Batuan Village,Bali, 16 December 2008
During an odalan (temple festival), holly and
not so holly spirits descend from heaven or wherever
they come from. They are entertained for many days
with food(fresh and colorful for the holly spirits and
rotten for the demon),wine, prayers, dances, cock fights,
and other religious and non-religious activities. Time
consuming preparation can take many months
before and what they call a “simple” home odalan can
involve the whole community. The offerings are taken to
the temple, where the prayers, dances, and other activities
will take place. Some are offered to gods.Some are offered
to demons. All are intended to keep the cosmos in balance.
These activities occupy much of Balinese life.
The Balinese universe is not polar, as in Good versus Evil.
It is more like a synchronization with Gods at one end,
Demons at the other end, and Humans in the middle.
Balance is the goal. If humans are to remain in balance,
then both gods and demons must be satisfied.
This satisfaction comes in the form of offerings, dances,
and beauty. These are what the Balinese present to their
gods many times a day on house shrines and ground.
Prayer in Balinese-Hinduism:
Hands pointed up indicate a prayer to the gods.
Hands pointed down indicate a prayer to the demons.
Hands pointed in the middle indicate a prayer for humans.
Odalan are social events, often starting late at dawn, and
running into the next morning. There are, of course,
opportunities for socializing, gossiping and, naturally, flirting.
*click on pictures for larger image*
Flowers, rice, fruits come in different shapes
and color
Prayer to holly spirit
Silence
Balinese story telling
Dandy granpa
To God with love
Chicken and duck competing for blessing
Singers
One of many masks and characters
played by one person
Baris dancer
Rejang dance, angels for God
Golden girls
Baris dancer dressing up
Balinese family
Ceng ceng, part of gamelan
Wine chimes made of bamboo
Umbrella to protect the God from
sunburn
Dancing to please the spirit
100%hand-made with passion
These guys are artists, dancers, gamelan players,
farmers, cooks, fine art painters, and also chicken,
duck and pig butchers. All in one!
Balancing act
What a garnish!
Labor of love and devotion
Gangway in Batuan village
Pura Dalem, Batuan village
Yo' mama!
Flag bearers
Protect us from...
Blessing
Dancing Queen
Duck in disguise
Temple within temple
Ariel and friend in action
Deep discussion
Music during temple procession
Banner carrier entering temple compound
Dadong Carik with her offering
Kids at home
Holly offerings must be carried on top
of their head
Models incorporated
150 kilo worth
Fried Duck for the God
Nyoman before bath
Inside of the house compound
Offering for temples
Duck massacre, over 300 of them
Morning bath
Tons of shallots to peel
Making rice pyramides for offering
Some of spices for suckling pigs and other
dishes
Hair-do for God
Traditional tool for grating spices
Renovating God's abode made from Frangipani
petals
Young coconuts dressed for temples
Flowers and other yummies for God
Flowery hair-do
150 kilos worth of pig slaugher with a holly knife
1 of 14 pigs
Shaving pig's bristles
Douced with ashes and kerosine, at 4 a.m
How to be hairless, pig-sytle.
Location: the village road
Grey's Anatomy, Balinese sytle
Collective works
Grating coconut
Coconut decorated with pigs' flesh and fat
Bio food for the unseen
Sate
Munchies for the "bad" spirit
Preparing holly nourishment
Offering for spirits around the house
Coconut leaf
Flying suckling pigs. Storing for the night
Colorful rice flour after being fried
Glamour
Part of ceremony.
Mecaru- spilling of blood. Cock fight. Look at
the knife!
High priest and his disciple
Duck as offering
Group of priest outside the temple compound
getting ready for "mecaru" ceremony-spilling
of blood
Young dalang, puppet master
Getting ready for mecaru. The little chick,
held by a woman on the left corner, was
reincarnated
Inviting ghosts to feast
Blangbungkem sacrifice
Priest inside the temple
Gambling for fun, part of the activities in the
house compound during ceremony
Exploding young bamboo marked the praying
activity
Burried under each individual temple
as its soul
Batuan families
Suckling pig for Gods
Kids on the block
Strike a pose grandma
Help from the neighbor
Ketupat, made from palm leaf, filled with rice
and then boiled
Community work, cleaning up some of 300±±
sacrificed ducks
