286 Salutary influence of irrigation and conversion
of slopy lands into sawahs(wet paddy fields. Elaborate terracing in the form of extensive bunding of the slopes of volcanic uplands was a means of water control as well as of conserving the soil,
seldom laden with
loose fertile volcanic ash,
from the hazards of fluvial erosion caused by torrential monsoon rains.
The Javanese demonstrated their ingenuity by developing a sophisticated system by which they could impound the water in a river valley at upper levels by means of an artificial obstruction and let off such water,
from the slopes on the
terraced fields to the plains, through the excavated conduits or bamboo pipes (Dobby, 1958; Fisher, 1966;
Frayer, 1970; Cady, 1976). The irrigation practices adopted by the Balinese, though similar to those of the Javanese, were
more elaborately organized, to quote Fisher) who further exemplies the system of aqueducts or tunnels through hillsides as being remarkable to distribute water from reservoirs to the
sawahs”. It is interesting to note that the terrace rice cultivation which was in vogue was noticed
in the Philippines as well, especially on the island of Luzon.
The Indonesians who migrated and settled in the fertile tracts at the foot of mountains in Gia-linh (Quang-tri province of Vietnam),
constructed the dry stone work-tanks similar to those which existed in Indonesia.
However, the descendants of Indonesian- tank builders were believed to have been pushed into the mountains subsequently following the advancement of Vietnamese in the 16
th century (Coedes, 1968).
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