BALI CULTURE AND LEGEND

This articles was written with the intention to help visitors understand the balinese hindu culture and dharma, bali's religious belief system, a way of life in truth and good will, which governs daily life activities. the three basic principles of dharma are yadnya ( ceremony ), tatwa ( philosophy ), and susila ( behavior ). most ceremonies have a common purpose : to balance and harmonize the three levels of existence : bhur ( lower beings ), bwah ( human ), and swah ( gods ).

There are many ceremonies in bali : mesaiban ( daily ), offering of rice, sprinkled with saur or slat, on a piece of banana leaf, paced around the compound for protenction. kliwon ( every five days ), kajeng kliwon ( every fifteen days ), odalan ( every 120 days ), and various ceremony every five or ten years. eka dasa rudra ( every 100years ) is a cleaning of the island, at the besakih temple, last held in 1979.

Panca yadnya are five types of ceremony : dewa yadnya : for god and goddesses as manifestation of hyang widhi. pitra yadnya: for ancestors who gave us guidance in life and the opportunity to be born. manusia yadnya : to rpotect our lives and those of future generations. rsi yadnya : to priest who guide us on our spiritual journey. moreover, bhuta yadnya : to any other beings ( visible ) and invisible ) to ensure that there will be harmony and unity in nature. yadnya is a part of panca srada ( five beliefs ), which are : ida sang hyang widhi wasa, atman ( soul, karma pala ( cause and effect ), samsara ( reincarnation ), and moksa ( ascendance ).

From these beliefs, many sacred artifacts are created, such as statues, shrines, masks, and other symbols, which are bridges to communicate prayers to hyang widhi. we keep these artifacts at the kahyangan, which we consider holy ground for prayers and ceremonies. the type, name and the date of the odalan for each kahyangan depends on the function, history, and legends associated with it.

There are many types of kahyangan : sanggah / merajan : small temple built in every family compound used for daily prayers, sanggah gede / merajan agung : bigger temple used more than one family with common ancestors, pura nataran : bigger temple used by larger lineages. pura melanting : temple built near the market place for the merchant, pura dugul : temple built near the fileds for farmers, members of subak ( irrigation society ), to pay their homage to ida sang hyang wdhi wasa.

There are three major temples in every village : pura desa ( center ), pura puseh ( north ), and pura dalem ( south ). the larges kahyangan are called sad kahyangan or dang kahyangan there are many of these in bali some of the most famous are pura besakih, pura uluwatu, pura rambut siwi, pura tanah lot, and pura batur.
every kahyangan is a holy and sanctified place and everyone who enters there are expected to respect and preserve its holiness as well as the adat ( regulations ). we hope you will find bali culture & legends entertaining as well as informative and a great souvenir of your trip to bali to share with family and friends.

om canti, canti, canti, om

PS : Some articles are taken from {bali culture and legeds book) by suecan widhi group which is address at jalan bisma no 3 ubud gianyar