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).

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Here is an interesting excerpt from a paper, which is entitled Revaluing Uang Kepeng as a Medium of Local Exchange in Bali, written by Stephen DeMeulenaere, an Asia Coordinator of Strohalm Foundation for Integrated Economics (Holland).

Chinese money, known generally in Indonesia as Uang Kepeng or Pis Bolong, has circulated as a medium of exchange in Bali for at least the past 1,100 years, and only ceased to be used for local purchases in the early 1970s. Up until that time, a Balinese person could use Uang Kepeng in many ways, from buying meat and vegetables in the market to snacks in front of the school, to watching movies with friends at an outdoor theatre: basically anything involving the exchange of basic needs. Bali, up until the 1970s and in large part today, despite a massive tourism industry, lives a subsistence economy lifestyle.

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Here is another good articles on climate change by Balinese high priest Sri Bhagawan Dwija Warsa Nawa Sandi from Buleleng regency who has great concern on environment and climate change without further ado here is the words of Bhagawan Dwija.

TRIHITAKARANA for UNFCCC

The relevancy to the world climate change anticipation
By : Bhagawan Dwija

Introduction
Mpu Kuturan who came to Bali at 11 AD by request of King Udayana and Gunapriadharmapatni, not only succeed to unite various existing Hinduism sects at that time under Trimurti belief system, but also have placed social religious life foundation in the form of Desa Pakraman. Desa Pakraman as Hindu-Bali community, is developed with Trimurti belief where God with his manifestation as Brahma, Siwa, and Wisnu are placed at Pura Desa for Brahma, Pura Dalem for Siwa, and Pura Segara or Pura Puseh for Wisnu. These three Puras, known as Trikahyangan. Based on that, concept of Trihitakarana also developed, with human as central or determinant for kindliness and prosperity. Trihitakarana means three things needed to make kindliness and prosperity happen, i.e Parhyangan (well-balanced and harmonious relation between human with God); Pawongan (well-balanced and harmonious relation between human with each others); and Palemahan (well-balanced and harmonious relation between human with environment).

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The word Yadnya is so close to the Hindus. It cannot be separated in the Hindus’ daily life. But what is Yadnya actually?

The meaning of Yadnya can be divided into two, the wider and the narrower meaning. Yadnya in the wider meaning means every act which is done in sincere and conscious that it is offered to God. For the narrower meaning, Yadnya means an offering, worship, holy sacrifice which is often related with Banten (means in the Balinese offerings which is usually made from young coconut leaves, and containing fruits, flowers, leaves, betel vine, foods, cakes, and sesari – a little money as an offering).

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Sad but true, nowadays, many Balinese especially the younger generation do not know how to express and measuring time in traditional Balinese way. Ability to express and measure time in traditional way is now a rare talent, privilege of older generation. An ordinary and widely known knowledge in the past now become a rare one used only for deciding the right time for a ceremony by a handful of senior citizen.

In Balinese traditional time system, a day begin in the morning, sunrise is a mark of new day. Another method used in old time to determine the beginning of a new day is by throwing a Chinese coin to the ground early in the morning and when the coin is visible without any additional light, a new day begins. Most of Balinese think that the Balinese time system in determining the beginning of a day is similar to the western system; a new day begins in the midnight, 12 M.

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THE NAME OF THE CEREMONY IS DESCRIPTIVE, but hardly explanatory. This is, perhaps, why the wife of a visiting foreign dignitary, when told of this practice, exclaimed: “Oh, do they still do that here?”

Yes, they still do that in Bali. To everyone. But do not confuse tooth filing with some sinister vision of Dracula-like sharpened teeth. In fact, the procedure produces just the opposite, dulling the front teeth to diminish the savage characteristics of their owner. The ceremony is called matatah, £rom the word natah, to “chisel” or “carve”. The same word in high Balinese is mapandes, and another common synonym is masangih, from sangih, to “file”. Sometimes the Indonesian potong gigi - “to cut teeth” - will be used. The person who files the teeth is called sangging, the same word used for “painter” or “artist”.

Tooth filing, together with prenatal rites, birth ceremonies, various ceremonies for the young baby, and marriage, is one of the rituals known as manusa yadnya. These are an important category of the Panca Yadna (”Five Rituals”) that every Balinese Hindu absolutely must have performed to insure an orderly transition of his or her spirit from birth to death and later reincarnation. Six to 18 years old is considered the best age for tooth filing - before marriage, bJ.lt for girls, after the first menstruation. Better late than never though, and it is not unusual for people in their 60s to have their teeth filed. If a person dies before having held the ceremony, the family sometimes has it done to the corpse before burial. It is that necessary.

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