was referring to the traditional Hindu funeral rite where the dead are ceremonially cremated, and a crowd of families and surrounding villagers join the procession to send them off to the “next life”. Ngaben is part of the Pitra Yadnya ritual held to honour ancestors, and based on the Balinese calendar that governs the timing of festivals, ceremonies, and daily activities, such rituals must take place on chosen auspicious dates.
“That’s why over the past few days, several villages have been holding ngaben, and many people have come here to buy pis bolong in satakan to be used as upakara (ceremonial offerings),” said Komang Ayu as she jingled one of the gleaming round bundles at the store. “Satakan is where exactly 200 coins are tied together with a thread. Any odd number would disrupt the flow [of the ritual], as if the energy cannot pass through the sacred space.” She added, “We believe that pis bolong carries protection and good fortune, so we rely on their sacred power to complete every ritual.”
Since its inception in 2004, UD Kamasan Bali has welcomed locals, tourists, students to government officials, eager to glimpse the making process of the ceremonial coins and delve into its historical and cultural roots. Established under the initiative of Bali’s provincial government, these coins are forged with the philosophy of Panca Datu, which literally translates to the five metals of iron, silver, copper, gold, and brass. And according to local Hindu belief, they are not just any ordinary metal—the combination of the five metals channels the divine energy of Dewata Nawa Sanga, the Guardians of the Nine Directions, deities who maintain balance and harmony in the universe.
“We want to support this very noble idea of creating pis bolong in abundance for those who need it, to make it in line with our religious beliefs, and to preserve it as a cultural artefact,” said I Made Sukma Swacita, owner of UD Kamasan Bali. “When they [officials from the provincial government] first reached out to me, we didn’t even think about it from a business standpoint. We simply thought ‘Let’s help out, it’s a meaningful offering for the Almighty’.”
More than a folklore
Pis bolong, the flat, round alloy with a distinctive square hole at its centre, has been part of Bali’s history for more than 1000 years, a mark of the island’s early interactions with the outside world. From its start as an official currency tool, the previously-known Chinese coins now hold a significant value in the spiritual life of Balinese Hindus, where their presence rings deep in major ceremonial rites to everyday offerings of canang sari where the coin is placed alongside betel leaves, flower petals and grains of rice.
Legend has it that the arrival of pis bolong can be traced back to a royal union between King Sri Maharaja Jayapangus, a 12th-century Balinese ruler, and the Chinese princess Kang Cing Wie. This marriage was said to give rise to various acculturations between Balinese and Chinese cultures, including pis bolong where the princess requested the coins to be integrated into Balinese rituals. Yet according to archaeological evidence, there’s a strong indication that these coins had entered the island way before that.
“Uang kepeng has circulated in Bali as early as the 9th century during the Chinese maritime trade,” noted I Gusti Made Suarbhawa, a researcher at the National Research and Innovation Agency. “While we found coins from Japan and Vietnam on the island, the majority of coins unearthed in excavations or sourced by collectors had also come from various Chinese dynasties. And by the 12th century, the coin was already recognised as a currency, since gold was too valuable for everyday transactions, making these coins ideal for buying essentials like meat and other commodities.”
“Uang kepeng has circulated in Bali as early as the 9th century during the Chinese maritime trade.” – I Gusti Made Suarbhawa, researcher.
According to the researcher, the coin’s integration and role in Bali’s spiritual life is both simple and complex, for it is anchored in a strong local belief that is guided by a distinct form of Hinduism and animist faith that only deepens over time. There’s the practical aspect as well, he noted, with the coin being lightweight enough to carry and can be easily strung to multiple items.
Over time, however, pis bolong dwindled in amount. This decline is often attributed to a gap in production with many artisans leaving for opportunities in Bali’s booming hospitality industry. In addition, the remaining original coins were sought-after by collectors who were willing to fork out a high price for it, as detailed in the 2019 journal “Eksistensi Industri Pis Bolong Sebagai Media Sosialisasi Religiusitas” by Putu Sabda Jayendra and I Wayan Eka Sudarwarman, lecturers at The International Institute of Tourism & Business in Denpasar.
Alas, faced with a lack of access to resources and a semblance of procedure, Balinese locals turned to available materials like zinc metal to craft pis bolong. “But these versions were often viewed as lacking the spiritual and philosophical connections that define pis bolong’s sacred value,” explained the authors. “Production houses in Klungkung [like UD Kamasan Bali] emerged from this need to preserve and fulfil the demand for authentic pis bolong amidst its scarcity.”
