Visitors to Ubud usually end up at a temple dance. By that I don’t mean dressing sexy and grinding on the dance floor, I mean watching Balinese people perform traditional Balinese dances. On the main street, Jl. Raya Ubud, touts are out all day long, catching flies. I’ve never gone for it before, as I’ve always managed to see Balinese dances for free in villages around the island. Last night my friends were thinking about going for it, so I went along. There are many dances, but the one we saw was at the Ubud Palace at 7.30pm.
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Seminyak has its fair share of temples, being a dencely packed area. Across from Bintang supermarket, at the end of a gang (alley) is Pura Dalem Kahyangan. This morning the banjar men, including one of my neighbors, were standing outside, preparing bamboo partictions for an upcoming cremation ceremony. In Bali there are 3 main temples in each village, the Pura Puseh (temple in honor of the village founders), Pura Desa (village temple), Pura Dalem (temple of the dead), were cremation ceremonies are held. Just up the street at the junction of Jl. Seminyak and Jl. Dhyana Pura, is Pura Desa Seminyak. The Pura Dalem is always located at the kelod, or ‘unclean’ end of the village.
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Balinese Agama Hindu is the backbone upon which this island’s culture rests. It has mixed elements of native animist beliefs with newer ideas coming from India, starting 2,000-3,000 years ago.
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One of the most interesting religious groups in Indonesia are the Wetu Telu. Basically Muslim, they have their own version of Islam as well as sharing a temple with local Hindu’s. Recently the group celebrated Idul Fitri, the end of the month of Ramadan.
Here’s more from the Jakarta Post.
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It occured to me today, that a Balinese local, is really directed through life, like a river reaching the ocean. Even at a young age, children are present at upacara (ceremonies) and there are many weddings to go to. In a Balinese village, everybody must be invited to a wedding, if you leave one person out, it is considered a major disrespect.
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Ubud is a part of Bali that takes its ceremonies seriously. Here things are done in a slightly more fancy way, as if they feel they have to live up to something. One of the best times to be around a Balinese temple is the odalan ceremony. The odalan is the anniversary of the temple, which occurs every 210 days. As I was leaving my homestay this morning, 2 of the ladies were busy making a banten of fruit. These are the pyramids the ladies carry down the street, that you’ll see on most postcards. Its still a part of Balinese culture and one thing I’ve always wondered, is how they get the fruit to stay in place. This morning I looked inside the banten as they were making it and saw the inside of a banana tree.
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Selamat Hari Raya Kuningan. Saturday December 9th is Kuningan, the end of the Galungan celebration, in which ancestors descend to Earth. On this day the Gods and spirits return to heaven. Around Bali, people will be attending ceremonies at their family temple to honor the spirits of their ancestors. Last I got a call from a Balinese friend who was sad, at not being able to go home to East Bali, due to work commitments. The 21st Century and westernizing of the economy, means many Balinese people have to balance a job with cultural / religious activities. This morning the staff at Cafe Seminyak were looking lovely, dressed in sarongs and kebaya’s. One of them asked me where my sarong was. I said it was back home in the closet.
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Galungan is the most important ceremony on the Balinese calendar. Most Balinese people get to go home to their village, to participate in family ceremonies. This morning, I even got an sms from a Balinese friend wishing me health and happiness.
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Today in Tabanan, for a good while at least, I was the only ‘bule’ in a crowd of Balinese locals. It didn’t matter, and was actually a bonus for me, as I didn’t have to listen to the whole ego routine, of ‘how great I’m doing in Bali’.
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Wayan’s sister Kadek drove me over to the other family’s house, were the ceremony was being held. There I met her husband, a great guy named Made. I got a really good feeling from him, and his brother was exactly the same energy. I’d say Wayan scored winner.
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