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PART ONE INTRODUCING BALI

The clifftop temple at Ulu Watu on Bali’s southwesternmost tip is one of the six most sacred spots on the island.

INTRODUCTION

UNDER THE VOLCANO

It’s difficult to imagine an island with so much to offer. Whether it’s just sun, surf or shopping, or the exceptional culture, lifestyle and landscapes, Bali is justifiably popular. But most tourists just rush through and don’t allow enough time to linger and relish the uniqueness of the island.

Towering above numerous other volcanoes stretched across Bali, Mount Agung is the most feared and revered, and erupted with devastation in 1963.

One of 17,500 islands strung out across the Indonesian archipelago, Bali is dominated and inextricably influenced by a series of volcanoes, six of them over 2,000 meters. The highest, most volatile and, therefore, most revered is Gunung Agung (3,031 m). Only 8 degrees below the equator, and stretching 144 km across and 90 km north to south, the rest of the island is dotted with gorges, rivers and forests, while a nation10xal park in the west preserves scarce rainforest, a pristine coastal environment and vestiges of wildlife.

The initial wave of ‘visitors’ were probably Austronesians from a region that spreads from modern-day China to the Philippines. They inhabited Bali some 4,000 years ago, and by 300 BC communities had evolved and rice cultivation developed. Subsequent settlers brought Buddhism, which thrived for several centuries before Javanese influence became inescapable during the 10th century. The formidable Hindu Majapahit Empire ruled from Java for most of the 14th and 15th centuries before rulers, priests and academics fled to Bali to escape Islam, developing the unique culture, religion and arts apparent today. As the Majapahit Empire declined, Balinese kingdoms flourished and their sovereignty spread to eastern Java and neighboring Lombok.

The first colonialists were the Dutch who arrived in the late 16th century, but waited until the mid-19th century before fully colonizing Bali. The populace fought relentlessly against the merciless Dutch for about 60 years until the entire island fell, only for the Dutch to lose control during (and after) World War II.

Methods used by the Balinese, such as sculptured terraces along volcanic slopes and the ingenious irrigation system, have not changed for centuries.

The Subak System

According to awig-awig traditional law, every Balinese who owns a sawah rice field must become a member of a subak association. This ensures that rice farmers along the coast, up to 20 km from a water source, have as much access to irrigation as those located high on the more fertile slopes. The millennium-old subak system reflects the Balinese Hindu philosophy of Tri Hita Karana, which unifies the realms of humans, nature and the spirits in harmony and ensures maximum production of the most essential ingredient of the Balinese meal. From springs, rivers and lakes, water rushes downhill through canals, sometimes cutting through caves and mountains, and along cement aqueducts and bamboo poles raised across roads and gorges. Sluice gates regulate the water flow so that limited amounts flood individual rice fields, while the remainder gushes past and is shared elsewhere. When farmers do not need irrigation for the fields, such as just before harvesting so that the soil is dry for workers, they simply seal the tiny openings along the reinforced mud walls that indicate the boundaries of individual sawah. The 1,000 or more democratically operated subak associations across Bali also repair canals, tunnels and dikes, advise about seeds and planting and organize ceremonies and offerings to ensure abundant harvests.

Other settlers have included Javanese from the Majapahit era, and others who later served Balinese kings, fishermen, particularly Buginese from Sulawesi, and, more recently, tourist workers from across the archipelago. Although a large percentage of the permanent population of about four million reside in the capital Denpasar, the second largest city, Singaraja, and around the southern tourist areas, most Balinese of all religions still follow a lifestyle dominated by village concepts of communal sharing and order. This is most apparent in the subak system of shared irrigation for rice fields and the banjar village association, mostly composed of married men, that makes societal decisions.