Soil, metal, and a prayer
“Before UD Kamasan Bali, there was no agreed standardised procedure for the production of pis bolong,” stated I Made Sukma Swacita. “Many artisans have used materials of inferior quality and often overlooked the religious values intricately tied to their creation. So, our role is not only to preserve pis bolong as cultural artefacts but also to produce it according to its spiritual intent so they can be properly used in rites and ceremonies.”
On a typical day in UD Kamasan Bali—where a storefront connects to a two-storey workshop set up like a traditional Balinese home, surrounded by grandiose sanggah (house temples) and imposing statues of Balinese deities standing watch—a team of 10 to 15 artisans can cast up to 7,000 coins a day. Their work begins on the earthen ground floor; here, artisans prepare the coin moulding made from fine-grained soil and then melt down the mix of metal components, which are also upcycled from materials such as steel from old door handles and copper from used bike dynamos, in the searing heat of 950 degrees Celsius.
“Our prayer even extends to the clay soil from Java that is used for the mould.” – I Made Sukma Swacita, owner of UD Kamasan Bali
This molten form of pis bolong is then carefully spooned into the circular clay moulds to cool and solidify before each mould is cracked open to harvest the newly formed coins. Upstairs, artisans continue the process of refining pis bolong with practised care, polishing edges into perfect circles—a shape symbolic of continuity and heaven—before the batch undergoes a series of reheating and rinsing to achieve its natural radiance of gleaming gold and black patina.
But before any of this process begins, a ritual precedes it. “We always commence everything with a prayer,” shared the 66-year-old owner. Every morning, the team gathers in front of the on-site shrine to wreath offerings and pray for safety and success. “Our prayer even extends to the clay soil from Java that is used for the mould.”
By the long table covered in the red and white chequered poleng cloth, two artisans were seen stringing the sorted coins into a lamak, a ceremonial hanging that adorns altars and shrines; each coin was engraved with the Balinese Hindu script of Sa Ba Ta A, one of the main designs agreed upon by the provincial government and the island’s temple priests, to be used for important ceremonies. In addition to Sa Ba Ta A, there is also the Bunga Padma Yantra, an engraving of an eight-petal lotus symbolising purity.
But not all coins are designed for spiritual purposes. At UD Kamasan Bali, pis bolong are also transformed into pendants and bracelets, engraved with wayang figures from the Mahabharata epic; amongst the sought-after design is the valiant and charming Arjuna protagonist (also known as Pis Rejuna), believed in local superstition to bestow his romantic prowess upon male wearers, guiding them toward their soulmates.
A proud cultural emblem
Today, pis bolong has become a proud representation of Balinese culture that’s been adapted into diverse forms for widespread appreciation. For example, a four-metre-tall “Selamat Datang” statue made from these coins now welcomes visitors in the lobby of the Nusa Dua Convention Centre. While in the hospitality sector, the luxury resort Amankila offers pis bolong keychain souvenirs as part of their turndown service.
Back in 2022, when world leaders gathered in Bali for the G20 Summit hosted by President Joko Widodo, each distinguished representative was gifted with pis bolong intricately crafted into miniature statues of lumbung (traditional rice barn), jukung (outrigger canoe) and a traditional Balinese dancer. “We are very honoured to be chosen [as the event’s official souvenirs]. It goes to show the significant value of pis bolong,” shared I Made Sukma Swacita proudly.
In Bali’s tourism-heavy economy, where strong opinions surround the constant push and pull between cultural integrity and commercial interests, it’s easy to slot pis bolong as another cultural object swept up in this tide. But at least for natives like I Made Sukma Swacita and I Gusti Made Suarbhawa, embracing and adapting the coin according to the times is seen not as a departure from tradition, but as a way of “making something that would be relevant for many people,” as the owner of UD Kamasan Bali pointed out.
“Pis bolong is a prime example of how local wisdom can be carried forward and preserved, and it is a big part of what makes Bali, Bali,” closed I Gusti Made Suarbhawa during the phone call interview. “We know they’re Chinese coins, but we take pride in expressing our creativity by making coins that are distinctly ours. And this approach, which has been passed down across generations, is what sustains and influences Bali’s cultural heritage and identity until today.”
