The Family Temples
Arguably the 'most important part of the Balinese compound is its temple, the sanggah or merajan around which evolves much of the ritual life of the family. The temple consists of a small walled yard with several to of small thatched buildings looking like puppet houses the shrines (pelinggih). Its organization, beyond the general tripartite structure also found there, is a concrete illustration of the main concepts and cults of Balinese religion in its original, agrarian shape,i.e. prior to the reformism influences of modern times.
The principal shrine of any Balinese family temple is the Sanggar Surya, located in its mountainward-eastern corner. Toward the rising sun, Surya is the name of the Sun God, the origin of all rays. This shrine is therefore that of the Almighty, from which all lesser gods -or rays- originate. The ways the other shrines are situated in relation to the Sanggar Surya also illustrates the hier­archy of the godly, in two rows of shrines, one running from east to west and the other mountainward to sea­ward. The right angle where the two rows meet is the place of the Sanggar Surya shrine. Next to this shrine are sometimes situated shrines for the gods of the moun­tains, but the following pattern is the most common: on the westward row, the first shrine one sees is usually that of the Goddess of agriculture Dewi Sri and of the God of wealth Sedana. Their role is thus a reminder of the agrarian foundation of Balinese culrure. Further west­ward is the taksu (inspiration) shrine, through which the individual comes into contact with his/her intangible equivalent, and, thus, is bestowed with his powers and talents. Beyond is a guardian shrine.
Downstream of the central sanggar surya shrine is located the row of ancestral shrines, the closest to the sanggar surya being the shrines of the remotest ances­tors. The first to come, in the main sanggah/merajan, is often a shrine with a deer's horn (menjangan sekewang), which denotes that the family claims its origins to as far back as the Majapahit empire. Next follows the ibu or paibon which represents the ancestors from the sub-clan temple of origin; then comes the tong tiga shrine for the worship of the closest ancestors, where the family's dead are enshrined after completion of the cycle of death ceremonies. Finally, at the extremity of the row, comes another guardian shrine.
Like any temple, each individual family temple has a festival every 210 days, which follows the Balinese ritual calendar. When this time comes, the shrines are dressed, i.e. wrapped in coloured clothing, as a sign that the gods are visiting. These gods are then, as in any Balinese temple welcomed, and offered offerings, and, some­times, dance.

Evolution of the Compound
Bali has long had a surplus of availa'Cile land. This has enabled the traditional architecture to remain virtually untouched. The older sons, in commoner's families, or the youngest ones, in aristocratic families, were sup­posed to open their own new compound on free village land upon marriage, when they became full citizens of the community. When village land was becoming scarce, they would move inland and open the forest, creating a "sister-village". The architectural system of Bali has thus duplicated itself all over the island.
The functioning of this system, though, is possible only with reserves of free dry land. This is no longer the case in Bali. Land is becoming scarce. Instead of being given away as part of one's belonging to a local community, it is now increasingly being sold as a commodity, a practice further encouraged by tourism and related speculative investments.
This development has a strong impact on traditional Balinese architecture. Fewer people can now afford to buy enough land and make the big compounds demanded by the rules of traditional architecture. More often than not, instead of opening new land and building new compounds, brothers have now to share their parents' compound. They end up transforming the old traditional buildings into inward-oriented, western style houses: the verandahs shrink in size or disappear altogether, rooms are added, the base of the buildings is lowered as well as the ceiling and new materials are used. The change may even effect the temple. Sometimes the whole set of shrines is transferred on to a terrace. More often, though, especially in the cities, the complete temple is substituted with a single shrine, the Padmasari, which sums up all the main functions of the temple, and through which it is possible to address one's village ancestors from a distance (nyawang).
The Balinese architectural landscape is thus fast changing. It is increasingly difficult to find Balinese architecture preserved in its original shape. Instead of the airy traditional compound with its central yard and verandahs, more often than not there are now cramped rows of buildings of an undeniable style. No genuine preservation steps are taken, except for the support of a neo-Balinese, kitschy architecture which is now invading the cities and main roads. Interesting though the phenomenon may be, it is a sign that Bali is losing its homogeneity, and thus, its uniqueness.