Bali’s population almost doubles with tourists, both foreign and Indonesian, each year. Foreigners started visiting Bali about a hundred years ago and, like the European artists who settled in Ubud during the 1930s, left their mark. But the Balinese are remarkably resistant to change and happily cherry-pick what they like and adapt it to their impenetrable mix of tradition, religion and culture. It wasn’t until surfers, mostly Australian, ‘rediscovered’ Bali in the 1960s that tourism exploded, but subsequent economic development was thwarted in the same decade by the catastrophic eruption of Gunung Agung and severe political upheavals that culminated in massacres, and later by the heartbreaking terrorism of 2002 and 2005.

The form of Hinduism that the majority of the island follows is unique and embraces every element of Balinese life, from before birth to cremation after death. Balinese religion is indistinguishable from Balinese culture. Everything, from art, architecture and dance not seen elsewhere on the planet, to innumerable shrines, expensive ceremonies and daily offerings, and so much more in family life, communal values and village regulations not apparent to tourists, has a purpose and meaning aimed at pleasing the gods and appeasing the demons to ensure a happy life, healthy family and abundant harvest. And despite encroaching modernism and tourist-fueled hedonism, the Balinese are almost completely resistant to threats against their unique faith and omnipresent culture.

The Balinese can communicate in Indonesian, the language of instruction in schools and interaction within government administration, but many also proudly speak in Bahasa Bali, a separate complex language influenced by Javanese, although the unique script is rarely used. The Balinese language and use of complete names are connected to the Hindu caste system, which is inconsequential to the majority of Balinese who don’t belong to an upper caste.

A short distance across the treacherous Lombok Strait is Bali’s sister island. Although the size and topography are almost identical, most people on Lombok follow Islam, a religion that doesn’t permeate their society with ceremonies and traditions nearly as much as Hinduism does on Bali. With a separate history, culture and language, the people are just as welcoming, however, and Lombok is an increasingly popular alternative to the utopian but congested island across the strait.

Most rice in Bali is still cultivated and transported using simple hand-made equipment, such as rattan baskets slung on a bamboo pole.

Bali’s highest peak, Gunung Agung (‘The Great Mountain’) seen from the crater of Mount Rinjani on neighboring Lombok.

THE BALINESE

VILLAGE LIFE AND FAMILY COMPOUNDS

Most Balinese are villagers at heart, even if they live in the chaotic capital of Denpasar or work in the tourist enclave of Nusa Dua. And somehow the relentless onslaught of mass tourism has barely affected ancient family traditions and rituals about birth, death, marriage and everything in between that are still decreed by village heads.

The arduous task of planting rice seeds and later harvesting and winnowing the rice is almost always undertaken by groups of women.

Despite urban development and impinging modernism, most Balinese still adhere to a desa (village) lifestyle dictated by the concepts of communal sharing and societal order. This is most evident where every person owning a rice field joins a local subak association to administer the remarkable system of shared irrigation and the banjar association, which represents up to a hundred households within a village. Joining the local banjar is compulsory upon marriage, although only men usually attend meetings, which are often announced by the specific pounding of a kul-kul drum and held in a bale banjar (meeting hall) in the village center.

While local governments provide the normal essential services under the authority of the kepala desa (village head), the banjar maintains temples, organizes ceremonies and cremations, arranges local finance, mediates in marriages (and, rarely, divorces) and funds a gamelan orchestra. It also ensures that the morals and behavior of villagers, especially youth, are maintained through a series of agreed guidelines called awig-awig.

Villages are designed according to strict religious and cultural principles. Typically, they are positioned towards kaja, which means facing the mountains, home to the gods, normally to the north, and away from kelod, which is facing the sea, normally to the south, home to demons and the source of destructive forces. These points of reference, however, are reversed along the north coast, for example, where the mountains are located to the south.

The crucial element of each village is kahyangan tiga, the three types of temples: the pura desa (village temple) or pura agung, located in the village center and dedicated to the protective spirits; the pura puseh, positioned in the north and devoted to Brahma, Creator of the Universe; and the pura dalem, situated in the south and used for cremations and burials.

