Temple Festivals in Bali

There are over 20,000 temples in Bali when you include family temples, village temples and the large direction temples like Pura Besakih. When a temple is having a festival it really comes to life. Each temple has a birthday, called an odalan, which according to the wuku calendar happens every 210 days.

Full moon ceremonies called purnama, are important for Balinese also. When there is a full moon in my neighborhood in Seminyak I can hear the gamelan music and singing going on late into the night. When driving around Bali you will come across temporary signs that say 'Ada upacara agama Hindu' (we have a Hindu ceremony). This will be located very close to someone's house, in the case of a wedding, of close to a temple in the case of an odalan. Another indicator of a temple festival is the temple being decorated with carefully cut offerings. A line of women walking down the road in procession carrying pyramids of fruit, rice cakes and flowers is an indication of a great event, possibly an odalan.

On many occasions you will be able to observe at close range the going's on, if you come equipped with a sarong and a sash. Don't just go charging in, but ask an older person or one of the pecalang (traffic police dressed in checked black and white sarongs).

Temple ceremonies can go on all night. The local temple priest, the pemangku, is responsible for the daily upkeep of the temple, while the pedanda, or high priest will take over for big events. Female dancer will perform a dance called a pendet, which is dedicated to the Gods, they will again perform that dance just before dawn. I have seen all kinds of dances going on at temples and often a dancer will specialize in a particular dance that is performed at a particular temple. If you are lucky enough to be around a local temple away from the city, during a temple festival take the time to check it out.