Our driver, calling himself Gusti, was exceptionally friendly and forthcoming with answers to our many questions that we have accumulated since arriving here.
In fact, sensing our interest and willingness to learn, Gusti filled the long drive between places with facts and pop quizzes - testing us on things he told us only a few minutes ago.
After a quick summary of the epic Ramayana story, his first enlightening piece of information was about Balinese names. We have met many people apparently sharing the same names, which Gusti explained is due to the caste system, inherited from the Hindu Majapahit empire.
There are four castes: sudra, satria, wesia, and brahmana. Very roughly, and largely historically, the sudra are the workers, the satria the warriors and nobility, the wesia governors and administrators, and the brahmama are the priests. In practice, the caste system is not widely observed with respect to roles and trades these days, but naming conventions are still used.
The order of birth in the sudra caste is indicated by giving the names Wayan (eldest), Made (middle), Nyoman, then Ketut. Should a family have more than four children, the names are repeated with the addition of 'Balik' (meaning 'return') for child number 5 onwards. I'm not sire what happens if the brood grows beyond eight.
This convention revealed why we had constantly been greeting Wayans and Mades. People can also choose a distinguishing name for themselves, but commonly use the 'birth order' name to refer to one another. The names are genderless, but people tend to prepend 'I' for men and 'Ni' for women.
This explanation was all well and good, but our driver was called Gusti. It turned out he is from the satria caste. There are similar conventions for this, so a family may choose to name a succession of boys as follows: I Gusti Ngurah Putu (not Wayan) for number 1, followed by Made, Nyoman, Ketut.
After a whirlwind of facts, our first stop was at a local market. We have visited many markets in SE Asia, but each has its own flavour. Balinese markets sell ceremonial flowers and flower-based offerings, canang sari, alongside the fresh produce.
 |
| Canang sari for sale |
These pre-made offerings are for those who do not have the time to make their own for bringing to the temple. This is understandable with full-time jobs and daily ceremonies that were historically held three times a day at 6am, 12 noon and 6pm. For busy workers, especially in Denpasar, offerings may be made now only once or twice a day
The market sellers have their own temple - the melanting temple - meaning that they don't have to go far from their stalls to make offerings.
 |
| Kue at the market |
Here we picked up a second breakfast from the lady selling Balinese kue (cakes). The selection included steamed rice and pumpkin wrapped in a banana leaf (kue sumping), pandan rice pancakes filled with banana (kue pisang rai?), sweet potato rice dumplings covered in coconut (kue klepon), and rujak manis - papaya, pineapple and cucumber covered in a dark and sticky sauce made from palm sugar and chillies.
Our second stop was Pura Taman Ayun - the royal temple set up in Mengwi in1634 by King I Gusti Agung Putu (yes, Gusti tested us on these facts). The visit presented Gusti with the perfect opportunity to explain the traditional layout of a temple.
The temple's name translates as 'beautiful garden' and, indeed, the outer courtyard (nista mandala) is a verdant open space suitable for relaxing and taking a picnic.
A traditional split gate (candi bentar) separates the outer courtyard from the middle courtyard (madya mandala). This gate is thought to neutralise evil spirits and directly beyond it lies a structure that presents an obstacle any that do manage to get through, as well as blocking the gaze of those worshippers in the outer courtyard. Such gates also mark the boundaries between towns and villages and are often flanked by two figures. These 'welcome people' vary in appearance, and can be befanged demonic-looking creatures, an ordinary man and women couple, or a pair of dark-skinned figures, one hand clutching the back of the other, who are apparently known as Malen and Tualen.
The middle courtyard is functional, featuring several structures, such as the bale lantang (long house) - a pavilion use for meetings - and the bale kulkul - a tower containing a wood bell that is sounded for weddings, emergencies, and other special events.
 |
| Pura Taman Ayun |
Only brahmana may enter the most sacred central courtyard (utama mandala). However, we were able to walk along its perimeter and observe the structures inside over the shoulder-height wall. These were mostly meru, towers of tiered roofs made of thatched black palm hair (the kind from the trunks of trees and not from one's hands). This thatch is apparently very long-lasting, only needing to be replaced every 100 years according to our guide.
 |
| Inner courtyard of Pura Taman Ayun |
The temple complex also features a cockfighting ring. Cockfighting is part of Balinese ceremonial tradition, as the animal sacrifice and the resulting blood is use as an offering. Blades are attached to the rooster's legs to expedite the final, bloody conclusion. While principally ceremonial, the men bet on the outcome and, inevitably a taste for the sport has developed outside of the temple. The legality of this is clear (it ain't), but most people turn a blind eye. We met one guy whose local club was keeping a low profile, as the local chief of police had recently changed and his attitude to the practice was not yet apparent.
 |
| Cockfighting |
As well as their family temples - a feature of any traditional home - the Balinese have three kinds of village temples: pura puseh, pura desa, and pura dalem. These are spread out from one end of the village to the other, with the pura dalem being situated near the cemetery (setra).
The number of different temples reflects the dedication with which the Balinese celebrate. They celebrate the gods, their ancestors, and one another in rituals known as yadnya. According to our guide, their are three main yadnya: dewa yadnya for worship of the gods, pitra yadnya for worship of those who have died, and manusa yadnya - festivities that accompany important events in one's life, such as pregnancy, birth, significant ages (3 months, annual birthdays, adolescence), and weddings.