Frequent rains and fertile slopes ensure bountiful harvests of fruit. Many of these may not have been seen before by some tourists, including the rambutan and salak.

Within every Balinese family, the very young and the very old are venerated. Two or three generations of an extended family often live together in the same compound.

The Role of Women

Balinese women are expected to cook, clean, buy food and raise children with minimal male assistance, but they do enjoy a degree of independence perhaps envied by their compatriots. Women dictate family life, for example, by ensuring strict adherence to all religious and cultural traditions, while men dominate society, such as in the banjar village association that sets and implements communal rules. There are some curious demarcations: weaving and pottery are undertaken by women, but most paintings and carvings are created by men; traditional dances are mainly performed by women, yet the gamelan orchestra is almost exclusively a male domain and women make offerings to the favorable gods, while men present chicken blood during cockfights to appease the demons. Religious ceremonies are the only occasion when men are usually involved in cooking. Women must still follow austere rules, but so do men, children and adolescents. For example, menstruating females are usually temporarily banished from family compounds to live in special boarding houses because anyone associated with blood, including those with injuries, is deemed to be sebel or spiritually unclean. Women are often still exploited and undertake many of the most menial and lowest paid jobs, like carrying bricks at construction sites and planting rice. Where tourists will see women working en masse is at the village markets, which start well before dawn and often involve long walks carrying heavy baskets on their heads.

Dikes between rice fields also serve as pathways for those visiting remote temples and isolated homes. Balancing a basket on her head is still the preferred method for a woman to carry just about anything.

Women of all generations help prepare food, especially during a ceremony when many mouths need to be fed and when numerous offerings must be made.

Chillies, shallots and garlic are the basic ingredients of all Balinese dishes. These, and almost every other imaginable spice, vegetable and fruit, are readily available at public markets in each village and suburb.

Dotted among the deliberately positioned temples, markets, puri (palaces) for nobility and bale banjar halls are family compounds in which most Balinese still prefer to live with their extended families. Designing compounds and homes often involves experts in asta kosala kosali, which, like the Chinese feng shui, ensures balance and harmony with the gods, nature and each person living there. So, compounds, homes and even rooms face kaja and not the demonic seaward direction of kelod (in great contrast to the preference of most foreigners for sea views).

In the southwest corner of the compound is the angkul-angkul entrance flanked with statues of gods, and the aling-aling wall that ensures privacy and deters demons (who can’t turn corners) but is not lockable and therefore unwelcoming to guests. The compound is subdivided into three main areas: the utama, a sacred section facing kaja with rooms for senior family member(s) and a sanggah temple honoring ancestors in the northeast; a nista, an ‘impure’ area at the back towards kelod, where animals are kept and rice is stored in the southeast and food is cooked in the southwest; and madya, where ceremonies are undertaken in the eastern section, and most of the family eat and guests are catered to in the west.

Attendance at primary school is compulsory from about age six. All students must wear uniforms, which for these youngsters is red and white, the two colors of the Indonesian flag.

Despite the advent of modern cultivation equipment, most rice across Bali is planted, harvested and threshed by hand because labor is much cheaper and more readily available than machinery.

No item for sale, whether food, clothes or baskets, at a public market like the Ubud Market has a fixed price. Everything is negotiable and haggling is part of the fun of shopping for locals and tourists alike.

Cockfighting is an ancient sport also undertaken to appease evil spirits during purification ceremonies. Although outlawed by the Indonesian government, it is still prevalent and a source of gambling.

Ducks are reared to feed on vermin that might damage the precious rice fields. In the process, they also fertilize the crops.

Children often eat communally, enjoying a handful of steamed rice with accompaniments such as satay lilit (meat with spices on a stick), while using a banana leaf as both table and plate. Here, a group of children gorge themselves during a temple festival, which often features rice and satay.

