Bali is literally a nusa dewata Bali, or “island of deities Bali”. It is the only surviving Hindu island in the world’s largest Muslim country of Indonesia. Balinese are extremely proud of their culture, family structure, and religion.
I am still surprised and amazed at the apparent depth of commitment that Balinese have to their culture and religion. The Balinese calendar is full of ceremonial dates, and daily life involves multiple offerings and blessings. Significant amounts of time are spent making daily offerings to various spirits or preparing for celebrations. Some expats we’ve met roll their eyes at yet “another ceremony” that shuts down traffic, or has their staff leaving for home villages for weeks at a time on a regular basis.
Temples are ubiquitous, present in every household and every village, and in many other natural areas. Offerings are made daily by women of the household, by people on their way to work, or just when passing by a special place (usually a small basket filled with flowers, rice, and incense, with various other items often added, such as crackers). Ceremonial processions are a common sight, with participants of all ages dressed beautifully and carrying elaborate offerings. Gamelan is often heard throughout Ubud and during processions.
The Balinese Hindu religion apparently is nothing like Indian Hinduism. Rather, it is a unique combination of Hinduism and Buddhism, with animistic influences. To me, it seems very complicated. It is all orchestrated by the Brahman priests (and their families), who are charged with leading village spiritual life.
When Balinese go about all these offerings and ceremonies, they have the 4-limbed Balinese swastika in mind. With humans in the center, it exemplifies the desired balance between humans, God above, plants and animals on the side limbs, and the earth on the bottom. All must live in harmony and support each other. While there is only one true God in Balinese Hinduism, God may manifest in many different ways and in many different things. All life is sacred.
Wayan, an experienced tour-guide, explained it in this way: sometimes he is known as “father”, sometimes “son”, sometimes “tour guide”, etc., but his spirit remains the same. Thus, the offerings to the “spirit of the tree”, or “spirit of Krishna or Ganesha”, are offerings to different manifestations of God.
When Wayan dies, his spirit will rest in the graveyard temple until cremation, at which time it will come back to the family temple. At some time in the future, his spirit will be reincarnated, into a new baby within his extended family. About 40 days after a baby is born, a priest will determine who’s spirit is reincarnated in the baby. Wayan said that it is often uncanny how the person’s character is so similar to that of the deceased person.
The results of this constant daily focus on living with the Gods, seems on my first impressions to be quite positive. As a culture, I would use the word “mindful” to describe most Balinese. They seem to understand that they are a part of a greater whole, and that their collective responsibility is greater than their individuality. For example, they use Nyepi day to help purify the entire world, not just Bali. I have witnessed extreme patience and tolerance, and an impressive sense of humour. There is a strong concept of Yin/Yang, that in everything is both negative and positive, and that these must be honoured and kept in balance.
The extended family structure seems to be an ideal situation for children. Although most don’t have much in the way of material things, kids often have large extended families in a culture that adores children, all living in one compound or at least in the same village. Babies are carried constantly for 3 months, at which time they have a ground touching ceremony. The women work hard, but have constant female camaraderie and support in the way of child-care. Families sleep together in one bed. Even “attachment parenting” can’t compete with all this! It is more like “the attachment village”.
I have also been touched at the gentleness of the men, the way the older boys and men interact with, care for and joke with the younger children. There isn’t much in the way of Macho behavior. The men seemed somehow “filled up”, or secure and connected to each other, in ways that many Western men seem to be missing.
Tourism and development are rapidly changing some of these dynamics. We have no plans to even visit Kuta, otherwise known as the playground for young Australians, complete with any hedonistic activity anyone could want, at cheap prices. Now that rice farming is less and less common among this generation, many children are not living traditional lives. Wayan says that his children don’t want to farm or work with the tourists. They want to go to university and get professional certifications, so that they can have lives much different from those of their parents.
A highlight of my visit here would have to be visiting Besakih, the most sacred temple on the island, on the most sacred mountain, Mt. Agung. We visited on one of the most important days of the year, on the full moon. It also happened to be the most important full-moon day in ten years. The different spirit manifestations are said to come down and inhabit the family temples for a time. The temple was filled with people coming to pray, receive blessings, make offerings, dance, and just hang out with large extended families.
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