Attending a ceremony as a bule in Bali
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’.
Indonesians as a rule, do not display an outward sense of ego. You ask them to tell you about themselves, and they’ll mention their village, their family, their religion. After getting used to this, it feels really strange to hear westerners, talking exclusively about themselves…”Yeah I guess the reason I’m such a great surfer, is that I have a phenomenal sense of balance, not to mention exceptional atheletic ability.” Who needs to listen to that crap?
You’ll never hear a Balinese person, ranting on about themselves in that manner, they are much more down to earth. This afternoon, sitting on a shady edge of a bale, in full view of a crowd of locals, I was concious of the fact that 95% of them, were looking at me. One thing I try to be at times like this, is low-key. Its tempting for some westerners (I’ve seen it happen) to realize they are ‘on stage’ and try to somehow, ’steal the show’. Today’s event was for Wayan and Made, not me. So I endeavoured to sit still, shut up, and be a spectator like everyone else.
After one part of the ceremony was over, I was joined on the bale by a few older Balinese guys (actually not so far away from my own age ). The guy on the left was head of the banjar in Nyitdah, a handy man to know. I asked the fellas which was more powerful here in Nyitdah, the government, or the banjar (community). They said without hesitation, the banjar, meaning We’re the law around these parts’. These guys were all cool and we chatted about marriage, women and stuff in general.
By Nick | Permalink
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Comments
Hi Nick ,Great to hear your wedding encounter .It brings back memories of my wedding in Klungkung 12 years ago .I being an Aussie marrying in the village home in full ceremony outfit ,but was the most special day for me and my aussie friends that attended ,truly a special wedding ceremony .
kim
Interesting reading, Nick. About 8 or 9 years ago [time flies], my son Ron married Dayu. As Dayu’s parents are rice farmers and live in an isolated part of North Bali, it wouldn’t have been feasible to have had the wedding there. I didn’t recognise the area where the wedding was held, but it may have been somewhere around Tabanan, where Dayu’s mother’s family comes from.
The wedding was held in a very large garden, with lots of guests. Ron and Dayu were dressed up, but I just wore a pair of lightweight slacks and a short sleeved open necked shirt. This is as formal as I ever get anyway, both in Bali and in Australia.
My wife [not Ron's mother] was very tastefully dressed in an outfit she made herself from material she bought in the street opposite Pasar Badung. Very nice, but certainly not traditional Balinese. There were no indications whatsoever that anyone was concerned at the way we were dressed.
Lots of food, lots to drink, everyone very friendly, although we knew only a handful of the many guests. Teeth filing ceremony, planting the crops ceremony and two guys on two microphones presumably giving a commentary in perhaps Indonesian and Balinese. Anyone know?
Certainly an unusual experience for us and a part of Balinese life that we were fortunate to see.