Face Bali - face and culture of balinese the paradise island in Indonesia

Odalan Ceremony

2009-07-21T07:46:00.000-07:00

Klungkung is a part of Bali that takes its ceremonies seriously. Here things are done in a slightly more fancy way, as if they feel they have to live up to something. One of the best times to be around a Balinese temple is the odalan ceremony. The odalan is the anniversary of the temple, which occurs every 210 days.

As I was leaving my homestay this morning, 2 of the ladies were busy making a banten of fruit. These are the pyramids the ladies carry down the street, that you’ll see on most postcards.

Its still a part of Balinese culture and one thing I’ve always wondered, is how they get the fruit to stay in place. This morning I looked inside the banten as they were making it and saw the inside of a banana tree.
They then use sticks to skewer the fruit into the central tree. One of the ladies told me the odalann was at the Pura Dalem (temple of the dead) and will start a 8pm tonight. There will be food, drinks and Balinese dancing. A wonderful opportunity to show Toby, Maya, Ollie and Asia a real piece of Balinese culture. Tourists are welcome to watch as long as they have a sarong and sash.

Face Bali - Taman safaris bali gianyar

2009-05-28T02:06:00.001-07:00

Long ago, on a step hillside between the mountain and the sea on the splendid island of Bali, there once lived a village of people renowned for their believe to God and their love for nature.

They considered all the wild animals and plants to be their friends. In those days there were many deer and few people. And tigers never bothered the village.

They lived together in peace and harmony.Bali Safari & Marine Park relives the legends of human and animal in a vast, breathtaking setting of 40 hectares of splendid natural habitat.

It offers many sensational highlights, from the traditional Balinese’ self-purifying sacred bath, to the story of man-eating Lions in Tsavo of Kenya and the majestic White Tigers of India. Bali Safari & Marine Park invites you to discover this unique journey of human-animal legends.

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Face Bali - Taman safaris bali gianyar

2009-05-28T02:05:00.000-07:00

Bali Safari & Marine Park is the latest establishment of the world-renowned Taman Safari Indonesia, a name made famous for more than 20 years of efforts in nature conversation and recreational business.
It applies the state-of-the-art zoo innovation to provide close encounters and educational activities for all visitors. Bali Safari & Marine Park is tremendously active in protecting endemic and endangered species, as well as orchestrating educational campaign to save the animals.

Taman Safari Indonesia is a member of WAZA (The World Associations of Zoo and Aquariums), SEAZA (The South East Asians Zoo Associations), CBSG (Conservations Breeding Specialist Group) and PKBSI (Indonesia Zoological Parks Associations).

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Bali Cremation Ceremony - "Ngaben"

2009-05-28T02:00:00.002-07:00

Hindu funerals in Bali are intensely suggestive ceremonies of great cultural and religious significance.

Funerals are centred on cremation of the body requiring a complex apparatus and characterized by a large following known as ngaben or pelebon. This practice is considered essential if the 5 elements making up the microcosm of the human body are to be returned to their original residence, the universe’s macrocosm.

The five elements, Panca Maha Bhuta, are the earth (pertiwi), water (apah), fire (teja), air (bayu), and ether (akasa).

Since the primordial dimension can only be attained through water and fire, the ashes are dispersed in the water of the sea or if the distance is too great, in a river.

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Bali Cremation Ceremony - "Ngaben"

2009-05-28T02:00:00.001-07:00

The body is carried from the burial ground (or from the deceased's home if it's and 'immediate' cremation) to the cremation ground in a high, multi-tiered tower made of bamboo, paper, string, tinsel, silk, cloth, mirrors, flowers and anything else bright and colourful you can think of.

The tower is carried on the shoulders of a group of men, the size of the group depending on the importance of the deceased and hence the size of the tower. The funeral of a former rajah of high priest may require hundreds of men to tote the tower.
A long the way to the cremation ground certain precautions must be taken to ensure that the deceased's spirit does not find its way back home. Loose spirits around the house can be a real nuisance.

To ensure this doesn't happen requires getting the spirits confused as to their whereabouts, which you do by shaking the tower, running it around in circles, spinning it around, throwing water at it, generally making the trip to the cremation ground anything but a stately funeral crawl.

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Bali Cremation Ceremony - "Ngaben"

2009-05-28T01:58:00.000-07:00

The funeral ceremony is generally led by a priest and punctuated by a lavish offering of gifts. For the occasion, a large bullock-shaped wooden structure is built and then entirely covered with white drapes if the deceased belongs to a priestly caste--in black.

There are ceremonies for every stage of Balinese life but often the last ceremony--cremation--is the biggest. A Balinese cremation can be an amazing, spectacular, colourful, noisy and exciting event. In fact it often takes so long to organize a cremation that years have passed since the death. During that time the body is temporarily buried. Of course an auspicious day must be chosen for the cremation and since a big cremation can be very expensive business many less wealthy people may take the opportunity of joining in at a larger cremation and sending their own dead on their way at the same time.

Brahmans, however, must be cremated immediately. Apart from being yet another occasion for Balinese noise and confusion it's a fine opportunity to observe the incredible energy the Balinese put into creating real works of art which are totally ephemeral. A lot more than a body gets burnt at the cremation.

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