Constellation of star is believed to influence on the character of a person who is born under it. Zodiac plays important role in western civilization in predicting someone character and talent while in Bali it is the month of Caka lunar is used for similar purpose. Each month in Caka lunar calendar is believed to have its own effect on the character of a person who is born in a certain month. Here is some short explanations of the character of the person based on the Caka month.

A person who is born in the first month of Caka Lunar year (Kasa) which is usually starts on June 23rd and end up on August 1st will have strong compassion toward others and good behavior.

Reckless, clumsy, or thoughtless is the characteristic of the person who is born in the second month of Caka Lunar year (Karo) which starts on August 2nd up to August 24th.

(more…)

Earthquake for Balinese is not merely a disaster; there is a hidden meaning or a prophecy, for the sake of precision, in every occurrence of earthquake. Armed with the sacred Palelindon (treatise on earthquake) manuscript, for hundreds, Balinese decipher every sign or prophecy behind every earthquake that occurred.

In Palelindon (treatise on earthquake), the earthquakes are categorized based on the time of occurrence. An earthquake that occurs in the first month of Balinese Caka calendar (July) has different meaning from the earthquake that occurs in the fifth month (November) and the meaning an earthquake that occurs on Saturday (Saniscara) is different from the one that occurs on Wednesday (Buda).

(more…)

Today, Monday, 4/2/2007, concur with the full moon of the tenth month (Kadasa) of Balinese Caka calendar, the great ceremony Bhatara Turun Kabeh (Gods descend all together) is held in Besakih, the mother temple of Bali.

flickr.com/photos/48298078@N00/

The Bhatara Turun Kabeh ceremony is held once a year on the full moon of Kadasa, and a grand Bhatara Turun Kabeh ceremony is held once every five years. The ceremony last for over a week. Balinese believe that when this ceremony is held when the Gods of all the temples on Bali gather in the main temple (Penataran Agung) of Besakih temple complex.

(more…)

The best way to explain the climate and weather in Bali in a year period is based on traditional Caka Calendar. Each month (sasih) in this calendar has its own climate and weather characteristic. Balinese have used these climate and weather characteristics to determine the best time for cultivating the land or to perform a religious ceremony.

A year in the traditional Caka calendar consist of twelve months. Here are the months arranged in succession as follows Kasa, Karo, Katiga, Kapat, Kalima, Kenem, Kapitu, Kaulu, Kasanga, Kadasa, Jiyestha and Asada. The prefix of ka- in the first tenth months above refers to ordinal numbers. The first month (kasa) of the traditional Caka calendar corresponds to July. But they are not exactly the same since the traditional Caka calendar is a lunar calendar while the Gregorian is a solar one.

(more…)