Once upon a time, Bhatara Guru (the head of Gods) who resides in heaven held a great ceremony. It is a tradition that each god should help in the preparation of the ceremony. But the great dragon Ananta Boga looked so sad since he could not help anything because did not have a hand or foot. It made him sad, he cried alone, but a miracle occurred, his tears that touch land turn into three eggs. He took those eggs on his mouth; he planned to give Bhatara Guru the eggs as a consolation for his inability in helping the preparation of ceremony.

On the way, he met another god, the god greeted him, when he answered two of his eggs fell into earth and hatched. One produced a rat and the other a boar. Realizing his mistake, Ananta Boga kept silence on the rest of the way, until he arrived in front of Bhatara Guru. He told Bhatara Guru what happened on him, and presented the remaining egg. Bhatara Guru accepted the egg.

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Jewel of West Bali, Pura Rambut Siwi is located between the villages of Yeh Embang and Yeh Sumbu, 78 Km west of Denpasar. Pura Rambut Siwi is an important legacy of the great priest Danghyang Nirartha, who came to Bali from Java during the decline the Majapahit Kingdom to fortify Balinese Hinduism against the spread of Islam occurring elsewhere in the archipelago. At the time of Danghyang Nirartha’s arrival in this temple in 1546, the ruler of this area , Gusti Ngurah Rangsasa, who obliged the great priest to pray in his temple. When the holy priest complied, the temple structures collapsed. Gusti Ngurah Rangsasa then fled and the community rebuilt the temple in honor of Danghyang Nirartha and his teachings. The name ‘Rambut Siwi‘ means “worship of the hair” since Danghyang Nirartha made a gift of his hair to this temple and since that time, the temple has been known as Pura Rambut Siwi.

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Colossal megibung at Taman Ujung Sukasada Karangasem broke the world record of largest communal eating, 19,768 people participated in this megibung (communal eating) event. The participants came from all over Karangasem regency. The participants of megibung were divided into groups called sela; each group consists of eight people of same gender, sitting cross-legged in circle on the grass. There were 2,452 sela (group of eight people) and 152 wanci (a special table for one person).

Food for megibung was arranged in accordance with the philosophy of Balinese cosmogony. The food consisted of a big portion of nasi (steam rice) completed with the variety of side dishes like pork satay, lawar (mixture of vegetable and pork) and some vegetable. The side dishes were arranged based on the Balinese cosmogony. The gegecok putih (white mixture of vegetable and pork) was placed on the east side of the nasi (steam rice), gegecok kuning (yellow mixture of vegetable and pork) was placed on the west side of the nasi (steam rice), urab barak (red mixture of vegetable and pork) was placed on the south side of the nasi (steam rice), and the star fruit leaves lawar (black mixture of vegetable and pork) was placed on the north side of the nasi (steam rice).

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The gentle morning breeze tousles the hair of the village farmer as he is absorbed in his work amidst the brilliant greenery of the surrounding rice fields. This is a typical daily scene in the fertile region of central Bali known as Jatiluwih, a name that roughly translates from the Balinese dialect as ‘amazing beauty’. Without a doubt, these enchanting fields, which are arranged in a series of terraces to follow the natural contours of the landscape, offer some of the most stunning views on the entire island.

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Flooded irrigated fields of stalk rice; deep mud artificially constructed (often terraced) and continuously cultivated with rice.

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Rice is the staple diet of the Balinese and a great deal of effort goes into sustaining this vital food source. Past generations of farmers have painstakingly transformed pockets of natural landscape into the most intricate network of rice terraces and canals.

One of the most important elements of the entire rice cultivation process is a shared irrigation system run by an organization called Subak. This collective basically refers to a group of farmers who have adjacent fields and the organization ensures that each piece of landscape receives fair distribution of the precious water that is sourced from a local spring. These farmers also cooperate to repair aqueducts and dikes, prevent theft and invariably attempt to solve the minor problems that arise between neighbours.

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