Perfect order recognizing complexity in Bali - Lansing, John Stephen (Princeton University Press, 2006)
Title from PDF title page (viewed on Oct. 24, 2012)
Includes bibliographical references and index
Origins of subaks and water temples -- The emergence of cooperation on water mountains -- Tyrants, sorcerers, and democrats -- Hieroglyphs of reason -- Demigods at the summit -- Achieving perfect order
"Perfect Order - a groundbreaking work at the nexus of conservation, complexity theory, and anthropology - describes a series of fieldwork projects ranging from the archaeology of the water temples to their ecological functions and their place in Balinese cosmology. Stephen Lansing shows that the temple networks are fragile, vulnerable to the cross-currents produced by competition among male descent groups. But the feminine rites of water temples mirror the farmers' awareness that when they act in unison, small miracles of order occur regularly, as the jewel-like perfection of the rice terraces produces general prosperity. Much of this is barely visible from within the horizons of Western social theory."--BOOK JACKET.