You know we were at B&B Tari in Sanur and we also were invited to join them on a special ceremony that was held on Wednesday the 17th of December. But already days before you could see people making Penjor, which are a long bamboo stick with a bend on top and you can decorate it as you like. So there are very simple ones but also huge ones. On the bottom of the Penjor is a little place, looks like a little house what is meant to be a temple in which they put offers for the Gods.
Movie time, please don't skip because its worth watching;
This ceremony is called Galungan. Galungan marks the beginning of the most important recurring religious ceremonies. The spirits of deceased relatives who have died and been cremated return to visit their former homes, and the current inhabitants have a responsibility to be hospitable through prayers and offerings. The most obvious sign of the celebrations are these penjor.
Then on the big day itself, all people go to their family houses and family temples to offer, pray and of course see their families. But they start at home first as everyone has at least one, but mostly more temples from small.......
Above picture is what it is normal, on the day of Galungan, the temple has also an umbrella
family temple.....
Elly is putting an umbrella at their temple, the yellow one earlier is also their temple...
offering flowers.....
You can imagine that means a huge migration on that day because a lot people work and life in the bigger cities were all the tourism is and they all go home to the country to the little villages. A lot people don't have a car so they travel on motor bikes and scooters and My God that is scary!!
Movie time;
Sometimes you even see a whole family on it, father, mother and two kids, even babies, and they all travel without a helmet, kids standing in front of the father, holding the steering wheel together with daddy!!
If you just imagine what can happen, hundreds of homeless dogs walk everywhere and they just cross over the street without even thinking. Our host said that sometimes a cow got scared by a python and they ran over the street, I don't even dare to think what can happen to that whole family on the bike.
I hope in my movies you can see a bit how they drive, Australians can be careless on the roads but in Bali they are worse.
Just a few pictures of offering, temples and street sights
installing Penjor...
You know Bali has a different calender then we! They have 420 days in a year and every half year, 6 month, 210 days (35 days in a month), they have a ceremony, can you imagine all the work involved with those ceremonies??
With Elly, Julie and the two children we went to Elly's family to offer and pray at the family temples and of course we had to be dressed up ourselves.....
When we were all finished dressed up, we drove to the first family;
Movie time;
Now we are at a temple of Elly's family.....
Here Elly explains what sort of offers are being made and also that they first offer to the gods and after that you may eat it yourselves....
So after offering we first went for a little drive to get some Durian, people who know this fruit may go vomiting now haha;
Here an explanation out of Wikipedia;
Regarded by many people in southeast Asia as the "king of fruits", the durian is distinctive for its large size, strong odour, and formidable thorn-covered husk. The fruit can grow as large as 30 centimetres (12 in) long and 15 centimetres (6 in) in diameter, and it typically weighs one to three kilograms (2 to 7 lb). Its shape ranges from oblong to round, the colour of its husk green to brown, and its flesh pale yellow to red, depending on the species.
The edible flesh emits a distinctive odour that is strong and penetrating even when the husk is intact. Some people regard the durian as having a pleasantly sweet fragrance; others find the aroma overpowering and revolting. The smell evokes reactions from deep appreciation to intense disgust, and has been described variously as rotten onions, turpentine, and raw sewage. The persistence of its odour has led to the fruit's banishment from certain hotels and public transportation in Southeast Asia.
I thought is was stinky!! but it tasted beautiful, it taste if you eat a whole Brie or Camembert and afterwards you also feel like you ate a whole Brie or Camembert haha
after this adventure we went back to Elly's family to have some of the offered things...
The Tari family.....
After this we went to more family of Elly who live in Ubud.....
Also beautiful temples.....
When you see this it means there is a wedding going on or just been....
During the trip between the two family visits, Elly suddenly saw the beginning of ceremony, most probably Melasti ceremony and he stopped so we could enjoy it;
Often you also see the Barong dance;
Barong is probably the most well known dance. It is also another story telling dance, narrating the fight between good and evil. This dance is the classic example of Balinese way of acting out mythology, resulting in myth and history being blended into one reality.
Movie time;
Barong is a lion-like creature and character in the mythology of Bali, Indonesia. He is the king of the spirits, leader of the hosts of good, and enemy of Rangda, the demon queen and mother of all spirit guarders in the mythological traditions of Bali. The battle between Barong and Rangda is featured in Barong dance to represent the eternal battle between good and evil.
When we came home Elly and Julie had made a very nice Balinese dinner.....
After dinner we talked a bit and the men had a problem to solve....
Thanks Elly and Julie, we had a great and very special day, we will never forget!!
OK mates, I hope you liked it and that you didn't skip the movies as these are worth watching because you understand more of the feelings around this ceremony.
Next story we're still in Bali but we are leaving Sanur.....
Curious??? See ya then!
Cheers!
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