The main form of transport on the trio of islands known as the Gilis off the coast of Lombok is the horse and cart called cidomo.

Because Bali is Hindu rather than Muslim, rearing pigs and eating pork are not forbidden here. Most pigs end up as part of the traditional Balinese feast of babi guling (roast pig).

As Bali is a small island, it’s no surprise that fishing is a crucial industry. The daily catch is enjoyed by both locals and tourists.

The Gili Islands off the coast of Lombok have become a hugely popular tourist resort area, with hundreds of hotels and restaurants. However, transportation to these islands is still primitive. Every-thing from potatoes and rice to building supplies is brought over from Lombok on small boats and laboriously unloaded, then transported to their destination by horse-drawn cart.

When school or work has finished and the tide is out, soccer is frequently enjoyed on Kuta Beach.

Both sides of the front of the fishing boats known as jukung are often plastered with eyes to repel evil spirits in the sea, where Balinese believe all demons reside.

The delightful village of Jungutbatu on the island of Nusa Lembongan enjoys a spectacular location under the watchful eye of the Gunung Agung volcano on the mainland.

THE BALINESE HINDU RELIGION

ORNATE TEMPLES AND RELIGIOUS CEREMONIES

The unique form of Hinduism observed by most Balinese unconditionally dominates their lifestyle and even influences modern-day business practices in a manner not always completely evident to most visitors.

No temple setting is more spectacular than that at Pura Tanah Lot, which faces the thunderous Indian Ocean. This rocky islet is, however, only accessible to Hindus and is unreachable by anyone at high tide.

Religion encompasses every single facet of Balinese life in obvious ways, such as temples and ceremonies, but also in art, medicine and architecture as well as the Balinese language, calendar and names. About 92 percent of the population of Bali, located amidst the world’s most populous Islamic nation, practice Agama Hindu Dharma, sometimes still referred to as Agama Tirtha (‘Religion of the Holy Waters’).

Hinduism originated from India via Java, which ruled Bali a millennium ago. The Balinese version was formulated when priests and rulers from the powerful Majapahit Hindu kingdom that ruled Java and beyond fled to Bali in the 15th century as Islam encroached, and temples such as Pura Tanah Lot were built. Nowadays, Balinese Hinduism embraces elements of Buddhism, which flourished in Bali during the 8th and 9th centuries, and animist beliefs that predate the introduction of Hinduism.

Like Hindus in India, Balinese believe in reincarnation and karma and worship the trinity of Brahma (the Creator of the Universe), Shiva/Siwa (the Destroyer) and Vishnu/Wisnu (the Protector). Each is a manifestation of the Supreme God of Sanghyang Widhi, which is a more recent appendage to Balinese Hinduism to comply with the Indonesian Pancasila national principle of worshipping ‘One Almighty God’. Other fundamental differences to the Hinduism practiced in India are the numerous ancient indigenous beliefs, including black magic, and the adaptation of the religion to suit Bali’s topography. For example, the Balinese believe that the gods reside in the mountains, particularly the revered and volatile Gunung Agung, and should be kept happy at every opportunity, while the demons dwell in the sea. Moreover, numerous spirits, whether dewa (male) or dewi (female), penetrate the physical world and also need to be appeased with innumerable shrines and frequent offerings.

Tourists flock to photograph the Pura Tanah Lot from the mainland for its remarkable location while worshippers come in droves as it is one of the six highly revered cardinal temples on Bali.

The underlying philosophy is to seek a balance between the forces of good and order (dharma) and evil and disorder (adharma). This and other values and beliefs are amalgamated into Tri Hita Karana (‘Three Causes of Happiness’) that strive to unify and maintain harmony between humans and nature, between humans and God and the spirits, and among humans themselves. The religion dictates every personal event, such as marriage, as well as rituals for children, who are regarded as reincarnations of ancestors. For example, there are ceremonies at 42 days, when new mothers are allowed to return to the temples, and 105 days, when babies can touch the ground. Also, later in life and before marriage, teeth are evenly filed so that they are not pointy and resemble a demon’s. The most important religious ceremony for the family is cremation. The local community helps construct and then incinerate a wooden tower before spreading the ashes out at sea in order to liberate the soul and allow it to enter heaven as part of the reincarnation process. Most events are dictated by the lunar saka or sasih calendar of 360 days or by the unique wuku or pawukon 210-day calendar used for festivals and choosing auspicious days for important events, such as starting a business and planting rice.

