Odalan
Since the island has an estimated 20,000 temples, odalan
is one of the most frequently seen ceremonies. The congregation of every
active temple on Bali schedules its temple's anniversary celebration on
certain auspicious days during the uku year, and all villagers are
invited to attend. On the pragmatic side odalan provides an opportunity
for temple repair and renewal.
Because they follow a fixed calendar, an
odalan is always taking place at a temple somewhere. Even if you're
only in Bali for two or three days you have an excellent chance of attending
one. Many odalan take place on the night of a full moon, purnama.
The Denpasar Tourist Office, tel. (0361) 234569, and a branch in Kuta Jl.
Bakung Sari 1 have a Calendar of Events pamphlet which lists all
the times and places for the major odalan in southern Bali for the
current year.
The lavishness of the odalan depends
on the importance of the temple and the wealth of the sponsoring banjar.
Some temple birthdays are small and inconspicuous, others are gigantic
and last a week. During the preparations of a large public temple like
the Pura Kehen in Bangli, village men and women clean, decorate, build
altars and awnings, erect flagpoles, and fashion ornate offerings of woven
palm leaf, fruit, rice, cookies, and flowers.
Draped in fine sarung, sashes, and
headdresses, hibiscus and frangipani blossoms woven into their hair, women
balance lofty pyramids of beautiful and delicate offerings on their heads
in long, colorful parades. All afternoon the splendid towers arrive at
the temple gates, some accompanied by marching bands. Inside, the men sit
around the compound proudly wearing kris. White-robed priests sprinkle
holy water over each family's offerings, the blessing punctuated by the
chiming of tiny silver bells-an invitation to the deities to descend. For
several hours the gods feast on the essence of each offering. Afterward,
the Balinese take home the material remains. In this way both the gods
and the Balinese are blessed with prosperity.
During the three-day celebration the temple
is alive with the atmosphere of a country fair-snack-stalls, cockfights,
chanting pemangku, shimmering gongs, batik vendors, toys,
balloons, sizzling sate, noisy games of chance, and balian
selling cure-alls. From midnight to dawn, dances, dramas, and wayang
kulit are performed. The whole affair is happy and casual, a social
occasion as well as a religious rite.
Occasionally, a group of identically clad
older women dance the slow, stately pendet, a dance dedicated to
the deities of each shrine. The odalan at Pura Luhur Batukau features
a tiger manifesting itself in a dancing human. Sometimes other odalan
feature a procession to the sea. Before returning home, the priests recite
prayers, politely requesting the visiting deities to depart in hopes that
they have been well treated during their visit and will return to heaven
pleased.
Galungan
The most important regularly held holiday on Bali, Galungan celebrates
the creation of the world by the supreme god and the victory of goodness
or virtue (dharma) over evil (adharma). Observed in the 11th
week of the 210-day uku year by Balinese all over Indonesia, Galungan
is the start of a 42-day holy period. The celebration probably has its
origins in an ancient pre-Hindu harvest festival-it's still forbidden to
begin planting during this period. In Bali-Hindu legend, Galungan is a
celebration of the defeat of the legendary demon-king Mayadanawa by the
people (represented by the god Indra).
Preparations begin seven days in advance
when Bali's roads are draped with penjor, tall, curved bamboo poles
adorned with unhusked rice and flowers. Placed in front of each door as
a symbol of thanks to Sanghyang Widhi for his gifts of life and prosperity,
they dip toward the center of the street. The sight of long lines of penjor
gracing Balinese villages alone are worth a trip to Bali.
In the days before the holiday, town and
village markets overflow with bright-colored rice cakes (jajan),
turtles and pigs are slaughtered to make lawar, green bananas ripen
in huge clay pots, temples are spruced up to receive the ancestral spirits,
and the whole island is decked out in lamak scrolls, delicate palm-leaf
cut-outs, and other festive decorations.
On Galungan day, starting at dawn, people
dressed in their finest clothes and jewelry bear elaborate offerings to
their temples of origin, while ancestral spirits and deities descend to
earth to be honored. Like Christmas in the West, but without the tawdry
commercialism, it's a day of prayers and feasting when schools are closed
and commerce comes to a standstill. On the day after Galungan, Manis Galungan
("Sweet Galungan"), there are great family reunions and visits
to friends and neighbors.
