Tuak is palm beer, a sudsy and quite mild elixir brewed from palm tree sap. Tuak is produced by fermenting the sap of flower bud of any of a number of species palm. In Bali, coconut tree, called punyan nyuh, is most often used because of the trees are quite common. In areas where sugar palms, punyan jaka, palm trees, grow, their juice is used. In north and east Bali, the lontar palm, called punyan ental, is used for tuak. The problem with ental, however, is that the leaf-bearing branch of the tree is full of thorns.

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There are two kinds of tuak; tuak manis, “sweet,” (sometimes called nguda, “young”) and tuak wayah, “old.” The difference between the two is in taste and alcohol content, with tuak wayah being “dryer” and more potent. Tuak manis is fresh from the tree, and it has a fairly high sugar content because the fermentation process has not gone very long. Most connoisseurs avoid tuak manis because it causes stomach problems, flatulence, and diarrhea. But it does have a following. The preferred drink is tuak wayah. It has a much stronger taste than manis, with a definite alcoholic flavor. Somewhat sour, and not unlike heavily hopped beer. Like beer, it is an acquired taste. But an awful lot of Balinese seem to have acquired it.

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The most important part of all Balinese ceremony is a Holy water. Holy water accompanies every act of Hindu-Balinese worship from individual devotion at household shrine to island-wide ceremonies. Holy water acts as an agent of the power of a God, a container of a mysterious force. It can be cleanse spiritual impurities, fend off evil forces, and render the recipient immune to the attacks of the negative, or demonic, influences. In Bali, holy water is not a symbol, it a material container of mystical power, and as such, is sacred and holy in and of itself. The holy water strengthens and purifies everything it touches. Although there are many kinds and potencies of holy water, no matter where or by whom it is made and no matter whether its quantity is great or small, holy water is always a sacred and powerful agent.

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The panca datu, an important offering of iron, silver, copper, and gold, which is used to bless the foundation of an important building. Thus, even today, Pis bolong are associated with wealth. A single Pis bolong was never really valuable - but it is a charged metal object that is associated with, and a vehicle of, wealth. And so when gifts are made to the gods in the form of offerings such as flowers, fruits, cakes, and meat, Pis bolong are offered also. Pis oblong are included as the “base” of certain kinds of offerings. The exact number of coins is almost always specified, although the significance of the numbers is not known.

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