Hinduism in India strictly classifies people, for example, the dalit or ‘untouchables’, but the caste system in Bali is nowhere near as discriminatory nor as obvious to outsiders. The top three castes, whose members can trace their ancestors to the Majapahit rulers, are brahmana (the highest), ksatriyasa/satriya and wesya, although 90–95 percent of Balinese are sudra (‘commoners’), also called jaba (‘outsiders’). The only way a non-Hindu can easily identify a Balinese person’s caste is by the prefix used for their complete name, such as Ida Bagus, a male brahmana name. Priests have a multitude of purposes and duties, particularly preparing for and presiding over temple ceremonies and family rituals. They are either pedanda high priests from the brahmana caste only or pemangku temple priests from any other caste, although many Balinese also consult balian (traditional healers) for spiritual as well as physical guidance and well-being.

Everything is symbolic and ritualized, from the number of roofs on the pagoda-style meru shrines to the position of hands and body when praying.

Worshippers raise their hands above their heads when praying to a revered god within a temple. Hands positioned in front of the face indicate that one is praying to the ancestors.

The Balinese New Year

One of the most important days on the saka or sasih lunar calendar is Nyepi, the Day of Silence, which signifies the start of the Balinese Hindu New Year at the new moon in March or April. Everyone, including tourists, is confined to their homes or hotels and the streets are eerily deserted and dark so that evil spirits hovering over Bali will assume the island has been abandoned and will move on.

The aim of the day before Nyepi is to cleanse Bali of demons so that the next year can start afresh. Colossal offerings (tawur agung), created to placate the demons and purify areas of evil influences, are placed at crossroads. Massive, and often outrageously shaped effigies of demonic monsters (ogoh-ogoh), which take weeks to construct, are paraded around the streets by young men. Animal sacrifices and mock exorcisms are also undertaken by priests to appease the evil spirits. During the evening, there is organized chaos as masses of people yell, carry flame torches, let off fireworks and bang pots to scare off and expel the demons, and the numerous ogoh-ogoh are burnt.

In distinct contrast, Nyepi, which lasts 24 hours from 6 am, is a day of complete silence and time for reflection, prayer and inactivity, which includes tourists. Special police ensure that everything, including the airport, is closed (although hospitals and hotels stay open); that the streets are empty (except for ambulances); and that no electricity or lights are being used. The day after (ngembak nyepi or ngembak geni) is celebrated with various rituals, including a kissing and water-throwing ceremony in Denpasar, and roads become even more jam-packed than normal as people visit families, friends and temples.

Tourists are expected to comply with all regulations. It can be inconvenient with no shopping, surfing or clubbing, but hotels remain open and staff will arrang e meals for guests.

Elaborate offerings made of cloth and bamboo leaves are regularly placed on shrines in family compounds and around the rice fields to appease the gods.

The Barong is a benevolent figure in Balinese religion, used like a Chinese lion or dragon dance to chase away evil spirits and bring good fortune.

The banten tegeh offerings carried to the temple on festival days can weigh up to 20 kg, with the size and contents depending on the importance of the ceremony.

Monstrous effigies called ogoh-ogoh are hand-crafted by dozens of men for weeks leading up to the Balinese New Year celebrations before being engulfed in flames within minutes.

A temple priest known as a pemangku will often guide and bless worshippers, even if the temple itself, at Tanah Lot, is inaccessible because of high tide.

