Sunday morning I woke and went over to the hotel restaurant to take advantage of our free breakfast.
I chose banana pancake and Bali coffee. While eating I watched a family from Surabaya Java getting into their food. They of course went for the Indonesian option, nasi goreng (fried rice). A steady stream of dump trucks rolled past creating a constant smell of diesel. So strange once again. ‘I’m inside a volcano on the edge of a lake in the mountains of Bali’ I thought ‘and all I can smell is diesel’.
When Barrie, Candika and Mellie got their saddles packed the sun was high in the sky. Our schedule included a couple of high-profile temples which Barrie had seen 10 years previously. His recent injury however meant he was going to stay inside the car while the rest of us went on a self guided tour.
The first temple we visited was Pura Ulun Danu Batur next to the village of Batur on the crater rim. This is the second most important temple in Bali and is one the ‘kayangan jagat’ (directional temples), which protect Bali from evil spirits. Pura Ulun Danu Batur protects Bali from the north.
This temple is easy to find being located right on the main street and you have to wear the traditional sarong and sash. Barrie lent me his sash and I watched Mellie and Candika getting set up with sarongs.
No admission fee here, we simply walked through the front gate and were met with an amazing array of stone ‘meru’ and multi-tiered meru. I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many courtyards and split gates apart from Besakih, the Mother temple.
While we were there I noticed small groups of locals who enjoyed having their photos taken. Some even asked me to take their photo with their camera. They would give offerings then move onto the next section of the temple.
I chatted to one group of people who said they were from the area and one girl asked me where I live. I said Kuta and she told me she worked in Kuta. “Where in Kuta?” I asked. “Poppies II” she said. “What shop?” I asked. “Softcomp DVD” she replied. Softcomp is about 7 meters from Internet Outpost where I go everyday. The world is changing.
They told me also there were 6 ‘mapandes’ (tooth filing ceremonies) happening that day. Tooth filing is one of the important rituals which all Balinese must undertake. A priest takes file and files down the incisors and canine teeth so they are level. The purpose of the ceremony is to rid the person of anger, greed, lust etc. and make them ‘fall in line’ so to speak with the rest of society, becoming an adult. Balinese people look forward to their tooth filing ceremony as they will receive many gifts from friends and family.
I’m not a temple expert by any stretch of the imagination but going by what I’ve read the temple honors the goddess of the crater lake who’s name is Ida Batara Dewi Ulun Danu. Balinese believe the goddess controls the flow of water from the lake to all the stream is Bali and there is a manuscript that says ‘Because the Goddess makes the waters flow, those who do not follow her laws may not possess her rice terraces. Bali has a very complex village system (Subak) that controls the flow of water and any alterations to the flow of water have to be approved by the Subak. The Jero Gede (high priest) has the final say in all matters concerning the Subak.
The priest himself is selected together with 24 boys who will become temple priests by a virgin priestess who is believed to be an incarnation of the goddess herself.
The temple is huge and was originally located inside the crater. An eruption in 1924 forced the temple to be moved brick by brick and rebuilt on the crater rim.
I spent about an hour inside the temple and rejoined Barrie at the car ready for our next sortie, the highest temple in Bali.
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