Ancestors are very important to the Balinese. Each Balinese family has a family temple to worship God almighty and glorify the ancestor and of course, in this family temple ancestors worship is given a great emphasis.

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The family temple is usually situated in the kaja-kangin corner – kaja being in the direction of the holy Gunung Agung, kangin being east. In low caste families this temple is called a sanggah. Higher caste families use the term merajan or pemerajan. Although the family temple may contain shrines dedicated to manifestations of the Hindu God, Sang Hyang Widhi, the main focus is upon the deified ancestors of family. Shrines of gods are more prominent in public temples. The family temple may be small or large, but it almost always well maintained, and the family is careful to place offerings in the shrines whenever appropriate, often daily.

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To truly appreciate the environmental wonders of the island, one needs to understand that Bali’s beauty is not merely the result of faceless natural forces such as the grinding of ocean plates, the rush of volcanic flows, the pull of the tides or the sweep of the sea winds. Bali’s spectacular natural bounty is also very much a product of the intimate relationship the Balinese people have with their environment. To the Balinese, the natural landscape is a divine creation marked by spiritually powerful sites. According to local belief, the environment is not merely a neutral backdrop for human activity, but is a vital, animate force with which one must maintain harmonious relationships.

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