Many temples are often, by definition, perched along hills, mountains and volcanoes. Invariably, attendance involves a lengthy walk, often followed by a strenuous climb through the gapura or gateway.

Traditional dances and shows, such as fire breathing, are still performed, if mainly for the benefit of fee-paying tourists.

Ceremonial Outfits and Temple Etiquette

To please the gods during temple ceremonies, Balinese Hindus dress up in their finest outfits according to traditional customs. Men wear kamen sarongs, short-sleeved shirts or jackets and white head-cloths called udeng. Women also appear resplendent in their colorful kebaya blouses and kamen sarongs with cloth belts (selempot). Foreigners are welcome to observe ceremonies but not participate unless specifically invited. If so, they’re expected to wear appropriate ceremonial attire and make a small donation to help with the significant costs of maintaining the temple and holding the ceremony. When visiting temples, tourists must wear a sarong and, if possible, a temple sash (selendang) as a sign of respect. These can be borrowed at major temples. A temple is not only a place of worship but a sacred building. Some rules are obvious, for example, never enter if a sign forbids non-Hindus; always remain quiet and distant; and be sensible about filming, for example, don’t use a flash. Other s are less so: never walk in front of anyone praying or position yourself higher than a priest. Also, women who are pregnant, menstruating or have given birth within the previous 42 days, as well as anyone grieving, bleeding or sick, is forbidden to enter because they are spiritually unclean (sebel).

Rules about the position of the body and hands are strictly adhered to while praying at temples.

Each village funds its own orchestra or gamelan, including massive bronze gongs, which are used during temple ceremonies and family rituals.

Women often walk vast distances to ceremonies carrying weighty offerings called banten tegeh on their heads, but need some help loading up.

During ceremonies, boys and girls of all ages are happy to dress up in traditional attire and help make offerings beforehand.

Because of the expense, a whole roast pig is usually reserved for special temple ceremonies. The cost and the cooked meat are often shared by several families.

To ensure the soul’s proper release and reincarnation, cremations are lavish affairs that can take years to save for and organize. The ceremony usually involves hundreds of people.

Temples and Temple Ceremonies

Balinese are villagers at heart, so hundreds of villages are spread across the island. Places like Ubud, for example, are really an amalgamation of a dozen or more villages. Each village has at least three types of pura (temple): the pura desa (village temple), also called the pura agung, which is located in the village center and created to appease spirits that protect the villagers; the pura puseh (temple of origin), positioned in the direction of kaja, which is closest to the mountains and home of the gods, and dedicated to Brahma, Creator of the Universe; and the pura dalem (temple of the dead), situated in kelod, nearest to the sea where demons live, and used for cremations. Nine of these temples are sacred enough to be revered by all Balinese Hindus, not just local villagers, among them Pura Besakih, Pura Goa Lawah and Pura Luhur Ulu Watu. Others are also particularly valued because of their dedication to specific spirits, historical importance or nomination as official state temples.

Temples are typically fronted by a candi bentar (split gate) which leads to one or two outer courtyards with several bale (open-air pavilions) for resting, cooking and preparing for ceremonies, as well as a kul-kul tower with a drum used to announce events. Through another ceremonial gate is the sacred inner courtyard with small shrines dedicated to village elders and lesser gods, and several tall meru shrines, shaped like pagodas, with thatched roofs of an odd number up to eleven, depending on which deity and mountain the meru is dedicated to. Given the Balinese passion for, and skill in, carving and painting, temples are ornately decorated, with every chiseled gate and sculptured roof carrying meaning and purpose.

Each of the temples in every village is celebrated on the anniversary of its founding (odalan), usually according to the wuku Balinese calendar, which is shorter at 210 days. On holy days also, such as the major Galungan and Kuningan festivals, and for personal rituals, particularly cremations, families visit every temple they’re associated with, thus attending ceremonies takes up a significant proportion of their time and income.

