Long before the conquest of Bali by the Javanese Majapahit Empire in the 14th century, the favourite horse of the mighty king of Bedaulù escaped. Severely affected by the loss of the animal, the king sent men from every village under his control in all directions on a mission to find it. Tenganan’s men set off east and, after days of searching, found the body of the dead stallion. As a token of gratitude, the king offered them to choose their reward. The village chief simply asked for a tract of land surrounding the village which was permeated by the smell of the dead horse. Appreciating the modesty of this request, the king ordered his officer with the keenest sense of smell to follow the village chief to establish the limits of the new lands of Tenganan. They walked for days on end, but wherever they went, the smell seemed to haunt them.
Finally, the exhausted officer couldn’t go any further. He said the land he traveled was large enough, and the people of Tenganan should be quite satisfied with it. When the officer was gone, the village chief pulled out a piece of rotten meat cut from the carcass from under his clothes.