Anyone living in the Seminyak area will be aware of the ceremonies that have been going on recently. Jl. Seminyak is adorned with penjors (the hanging bamboo decorations) lining the street. The reason for the daily ceremonies is the odalan, which is the annual (210-day cycle) ritual purification of the 3 local temples. Every village in Bali has 3 local temples, the pura desa (village temple), the pura puseh (temple dedicated to the founders of the village) and the pura dalem (temple of the dead). Each temple takes its turn at being cleansed and I have seen street processions and local people from the alley were I live, heading to the temples wearing traditional costume and bearing offerings.
This morning I rode down to the pura dalem and nothing much was going on. I snapped a few photos of the umbrellas and asked one lady, "Ada lagi upacara hari ini?" (Do you have any more ceremonies today?). She said, "Ada", meaning we have. I would like to observe the festivities without barging in, it's their ceremony after all. The thing that makes this odalan special is its length. Usually only 3 days, the Seminyak odalan has been going on for about 2 weeks. I asked Wayan, my pembantu and she said many years ago a lot of people died and for that reason they have a huge odalan every 10 years.
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Exciting time for all eh Nick. It’s great to have Odalan ceremonies on your doorstep!. Lots of fotos please!.
I saw this in 1996 near Sayan- What was it?
There was a procession with hundreds of men and women. The men were dressed in white jackets and yellow sarongs. Women wore their usual multicoloured outfits. In the middle of the procession were 4 or 5 men dressed differently. They wore “coats” of straw. Around their necks hung wide gemmed collars and they held white hood above their heads. They walked under a canopy and the women fell to their knees, with their hands held in prayer, as they passed.
Any one out there know the name of the ceremony???
All the best
Alek Krylow
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