For each ceremony, temples are decorated with colorful batik and shrines are wrapped in yellow and white cloths, while enormous offerings are made to satisfy the spirits who then grant happiness and health to the families. Ceremonies last all day, often several days, and involve much eating, ritualized dancing and, of course, worshipping, praying and reflecting under the guidance and blessing of the pedanda (high priest) or pemangku (temple priest).

Special holy men are called upon to perform sacred rituals in family compounds, such as when a child’s teeth are filed.

Fingers and palms are always firmly clasped together when praying, and hands are briefly raised above the head during moments of particularly deep spiritual connection.

The temple or high priest performs a spiritual purification of the household and is always seated on a platform raised above the level of the worshippers.

Tourists often stumble across ceremonies while traveling about or even sitting on a beach in Kuta. Otherwise, visit a major temple (particularly during full moon), look for signs stating hati-hati ada upacara agama (“be careful, there’s a religious ceremony”), or ask locals. The best temples to visit for their setting and piety are Pura Besakih, the vast sacred ‘Mother Temple’; Pura Ulun Danu Beratan, nestled along- side a crater lake at Candikuning; Pura Tanah Lot, perched on an islet surrounded by other cliffside temples; Pura Pasaran Agung, along the isolated slopes of Bali’s highest peak; and Pura Taman Ayun in Mengwi, surrounded by a moat. But don’t forget that temples are not tourist attrac-tions, they are sacred buildings sometimes permanently closed to non-Hindus. And please don’t begrudge payment of entrance fees that help offset the enormous cost of maintaining temples and holding ceremonies.

The size and height of these banten tegeh offerings, which are layered with fruit, cakes and flowers, depend on the importance of the occasion.

During the Nyepi New Year festival, huge effigies are carried through the streets before being burned during elaborate ceremonies.

There are strict rules about where and how men and women pray, but while waiting for ceremonies to begin, friends and families can mingle and relax, especially after carrying the huge banten tegeh offerings.

Other Religions on Bali

The dominant minor religion on Bali is Islam. Muslims are descendants of Javanese who ruled and then fled to Bali from the 14th century, or are more recent job-seekers from across the world’s most populous Islamic nation. Sizable Muslim communities are located in the west, close to Java, and at Candikuning, while seafaring Buginese from Sulawesi and elsewhere across the archipelago have settled in Jimbaran and along the northern coast. Buddhism thrived on Bali during the 8th and 9th centuries and is still a dominant element of local Hindu rituals and philosophies, but the only evidence of Buddhist veneration these days is the monastery at Banjar, near Lovina. Christians in Denpasar are mostly descendants of Chinese settlers, while some expatriates worship at the elegant Protestant St Mikael’s Church at Seminyak. In the far west, two remarkable villages are successful examples of missionary zeal: Belimbing Sari is home to a large Protestant community where the church features a kul-kul drum, used at Hindu temples to make announcements, instead of church bells; and, five kilometers away, Palasari boasts a massive Catholic church with spires resembling pagoda-style meru shrines, also found in Hindu temples. The most admirable example of religious harmony on Bali, if not Indonesia, is at Benoa village on the northern end of Tanjung Benoa, where a Chinese temple, mosque and Hindu temple coexist peacefully.

The Bajra Sandhi monument in Denpasar, Bali, contains 33 dioramas depicting the people’s journey over the years of the island’s illustrious history.

Some Western residents and Balinese of Chinese background are Christians and worship in a handful of churches spread across the island.

