Birthday a la Balinese
Monday, July 16th, 2007 by Sidarta WijayaBirthday (oton) of a Balinese is celebrated every 210 or a year of Pawukon calendar (pawukon calendar consists of 35 weeks) so in a Gregorian Balinese almost have two birthdays (oton) each Gregorian year. The oton is the salient anniversary for a Balinese, there even a saying in Bali which runs ‘as happy as oton’ that means extremely happy.
The oton ceremony is always held in the house compound at the traditional pavilion early in the evening. The traditional pavilion is decorated lavishly, heaps of offerings are placed on a big table or a divan while the person who is given the ceremony sit on a chair next to the priest who officiate the ceremony. The purpose of this oton is to purify and strengthen the spiritual quality of the one who undergoes the ceremony. For a well to do family an oton is accompanied by a feast, decorations, music, and other traditional entertainments.
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