Winter 2019 - 22. I took a “Hinduism in Bali” Class

22.   I took a “Hinduism in Bali” Class

Open Living Area of Balinese Home (Area Where We Had Lunch is the Separate Building on the Right)

It bugged me that I had lived here in Bali for some weeks but could not understand the basic needs or understandings of a Balinese life. Living in a hotel is not like living in a regular neighborhood. I wanted to see how normal people live, see where they shop for daily food, etc. 

Family Member Carving Masks to Sell

Uma Sari’s Echa told us about a man who would drive us around Ubud, showing us more about how people cope with their daily chores. He promised to get us entrance into a regular Bali house, into workshops, into kitchens, a gold or silver smith, etc. The man’s fees were 450,000 Rupiah each or let’s say US$ 60 for the 2 of us for the day. 

He picked us up at our Hotel and drove us straight to a family enclave; a private residence on the other side of town. Mind you, it was a Balinese house, and not at all comparable to a house in NJ. 

This Will Be a Beautiful Mask

The most important part of a Balinese house is the shrine where the ancestors are revered. When a new house is built the very first building activity is this part of the new house, kind of like a holy area with altars or seats for the gods.

A Balinese home owner believes in different gods, each god he believes in gets a seat or altar in this shrine.

But above all else there MUST be a throne or seat (Padmasana is the lotus position but also an old name for a throne)  built for Sanghyang Widi Wasa first (the all in one god).

Alter to Sanghyang Widi Wasa

This most important god gets accommodated first before all the other gods, before any other building is started. There is no statue of any god in this altar area of the house, just a ‘throne’ (or seat, or shrine, or a place to sit) where the god can rest or sit when he comes to visit on Earth. In Indian Hinduism this god might be called Brahman. Here in Bali this highest God is called Sanghyang Widi Wasa. Sanghyang Widi Wasa created all the other gods, so he must be first.

And this Sanghyang Widi Wasa altar section is always in the most north east corner of the residence. 

Shrine to Their Ancestors

The rest of the property, once these altars (or thrones) are built, have buildings and lean-tos or palapas for each specific function. There is the sleeping building, kitchen building, and entertainment building, all with separate functions. The most ornately decorated areas are always in the center of the property and this is where the priest sits when he comes to visit. All these areas combined are called a ‘house’ in Bali. Many, if not most, of the Balinese houses are walled or at least fenced in. 

Most Ornate Area Reserved for the Priest When He Visits

When we visited we were served, according to Balinese etiquette, food and drink. We were given a glass of water and hot steamed banana, wrapped in a banana leaf and rice with banana in the center and wrapped in a long strand of palm leaf. It’s ceremonial and the serving was nicely decorated, but it’s a must do when one has visitors. 

Rice With Banana Inside Being Unwrapped

Hot Steamed Banana Wrapped in a Banana Leaf

One corner of the enclave was set up as a silver shop where the silversmith was teaching an American woman how to make a silver ring. He was a family member and his workshop was right on the premises, It was just him and the woman, a one on one class. The woman received his full attention and when I spoke to her a bit later on, she was very happy with the way things went in her ‘silver-smithing’.

Some Had Great Fun Being Purified

 
After we had this deeper understanding how a family lives in Bali, we were taken to the Water Temple Tirta Empul (again); the same Temple where we waded into the water fountains to bless ourselves and wash away all of our illnesses, past, present and future. Only this time we totally disregarded this pool section (except for a few pictures) and kind of felt sorry for the folks who needed the help of the gods fighting their illnesses. 

Hans With Sarong and Our Guide

We, our guide, Carol and I, deliberately moved on to the offering sections of the Temple where a priest greeted us. Our Guide slipped him some money and we received an extensive blessing. 

But… of course… before we could enter the holy section of this Temple we had to wear a special sarong with a cummerbund. Carol had to wear one, too even though she did not sit on the floor with me, getting the blessing I so needed. 

Priest Is Adding Our Flowers to the Offering Alter

He Has Been Blessed

 

I went through the ritualized movements described by my guide and put some sticky rice on my forehead and on my lower throat. Our guide had bought some flowers, which had to be blessed by the priest and then were placed on the collection altar, near representations of a deity. All was done with the utmost sincerity, with a devotional attitude by all, yes, including me. 

Who am I to know anything?  

The Royal Palace Up on the Hill

No picture taking was allowed during this ceremony.

This special Water Temple (Tirta Empul) sits in a valley and the daily rituals in the temple can be watched from above by the Royal House occupants who still have some influence over many things in Bali. A Royal Palace still exists high up on a hill with a view down into the temple complex. Yes, you are being watched while in this temple, even though you might not know it.

This Evil Spirit is a Devourer of Children

I guess good behavior is what they, the Royals watch for. Good behaviour is always a perfect way in any society and will be rewarded, I’m told.

More Shrines to Other Gods

 

An Ornate Throne for a High Priest

Source of the Holy Water Is a Spring Flowing Into This Pool (Cloudy Area on the Left)

After I was now blessed, we went back to the car and the Guide drove us to a lunch spot named the De Koi Restaurant (Koi is a carp fish but also an Old Dutch tea pot) on the side of a busy road. The name tells me it must have been an Old Dutch neighborhood, yet the area is still covered with lots of plots that actively grow rice. 

Plowing a Rice Field

We were offered a place to eat our lunch Indonesian style, sitting on the floor, and eating from a very low table or off the floor. Carol and I looked at each other and then told the guide we have to pass on that. Crawling around the floor is no longer an activity one can do at our ages. So we sat in a nice area at a regular western table and watched others eat Balinese style, sitting back on their heels, using their hands to eat the food. 

Yes, I know, what we did is not authentic, but we ate well.

Same Field But a Change in Worker - Egrets Happy With Their Find

Our view at the lunch spot was a small river containing Koi fish (hence the restaurant’s name?) and just across the rivulet was a rice field. The field was being prepared, plowed for the next harvest. In years past this ‘plowing’ would have been done with oxen, today it was a walk behind tractor that did the hard labor. The farmer, operating the tractor, was walking almost knee deep in muddy water, or even walking in mud. It took him close to an hour to just plow this smallish field. White egrets were crowding the farmer, scooting behind the plow to grab anything edible that the plowing brought to the surface. 

While the whole scene looked idyllic, I know this part of working on a farm is hard labor. Or is it harder work planting each rice plant?  I don’t know, I never did this kind of work, but I did plow a field once, using oxen, when I was young. I know plowing with oxen is not easy.

The Pizza Place Has Great Pizza But Also Many Other Choices

The original time given to us was 3 hours for this tour; we managed, without trying, to make it last 5 hours. No extra charges were asked for. We thanked our Guide and he dropped us off at Uma Sari again. It was about 3 PM when we got back and we were lucky, wow did it rain at about 4 PM. 

See, the blessings I received in the Temple and the flowers as a gift to the gods did help. We did not get wet at all. Even dinner, next door in the Pizza place again, was good. Someone just stopped the rain long enough for us to walk over, eat and then walk back before it rained again…all night.

A Penjor

Ah, we asked our rather ‘religious’ guide what the Penjor was for, the long, bent bamboo poles we see here and there. Our guide explained it like this article in the link above. I am sure after you read it, you’ll understand all about a Penjor, too.