It’s spring now in Bali, when October comes and rain begin to pour down then it is just a matter of time you will see the blooming flowers here in in the paradise island of Bali. In Balinese traditional calendar, October is parallel with Kapat (the fourth month of Balinese Caka calendar) and for the Balinese Kapat means its full moon will be the brightest in all year and the flowers will bloom.

After the harsh drought and blazing sun of Katiga (the third month of of Caka Calendar usually around September) the pouring rain of Kapat is surely a welcome change. With the appearance of rain, plants begin to produce flower buds and in the peak of Kapat you can see those flowers in full bloom. Kapat is also the long-awaited month for Balinese farmers since its rain is essential for the rice fields.

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Today, Redite Pon Julungwangi, Balinese celebrates Siwaratri, here is the interesting article on last year edition:

Tomorrow, on the dark moon of the seventh month based on the Balinese lunar calendar system, Balinese will celebrate the Siwaratri or the Night of Siwa. This holy day is devoted to God Siwa, the destroyer. Balinese believes that on this day, God Siwa, the destroyer meditate for the welfare of the world, and the God Siwa will bestow a pardon for all sin to someone if he accompany the God Siwa in his meditation by observing some self restriction and meditate on the night of Siwaratri.

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The Brata (self-restriction) of Siwaratri includes Jagra (staying awake all night long), Upawasa (fasting), and Monabrata (silence). There are three major level of self- restriction, Balinese can choose a level of self-restriction according to his capability. The Kakawin (old poetry prayer) of Siwaratrikalpa explains the three major level of self- restriction that should take place on the Siwaratri night as follow Utama (top self-restriction) includes Brata (self-restriction) like Monabrata (silence), Upawasa (fasting) and Jagra (staying awake all night long). Madya (middle self-restriction) includes Upawasa (fasting) and Jagra (staying awake all night long). Nista (lowest self-restriction) includes only Jagra (staying awake all night long). The Brata (self-restriction) is held over a period of 36 hours, starting with the sunrise on January 17 until the sunset of ‘Tilem Kepitu’ on January 18, 2007.

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Gods and goddesses in Balinese culture is not immune to the emotions, they can be happy sad or in rage, that is why Balinese strive in many ways to please them. Beautiful offerings, sacred ceremonies, delicate gamelan music, superb dances performance, and sweet singer voice when reciting ancient romances (kakawin) are just small parts of Balinese efforts to please the gods and goddesses.

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When you attend a temple festival in Bali, your ears will be filled with sweet and melodious voices of kakawin singers. The scale of ceremony in Bali can be measured by the appearance of kakawin singers group. A big scale ceremony usually use the service more than one kakawin singer group (pesantian). By the way, what is kakawin?

Utsawa Dharma Gita on The Annual Bali Arts Festival 2006

Kakawin is a form of old Javanese poetry with a metre originating from India. They were composed and performed in Java and Bali from the 8^th century until the now (still widely performed in Bali but not in Java).

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In accordance with the celebration of Valentine day, today’s article will talk nothing but love and to ensure that this article will talk nothing but love, I will not write anything, instead, I invite you to enjoy the most popular love story in Bali, The story of Jayaprana and Layonsari.

Jayaprana dance by Lila Bhawa dance troupe on Bali Arts Festival 2006

A long time ago in the kingdom of Kalianget, a small village in North Bali, there lived a powerful king, whose name has long been forgotten. It happened that an epidemic struck the whole village, killing most of the villagers. One of the few survivors was a little boy called I Nyoman Jayaprana, the only person in his family to have been spared from the disease.

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Balinese dance, music, painting, sculpture, and drama are well known around the globe. Unfortunately, Balinese traditional literature does not enjoy so much attention and admiration, known only to cultural researchers and of course by the Balinese.

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Bali possesses a rich and diverse literary heritage. Balinese traditional literature covers a wide variety of genres, ranging from folk tales and mythical stories in prose to epic poetry in different styles, from histories to dictionaries, from specialist manual to astronomical text, from magic formulae to moral treatises, from divination to agricultural practices from religious doctrine and philosophy to medicine.

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