Kuningan
Following the fixed 210-day uku cycle, Kuningan is held 10 days
after Galungan, bringing the holiday period to a close. Kuningan, the second
most important day on the Hindu-Balinese calendar, is observed throughout
Bali with new offerings made and religious services held. The name Kuningan
is derived from the special offerings of yellow rice (kuning means
"yellow") made at this time in honor of the souls of ancestors
and saints. It could be termed a sort of Balinese "All Saints' Day."
The holy springs at Tirta Empul in Tampaksiring
are jammed as pilgrims bathe to purify themselves. Big temple festivals
are also held at Pura Bukit Jati, Pura Dalem Tenggaling, and Banjar Taman
Bali in Bangli; Pura Panti Timbrah and Desa Pakesebali in Klungkung; Pura
Sada in Kapal; Pura Sakenen on Serangan Island; and Pura Taman Pulo Mas
in Ubud. The day after Kuningan (always on a Sunday), Kuningan Manis is
a family day when the playing fields, parks, markets, and beaches are filled
with people.
Melasti (also Malis or Makiis)
Three or four days before the New Year (Nyepi), the paraphernalia and
pratima images of deified ancestors from thousands of temples all
over Bali are carried in long, joyous processions to the beach or to a
nearby holy spring where they are sanctified with water. By late afternoon,
thousands of Balinese have reached the shore, raising a din of clashing
gamelan. White-turbaned priests tinkle prayer bells as the palanquins
holding the icons are rushed, swirling, into the marigold-strewn surf.
After the symbolic washing, men in deep trances lop off the heads of young
pigs and are wrestled away, swinging at their captors with bloody swords.
This is no show; it is an awesome display of a living religion.
One day before Nyepi, purification ceremonies
conducted by priests are held at all the main crossroads in Bali's villages
and towns. Offerings of brem and the flesh of domestic animals are
placed there to tempt the lurking bhuta and kala into the
open. Toward evening on the same day, the last day of the old year, the
whole island starts making as much noise as is humanly possible, cleansing
the land of malevolent spirits.
Children, especially little boys, set off
continuous explosions, lighting small amounts of kerosene in big bamboo
tubes. They blow whistles, set firecrackers, and bang gongs, homemade cymbals,
pots and pans, trash cans, corrugated roofing, and petroleum drums. Any
noisemaker they can lay their hands on will suffice to create pandemonium
in all corners of the family compound and down every alleyway.
Priests stay up the whole night chanting
magical formulas to exorcize the hordes of malevolent spirits from the
old year. In Denpasar, thousands of boys gather at Puputan Square for a
parade through the streets carrying flaming torches and weird bamboo and
paper monsters and demons (ogoh-ogoh) to make sure that all the
malingering spirits are aroused. The next day, Nyepi, all is deathly silent.
Nyepi
The Balinese New Year in the lunar (saka) calendar, this holy
day almost always occurs during the spring equinox toward the end of March
or beginning of April. Nyepi is a day of silent retreat, prayer, and quiet
meditation-a Day the World Stood Still. It feels like Bali 30 years ago-no
electricity, no cars, no tourists-as the people sleep so do the dogs. The
new year must begin with complete nothingness because all existence originates
from nothingness. The purpose of this behavior is to suppress passion,
teach control of excesses, and practice semadhi. No transportation
is taken, no work done, no lamps burned, and no sexual or other sensory
pleasures are indulged in. Meals are prepared in advance as no fires may
be lit, only small candles inside the home are permitted. You may not read,
smoke, cook, or eat, and for 24 hours no one leaves the house compound.
To see that stillness is preserved, male
members of the local banjar keep silent watch at points along the
roads and in the alleys. Only those with special written exemptions are
allowed on the roads or into other public areas. If guests must leave for
the airport, the hotel has to submit the names of those leaving to the
banjar. Streets are patrolled and if the occupant of a stopped car
isn't on the list, there could be a problem.
Restaurants, offices, and shops are closed,
traffic lights are shut off, and even Denpasar's streets are deserted.
Bali's ports are closed down because no ships or ferries are in operation.
To find their way around grounds, hotel staff carry shaded flashlights
pointed downward. Why all this? The Balinese hope that the demons and evil
spirits aroused by the noise the night before will be deluded into thinking
that Bali is completely devoid of life, prompting them to leave the island.
