About 90%
of the Balinese is Hindu (the remaining 10% are Moslim, Buddhist,
Christian or Protestant) and as such the island is landmarked
by literally thousands of Hindu tempels of all possible sizes.
Besides daily prayers and the making of offerings in the family
tempels which can be found at each house compound, Balinese Hinduism
throughout the year has many general religious days, and a whole
series of family bound religious days.
Balinese
Hinduism is a monotheistic religion
 |
Despite
the fact that Balinese Hinduisme has many gods it is a monotheistic
religion. All these gods namely are but mere manifestations
of the One God, who is called 'Sanghyang Widhi Wasa' by
the Balinese Hindus. Each of these gods should be seen as
a symbol of a specific quality of Sanghyang Widhi, qualities
which can be found in the human being as well as in the
surroundings of mankind. The Balinese refer to this as the
'bhuana agung' (the macrokosmos) and the'bhuana alit' (the
microkosmos = the human baing); Sanghyang Widhi Wasa manifests
in both 'bhuanas', they influence each other and cannot
be seen but dependent on each other. |
Offerings
are made daily
Very typical
for the Balinese atmosphere are the daily prayers and the making
of offerings. Around sunrise, upon the oping of the shops, shopkeepers
place small offerings (segohan) on the sidewalk in front of their
shops, meant to satisfy the 'bhutaskala' (the evil spirits). Offerings
are placed in the small wall tempels ('plankiran') of the shops
in order to guarantee success in business. At the house compounds
offerings are made at the family templein to honor the gods and
the ancestors. At sunset these ceremonies are repeated at the
housetempels.
offering
at the family temple |
'segohan'
offering |
'plankiran'
wall temple |
Religious
Hindu Days of Bali
Bali has
several dozens of religious days which are repeated yearly. The
most wellknown of these days are: Melasti, Nyepi (Balinese niew
year), Galungan and Kuningan, Tumpek Landep,
Saraswati Day, and Pagerwesi. Bsides these commonly celebrated
days, each tempel has a socalled 'odalan', the day at which the
inauguration of the tempel is . Besides these general religious
days there is a whole series of 'unpredictable', family bound
religious days, like celebrations of the birth of a child, celebrations
at three and six months after the birth, at puberty, marriage,
and decease.
drie
maanden ceremonie |
tandvijl
ceremonie |
ngaben
ceremonie |
Traditional
music and dance of Bali
In general,
the traditional music and dance of Bali has a religious background.
The most wellknown religious dances are, among others, the Legong,
the Pendet, the Baris and the Kecak dance. One of the few secular
dances is the very popular 'joged', which is often organized after
wedding ceremonies during the evening hours. Also very popular
are the 'wayang kulit' performances, in which legendary religious
events are depicted. These wayang kulit can be compared with the
cinemas of the western world, attracting large audiences.
gamelan
|
Baris
dance |
wayang
kulit |
No matter
which period one chooses to go on a holiday to Bali, one will
allways encounter religious ceremonies in Bali. The hospitality
of the Balinese grants that you are always welcome to witness
these ceremonies, on the condition that certain etiquettes for
clothing and behaviour are respected. Tempels for example may
only be visited when one wears a sarong.
