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Nowhere has sawah been better perfected than on Java and Bali because nowhere is there so little land available to accommodate the high birthrate. Two or 3 ricecrops a year may sometimes be planted, and sawah has the capacity to produce undiminished yields year after year. Water is of supreme importance in sawah growing: it decomposes the soil, checks weed growth, aerates the soil, and generally works like an acquarium. During the wet season the sawah is planted with rice, and during the dry it's often planted with corn and cassava. Backbreaking planting, weeding, plowing and harvesting are all done by hand, elbow and knee deep in mud, with iron and wood tools. Plows are worked by kerbau (water buffaloes) except on smaller fields close to the edges of the terraces. But by using a hoe, the farmer can in effect transfer the food the buffalo would eat directly to himself.

The many animistrites practiced today persist from the old time when people were bound by such strong religious ties to their communal land. When rice is planted on Java or Bali a small plaited figure of a fertility goddess is placed under an umbrella and incense is burned in her honor so that there will be good crops the following year. This rice goddess, Dewi Sri, literally dwells in the rice stalks. At harvest time the stalks must be cut in a certainwayso as not to offend her. Wood mounted razor-like handblades (ani ani) are used by women who deftly conceal them in their palms. Only 3-4 stalks at a time are cut so the rice soul will not be frightened. This method also has its use in reaping the largest percentage of yield and it leaves the greatest amount of harvested cropon the field to refertilize it. Though it's gruelling work, rice harvesting is a happy time.