Tumpek Anniversaries
Ceremonies dedicated to a class of useful or revered objects take place
about once every 35 days. Refer to a Balinese Puwukon calendar to find
out when. For Tumpek Kandang, prayers are offered up in thanks to
useful domestic animals, particularly the island's soft golden-brown cattle,
which are scrubbed, dressed in a kain, showered in uncooked rice,
and have their horns decorated with lamak. Bali's enormous sway-backed
pigs are wrapped in white cloth and fed a special concoction of boiled
banana stem or tree leaves mixed with rice (oot halus). Chickens,
ducks, and water-buffaloes are also honored.
Tumpek Wariga is the Balinese Arbor
Day. Palm trees, fruit trees, and gardens are thanked with offerings for
providing humans with a source of food and income. Coconut trees are even
dressed in kamben, the same skirtlike cloth worn by people going
to the temple to pray. Another tumpek, known as Soma Ribeg,
is devoted to the goddess of rice and fertility. The implements and equipment
used in rice farming are honored and the milling or selling of rice is
forbidden.
On Tumpek Krulut, all theatrical costumes,
masks, accessories, and musical instruments are decorated with coconut-leaf
offerings, cleansed, and blessed in order to restore them to their original
condition. Theatrical groups from all over the island give banquets (though
there are no performances) and hold big ceremonies. Homage to wayang
kulit is paid on Tumpek Ringgit when sacred heirloom puppets are taken
from their storage boxes, sprinkled with holy water or rice, then solemnly
reconsecrated. Weapons of war, sharp implements, and all metal tools including
cars, trucks, and motorcycles are blessed during Tumpek Landep.
On this day most sacred to blacksmiths, kris are bathed, leaf offerings
are hung from handlebars and steering wheels, radiator grills are decorated
with garlands, and hoods are dressed in bright batik.
Pagerwesi
A day of offerings for Batara Guru, a Hindu god from the creation myth,
Pagerwesi is held a few weeks before Galungan to assure protection of the
family, the village, and the world at large. Pagerwesi means "iron
fence," symbolizing the fortification around you to keep out greed
and evil during the ceaseless battle between good and evil. The family
asks for spiritual strength in confronting life's trying cycles and suffering.
Offerings are brought to the cemetery for the uncremated dead and penjor
poles are erected. This holiday is most closely observed in Buleleng Regency,
where it's nearly as important as Galungan.
Hari Raya Saraswati
This island-wide holiday commemorates Batari Dewi Saraswati, the wife
of Brahma and the beautiful goddess of learning and the creative arts.
On this day it is not permissible to read or write. It is a day of thanks
for bringing education to the world, a day when all books are taken out
and dusted, then given as an offering to be blessed by the goddess. Special
attention is paid to sacred lontar, the Balinese bible. Early in
the morning, students by the hundreds attend special ceremonies conducted
by pedanda at Denpasar's Pura Jaganatha where they pray for success
in school.
Eka Dasa Rudra
With some 30 ceremonies lasting as long as 11 weeks and attended by
up to 200,000 people, this is the island's largest and most important religious
celebration, though no one alive had seen the ceremony before the last
time it was held. According to tradition, the festival should occur once
every hundred years, but in recent history it has been necessary to hold
the festival more frequently. The one in 1963 was a portend of things to
come beginning just before mighty Gunung Agung erupted, killing more than
2,000 people. The last Eka Dasa Rudra took place during Feb.-May 1979.
The purpose of the festival is to restore a balance in the world between
the forces of good and evil. The Balinese explain that they do not do this
for themselves or for Hindus of the world, they do it for us all. The ceremony
begins with images of the gods borne in a three-day procession to the sea
where they are symbolically washed. Men in an outrigger sacrifice a water
buffalo calf to sea demons by pushing it into the surf, its horns encased
in gold, silver bracelets on its legs, and a heavy stone tied around its
neck. A stylized war dance, baris, as well as the ancient gambuh,
are often staged.
In culminating event, worshippers pack into
trucks hired by the banjar to converge on Bali's mother temple,
Besakih. Rivers of Balinese carrying offerings arrive here for the climactic
Taur sacrifices. Addressing their prayers to the 11 directions of Balinese
space (eka dasa means "eleven"), two dozen priests make
offerings, bestow gifts, and sacrifice scores of animals-from an eagle
to a snake-to appease Rudra, the demonic manifestation of Bali's supreme
being. In the 1993 follow-up ceremonies to the cycle, 125 pedanda
high priests took part, and the sacrifices included 18 seven-month old
water buffaloes, goats, deer, geese, and dogs, as well as 15,000 various
offerings of other types.