What color should I wear when attending a ceremony? Sometimes, can be a tricky for a Balinese, when it comes to traditional dress for attending a ceremony, color sometimes matter. For attending temple ceremony white is the most popular color especially for men, for attending a cremation black is still a major choice, while for attending other kind of ceremony such as wedding, tooth filling, birthday, etc, for men Batik is reign supreme as for women bright color kebaya is welcomed.

The above-mentioned colors are not a dead set you can find in some area some people wears white clothes in cremation ceremony, or white clothes in wedding ceremony. Debates on what is the appropriate colors use in certain ceremony are often occur from time to time.

(more…)

Besides the dim history on the carnage of PKI – Partai Komunis Indonesia (Indonesia Communist Party) in Jembrana regency there is another story of love and tolerance inside. This is on religions in Jembrana where Hindu, Muslim, Catholic, and Protestant live together in harmony. They have created the villages of tolerance for them selves especially and for Bali generally.

Penjor. flickr.com/photos/kaiconragan/

On this Chritmas Day there are two Christian communities who are celebrating it. They are the Protestant of Abyasari Village and the Catholic of Palasari Village. Albeit they are not Hindu, they celebrate Christmas in Hindu’s way by killing pigs for the Christmas meal two days before the D-day (like the Hindu on Penampahan Galungan). They also make penjor (highly decorated bamboo poles) and using the Hindu traditional clothes (kebaya, belt, and sarong — for women and udeng hat, double sarongs – for men) when going to church.

(more…)

7 September – 23 November 2007
QUIDZY Showroom
Jalan Kunti II/No. 20
Seminyak

23 September – 1 October 2007
Campuhan College
Jalan Raya Sanggingan
Ubud

The photographs displayed in these two exhibitions are from the collection of Maurizio Rosenberg Colorni, who has been searching for old Balinese photographs since 2003.

They are mostly from anonymous sources with a few exceptions. These are the first of many exhibitions of early Bali photographs to be shown on Bali by Rosenberg Colorni.

(more…)

Many westerners have become Balinese through the Suddhi Wadani ceremony and the Manusa Yadnya (ceremony for human) ceremony. Suddhi Wadhani ceremony can be paralleled with taking a vow ceremony. In this ceremony someone make a vow to become a Hindu follower, but in order to become a Balinese another series of ceremony have to be performed. To be a Balinese someone has to be “reborn” in Balinese way. A Balinese is given various ceremony since he/she in the womb of his/her mother until he/she pass away, even long after he/she passed away a ceremony is held for him/her.

The series of ceremony is begun with the magedong-gedongan housing of the soul) ceremony on the seventh month of pregnancy. Next ceremony is birth ceremony; it is celebrated by welcome to the world ceremony (penyambutan). Next ceremony is ceremony of seven day for the fall of the umbilical cord (kepus pungsed), followed by the ceremony of the twelfth day, the forty-two day ceremony and the third month ceremony. Upon this third month ceremony, the child is allowed to touch the ground and given a name. After these ceremonies, there will be an otonan ceremony (Balinese birthday ceremony).

(more…)