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…)

On Wednesday, Balinese celebrated Galungan Holyday, a holyday to commemorate the victory of Dharma (virtue) over Adharma (evil). This holyday is considered the pinnacle of Balinese struggle to subdue the negative force of evil, and what is called evil here is the sad ripu (six internal enemies), they are kama (lust), loba (greed), krodha (anger), mada (drunkeness), moha (confusion) and matsarya (envy). It is an inward struggle, a struggle to free our mind from the influence of negative force that at the end leads us to do various bad deeds.

Though this struggle is carried out everyday but the ultimate battle occur during three-day period before Galungan, when three personifications of negative force come to the world successively, they are known as Kala-tiganing Galungan – which are Bhuta Galungan, Bhuta Dunggulan and Bhuta Amangkurat.

(more…)