Artful Offerings to the Gods

An integral element of the Hindu religion and, therefore, Balinese way of life, are offerings (banten) to the gods. Typically, a family may spend half their income and vast amounts of time assembling gifts to thank the favorable gods and entice them to join in the ceremonies, or to appease the demons in order to maintain universal harmony and good fortune for the family. The most common offerings are the canang (sari) trays made from coconut leaves and attractively packed with rice, morsels of food and flowers, which represent Shiva, the Destroyer of the Universe. Every day, canang are placed with burning incense, signifying Brahma, the Creator, at household and temple shrines and in front of shops, offices and homes, and then sprinkled with Holy Water symbolizing Vishnu, the Protector. Generations of women spend days before religious festivals creating huge numbers of diverse offerings, including the exquisite meter-high pyramids called banten tegeh that burst with flowers, rice cakes and fruit. Men happily involve themselves in cockfighting to offer blood to the demons, and help craft the penjor that decorate village streets during major festivals, particularly Galungan. Under these arched bamboo poles, a colorful lamak mat is placed. A symbolic sampian, shaped like a canang, dangles from the tip.

Laid every day along streets outside homes, shops and offices, canang offerings are made from coconut palm leaves and contain rice, flowers and maybe crackers and slices of fruit.

A sizable portion of the family income is used to create banten tegeh offerings, which comprise mostly fruit, such as jambu and salak, as well as more commonly known apples and bananas.

Contents of these enormous banten tegeh offerings are layered upon a dulang pedestal tray with a spike at the center to help keep everything stable.

No offering or communication with the gods is complete without presenting flowers, lighting a stick of incense and sprinkling the offering with holy water.

When attending temple ceremonies, women always wear elegant kamen sarong-style skirts, baju kebaya blouses and the obligatory waist sash.

The Traditional Market

Although mini-marts seem ubiquitous, and a few shopping malls have sprung up in the cities and tourist areas, most Balinese still shop at a pasar umum (public market). Market traders are almost always women, who don’t shy from rising before the roosters and transporting hefty bundles on their heads. Partaking in the banjar village association and playing in a gamelan orchestra are predominantly male domains, but markets are an essential chance for women to socialize, earn money and buy food that’s fresh and goods that comply with adat (traditional) customs.

Daily markets are sometimes makeshift, such as the one that operates near ‘bemo corner’ in Kuta between about 5 am and 8 am, or housed in a permanent structure like at Sanur. Some villages may only have markets every three days, on set days each week or at night (pasar malam). Others specialize, such as Pasar Kumbasari in Denpasar, which sells souvenirs and clothes, Pasar Burung, also in Denpasar, for birds and other caged animals, and at Candikuning, where traffic jams are created as drivers stop to buy rare delights like strawberries.

Some markets close, or the best produce is already bought, by the time tourists even contemplate breakfast. This is to ensure that food doesn’t rot in the heat and because traders often have other duties, such as cooking and tending to animals and rice fields. As well as fruit, vegetables, meat, clothes and household goods, ingredients for ceremonial offerings and canang, small trays woven from palm leaves, are sold. Impromptu fish markets (pasar ikan) are often positioned alongside roads within minutes of fully laden boats landing, for example, around Amed, while fish is put on ice all day at the extensive market at Jimbaran. The largest, oldest and most chaotic produce market is Pasar Badung in Denpasar, while the market at Semarapura is relatively spacious and clean, and the one in Ubud is convenient.

Some of the more unusual fruits often not found outside of Asia include salak, with its brown snake-like skin, and rambutan, with a hairy red covering.

Some market stalls also sell flowers and petals that can be added to the ubiquitous trays of canang offerings.

Shopping is not always a chore. It’s also a time to gossip. And bargaining is a way of life for all buyers and sellers.

Traditional Healers and Herbal Treatments

A traditional healer called a balian, or dukun elsewhere in Indonesia, is often the first port of call when a Balinese becomes sick, not only for medical purposes but also spiritual reasons, such as contacting deceased family members while grieving. The 8,000 or so balian have learnt their trade from officially studying ancient texts for years or through divine intervention. Treatments include massaging to restore internal harmony, applying pastes, and prescribing drinks formulated from various herbs and plants. Other healing processes may be painful (being poked with a stick), unpleasant (being basted with spit) or unusual (the balian may drift into a trance).