Someone we met lamented that, even if he could afford to travel, he would be unable to leave Bali for long, as the ceremony schedule is so dense as to allow no reprieve. Missing a ceremony, and the rituals involved, is likely to incur disapproval from others and suspicion that the rites were not completed correctly.
However, this long list of ceremonies does not even start to cover the other rites surrounding worship of the lakes and the life-giving water contained within, and the sea, with its power to destroy.
Bali escaped unharmed from the 2004 tsunami. This is largely because the epicentre of the quake was off the coast of Sumatra, so the island was shielded from the resulting wave by this and Java's landmass. Still, the people here make regular pilgrimages to the sea's edge, bringing with them animals of all kinds. Our guide didn't make clear whether this was to cleanse themselves and the animals, or as sacrifice to appease Dewi Baruna, the god of the sea. After further investigation, I thought he may have been referring to Melasti, in which people process to the beach to cleanse themselves and sacred objects prior to Nyepi. However, it seems that he meant Mepepada - a ceremony in which sacrificial animals are led to the sea to be cleansed before being slaughtered at the temple. Our guide admitted, matter-of-factly, that he performs similar sacrifices at his home when the occasion demands it. "I just pull the head off the chick, *pop*, and mix the blood with coconut water". I wasn't sure quite how to arrange my face after that statement.
 |
| Pura Tanah Lot |
Pura Tanah Lot is one of the sea temples (pura segara) on Bali's coast. Its name apparently meaning 'carved ground', the temple sits atop a rock formation that had been slowly shaped - or, as was the case in the 1980s, battered - by the rolling waves. At high tide, the temple is accessible only by boat, forming its own little island. As yesterday was new moon, the sea level was low and we could walk out to the temple, and investigate the cave of the holy snake (ulan suci), which seemed intent on wriggling its way out of the cave and far away from its wranglers.
The construction of Pura Tanah Lot on the island was apparently at the request of Peripatetic Javanese priest, Dang Hyang Nirartha, in the 16th century. He had a great influence on Balinese Hinduism, introducing the above three temple system to villages, to represent the Hindu trinity (Brahma, Wisnu, Siwa), and also the 'empty throne' to Sang Hyang Widhi Wasa to every temple.
 |
| Pura Batu Bolong |
Tanah Lot is iconic, but to me the appearance of Pura Batu Bolong (literally 'stone hole temple') was far more impressive. Here, the water had carved an arch out of the rock, creating a bridge to the small temple.
 |
| Gado gado |
We took lunch at a restaurant overlooking the Tanah Lot coastline. Gado gado was on the menu and is quickly becoming our default veggie-friendly Indonesian dish, as it offers more variety and healthy vegetables over nasi goreng (fried rice).
 |
| Pura Lahur Uluwatu |
Down in the south of Bali, Pura Lahur Uluwatu is another of the island's sea temples. Rather than nestling in the waves, this temple is prominantly perched atop a high cliff overlooking the Indian ocean.
Views of and from the temple were breathtaking, but we were also here for the evening performance of kecak - a fire dance telling the story of the Ramayana - accompanied by nature's own daily show, sunset.
 |
| Sunset and penjor |
Sat in San amphitheatre, right on the cliff edge with a view out to sea interrupted only by the decorative penjor, we settled in. The show is timed to begin in the light and end after sundown, so it was a hot and crowded wait for the start. The audience sweltered in the rays of the setting sun.
 |
| It ain't half hot |
Presently, all our discomforts were forgotten as a cry echoed through the arena and a group of around fifty bare-chested men entered the stage.
 |
| Kecak dancers |
The men had taken up a repetitive chant of "kecak kecak". Unlike other dances, set to gamelan music, this performance had no musical accompaniment, just the tribal rhythm set up by the enervating chanting. Onto this backdrop, the familiar characters from the story entered, lavishly costumed.
 |
| Rama |
Rama and his love Sita are hunting a deer in the forest. Rama leaves to persue the hunt, leaving Sita in the company of his brother. However, they both soon hear a cry, and Sita sends the brother away to investigate.
 |
| Sita |
Sita is left encircled by a ring of magic, protecting her from whatever dangers lie in the forest.
 |
| Rahwana |
Meanwhile, the evil Rahwana enters the scene, bent on capturing Sita but repelled by the magic. He returns disguised as an old man and, playing on Sita's kind-heartedness, lures her out of the protective circle.
 |
| Boo. Hiss |
The chanting group heroically kept up their rhythm for the whole hour's performance without flagging and even formed part of the set, creating a magical circle to protect Sita from the evil clutches of Rahwana, and as extras, became the monkey army led by Hanoman to reclaim the captured Sita.
Hanoman took his cue from naughty macaques to be found around the temples and monkeyed around in the audience before resuming his role.
 |
| Hanoman monkeys about |
The performance culminated with fire. Balls of coconut husks were set ablaze, representing the palace of Rahwana being burnt down in the liberation attempt.
 |
| Great balls of fire |
Hanoman hoofed the flaming balls seemingly without care towards the audience. Helpers rallied to put out the ashes, while the clouds in the sky were aglow with the orange setting sun.
 |
| Sky on fire |
The show was a perfect end to the day. Even our guide was impressed, admitting that there are two troupes that specialise in kecak at Uluwatu and that we had the good fortune to see the experts.
My brain was full of information and sights of the day. Our guide bid us farewell, saying "if I made a mistake or you want more information, ask my Uncle Google."
No comments:
Post a Comment