A beautiful woman, having four hands, standing on a big lotus, and is accompanied by a swan and a peacock are a little bit appearances of Saraswati. Who is she? Balinese sometimes call her The Goddess of Knowledge and she is given homage every 210 days by special ceremony and various offerings. She is the eternal consort of Brahma (the creator)

The Goddes Saraswati has four hands. Each hand holds respectively Genitri, Keropak, Wina, and Lotus. Genitri is something like rosary beads. This is a symbol of neverending knowledge. Knowledge will never be destroyed all around the age, knowledge is everlasting. That is why it is symbolized by Genitri; when we count it we will never find the end of it. It is similar with knowledge that has no end.

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Today, 10/20/07, Balinese-Hindu followers celebrate the birthday of the puppet, the sacred Tumpek Wayang day. The Tumpek Wayang takes its name from the name of week of its occasion. It is in the 27^th week of Balinese Pawukon cycle which is named wayang (“wayang” means “puppet”); it is celebrated every 210 days.

This holiday is the most important holyday for owners of leather puppets and puppeteers. On this sacred day, a set of special offering is presented to Sanghyang Iswara, Lord of Puppeteers. They give special homage to their leather puppets (wayang). The puppets are taken from their box (keropak), placed in position just as if an actual performance were being given and blessed by the owner. A dalang (puppeteer) will remove all his puppets from storage and set them all up to receive the offerings.

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Saturday, March 24, 2007, Balinese-Hindu follower will celebrate the sacred Tumpek Wayang day. The Tumpek Wayang takes its name from the name of week of its occasion. It is celebrated every 210 days, in the 27^th week of Balinese Pawukon cycle (a cycle consist of 30 weeks).

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