Prodita Sabarini, Tabanan – I Ketut Riteg stared blankly. The 65-year-old was lost in deep thought over how his whole family may never be able to step foot again in their home village of Kedungu in Belalang, Kediri, Tabanan regency.

His banjar (local neighborhood community group) has issued an awig-awig (customary law) banishing his family from the community. The rule will take effect within two years, unless the family pays a Rp 200 million (US$22,200) fine.

The law was imposed last August after Riteg, who is better known as Pan Sini, hung a plastic chair above the banjar's padmasana temple shrine.

Padmasana, the seat of God, is a shrine that must be placed in every Balinese-Hindu temple. It is a roofless shrine with an empty throne on the top. The Balinese believe God sits on a lotus flower; the word padmasana is derived from the word padma (lotus) and sana ("seat").

The banjar considered placement of the plastic chair on the padmasana as blasphemy. "Placing a plastic chair, that humans use, on the throne of God is serious blasphemy," klian (head of banjar) Ketut Pakrek said.

Sitting on the front porch of his son's unfurnished house in Canggu, Kuta, Pan Sini said he did not know what had possessed him to place the chair on the padmasana. "I was possessed. I wasn't aware of what I was doing," he said.

The incident, however, has taken its toll on Pan Sini and his family, who have been expelled from the banjar. Pan Sini, his wife and all his descendants are forbidden to join the banjar.

The police arrested Pan Sini in September after representatives of the banjar reported him for blasphemy. After questioning, he was released but has not set foot back in his village, out of fear of retribution from the community.

The people in the village were also banned from talking to Pan Sini and anyone from his family. Those found talking to him or his family members risk being fined Rp 500,000.

For the Balinese, the kasepekang (banishment) is the ultimate punishment as Balinese culture is rooted in the community, in which every family is a member of a banjar. The eldest member of a family usually resides in the village where the banjar is located.

"Under the custom, if my father dies, I would go back home to Kedungu and become the representative of my family in the banjar," Wayan Sudika, 37, Pan Sini's son said. "Now, it is impossible for me to do that."

As religious rituals are an important part of Balinese-Hinduism, the banjar holds a strong position for families. The banjar upholds the value of gotong royong (working together), in which every member of the banjar helps organize religious ceremonies.

Complicated ceremonies, such as weddings and ngaben (funeral ritual) are carried out with the help of community members from the banjar.

The punishment troubles Sudika. With tears in his eyes and in a hushed voice he said; "I have met with the banjar leaders and asked for their forgiveness. However, they gave such a heavy fine for us to return as members of the banjar," he said. As his father is no longer allowed to enter the village, Sudika has become the spokesperson for the family.

"Our family is prepared to hold a ceremony to restore the sacredness of the shrine. We can build another shrine and carry out a ceremony, which we estimate would cost around Rp 10 million. However, the banjar's estimation is Rp 200 million. I don't have that kind of money," he said.

Sudika's wife, Ni Nyoman Wartini, 35, feels that the family is being blackmailed. "I know Hinduism teaches tolerance. This punishment, however, seems to violate human rights," she said.

Pakrek said Pan Sini's action was a major violation. "He outraged the community. That is a normal amount to pay for offending the community," he said.

"He can afford it if he sacrifices his belongings. If we just forgave him and accepted him back, it would be like he won a cock fight without ever releasing the rooster," he said.

Three families from a village in Klungkung regency are also facing a similar punishment, after the banjar in Tegalbesar in Negari, Banjarangkan, punished them for providing a statement to the police regarding a land dispute with the banjar's' klian.

While the Balinese embrace modernity with the fast development of tourism, customary laws are still heavily applied within the community. Although several parties have said the awig-awig on kasepekang is outdated and should only be used as a last resort, they seem to be weak in mediating between conflicting parties.

Tabanan Regency Customary Council head, IGN Purnayasa, said the Rp 200 million fine did not make sense and was inhumane.

"We hope they can resolve this issue peacefully," he said. "We haven't intervened as we are waiting for the Belalang village customary council to try to solve the problem first."

Head of the Bali Chapter of the Hindu Council (PHDI), Sudiana, said banishment should be the last resort. "If possible, a banjar should avoid kasepekang altogether," he said. "The purpose of a punishment is to provide a lesson, not to corner people."

He added kasepekang could tarnish Bali's image. "People would wonder what is going on here... why are we so hard on our fellow villagers?" he said. Sudiana said the Hindu Council would allow the villagers to settle the problem peacefully.

Meanwhile, Pan Sini and his family in Canggu said they had surrendered to fate. "Hopefully, we will find a solution," Sudika said.