Indonesia is the most populous Muslim country in the world, although is officially a secular state. Despite the dominant religion, the country's motto, "Bhinneka Tunggal Ika" (Unity in Diversity), reveals the various cultures that make up the islands of the archipelago.
The island of Bali was a refuge for the Hindu people of the Majapahit empire on Java, which was defeated and superseded by an Islamic sultanate in the 14th century. The dominant culture and religion on Bali has remained a Balinese blend of Hinduism and earlier folk animism ever since.
The devotion to their religion is evident in both the architecture and the daily activities of the people. Every surface is covered in exquisite carvings, and sculptures, made as offerings, abound. Their appearance is quite unusual and often features frightening grimaces, extended canines and bulging eyes.
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| Fearsome |
Each new year of the Balinese calendar, there is Nyepi, a day of absolute silence. Anywhere else, a whole day of enforced, utter silence in which no activity is permitted - no flights in or out of the island, no traffic, no cooking or speaking - would be unthinkable. On Bali, the ritual celebrations and observances run deep and are knitted inextricably into the people's lives.
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| Canang sari |
Three times a day, typically around cooking and eating, small offerings are made called canang sari. These are taken to the temple, the family temple, or are placed on the ground outside shops and homes. They are small square baskets folded from palm leaves and contain rice, flowers, and other things such as coins, biscuits, or even cigarettes.
There were many more of these tiny packages scattered around town yesterday because it was full moon. Together with new moon and many other days of the year considered auspicious, this was a cause for ceremonies in many of the temples. We observed one of these for a short while, but it was largely impenetrable to an outsider's eye.
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| Empty throne of Sang Huang Widhi Wasa |
Despite worshipping the Hindu trinity - Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva - everywhere in Bali today, one can see empty thrones to the supreme God known as Sang Hyang Widhi Wasa. The empty throne represents the fact that He is unthinkable and unimaginable; the other Gods are manifestations of this supreme entity. While the concept of a 'universal spirit' - from which everything originates and everything returns - has existed in the religion since its inception, the name Sang Hyang Widhi Wasa is relatively new. The term reinforces the monotheistic nature of Balinese Hinduism to fit with the Indonesian political philosophy of freedom of religion, under which only monotheistic religions are recognised.
Today, we went for a walk into central Denpasar for some orientation at the state museum.
On the way, the typically dense traffic on Jalan Imam Bonjol seemed even more jammed than usual. We soon spied the cause of the blockage.
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| Procession |
A large procession of people, all clad in traditional dress, were following a tall golden tower, held aloft at the head of the group. Apparently unconcerned by the disruption it was causing to the flow of traffic, and with no police in sight, the parade wheeled around in circles causing all motorists to halt in their tracks.
The atmosphere seemed jubilant and, given this serendipitous occurrence, we temporarily abandoned our own route and followed the crowds. We were taken down a side street, followed of course by many of the motorbikes from the main road. The bike riders jostled to pass the procession but at no point became angry or turned back, content simply to trundle along.
It wasn't until we rounded the corner to a temple - in the open courtyard style of Bali - and saw what appeared to be a coffin being unloaded from the tower, that we realised what we had stumbled on.
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| 'Mourners' |
Funerals are expensive, elaborate affairs in Bali, as are weddings. While there are few other options to the traditional marriage ceremony, many people opt to be cremated en masse with thirty or forty other people from the village, after a period of interment, in order to keep the cost down. The individual being cremated today was an old and respected man. The procession had zig-zagged its way to what we now realised was the cemetery. This is because demons are though to only be able to travel in a straight line, so a circuitous route means they can't follow the deceased.
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| Ceremonial funeral tower |
The atmosphere was not the traditional sombre mood I expected from a funeral. There were no tears, no mourning. This is because the Balinese Hindus believe the soul (atman) will be reincarnated or will be joined in union with the universal spirit (paramatma), having achieved moksha. The Balinese believe the body is composed of five elements - earth, air, water, fire, and space/ether - and that death occurs when the fire goes out. Cremation provides the missing element to allow the soul to pass on. The funeral tower used to parade the body is also burned.
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| Funeral pyre |
The majority of men were wearing black t-shirts, many of them sporting band names or motorbike clubs, along with traditional sarong and udeng head scarf. We were told that this was an influence from western funerals and that traditional dress was colourful.
The depth of tradition and the sheer number of rituals of the Balinese, borrowing as it does from the panoply of Hindu mythology, is overwhelming. We hoped that the national museum would shed light on the myriad beliefs, myths and practices of the Balinese. But there is only so much a museum can do.
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| National museum |
The museum grounds are beautiful, structured according to the principle of courtyards which makes Balinese architecture so open. In one of four buildings, we were introduced to Cili, a representation of the pre-Hindu goddess of rice and fertility, Dewi Sri. She is represented as a great beauty, typically with a wide head and narrow chin. Offerings are made to the goddess folded from palm leaves to mimic this shape. Stylised effigies allude to this shape even if no face is apparent.
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| Cili |
Chinese coins were once used as currency in Bali and special coins are still minted for ceremonial purposes. Some are even endowed with magical properties and elaborate creations are made by weaving them like chainmail.
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| Coin statue |
In another building, there were a host of other characters.
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| Characters from Barong Swari |
Barong is a good spirit and protector of the island in various forms (lion, tiger, elephant, giant). He mostly appears as a lion with a red face and white hair. His counterpart is the witch, Rangda, who represents evil.
The Barong appears in mythology of Balinese origin, such as the widow Queen who cast black magic and had to be stopped by the King with the help of Barong. However, the Barong also appears inserted into Hindu stories such as the tale of brothers Sunda and Upasunda from the Mahabharata epic, in which Sunda turns into Barong to battle his brother, who has transformed into Rangda. The fight is, naturally, over a woman.
Yet another tale, taken from a description written on a palm leaf (lontar), called the Barong Swari, tells the tale of Shiva's wife, Uma being banished to earth. In her rage, she is transformed into Durga (represented by Rangda), who is eventually appeased by Shiva in the form of, you guessed it: Barong.
Having travelled through many Buddhist countries, which have all incorporated previous Hindu beliefs into their culture, we have become familiar with a number of deities and their many manifestations, and the stories told about them. However, Balinese Hinduism has thrown more mysticism, characters and folklore into the mix.
In a bid to tantalise us yet further, the museum presented a selection of important celebrations for the Balinese without further explanation. These included Mepandes, a special 'tooth filing' festival, and Otonan, in which a six-month old is put under an upturned basket usually reserved for fighting cocks.
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| Not a child |
In equal parts baffled, intrigued and delighted but what we had seen at the museum, we returned home.
In the evening, our host was eager to take us out to Nasi Pecel Bu Tinuk, where the eponymous nasi pecel is particularly good.
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| Nasi pecel |
Pecel is a mixture of kangkung (water spinach), bean sprouts, and lemon basil (kemangi) mixed with a spicy peanut sauce. As with many nasi (rice) dishes, one can select from a number of accompanying dishes. On the side, we had between us fried tempeh, boiled egg in chilli sauce (telur balado), rolled egg omelette, potato cake (perkedel kentang), sweetcorn fritter (perkedel jagung), tempe manis (tasting like a sweet peanut granola), and crackers (rempeyek). The mixtures of textures and flavours was a great find for a naturally vegetarian dish.
If our host was excited about showing us nasi pecel, he was ecstatic about the next treat: terang bulan.
Terang bulan (meaning 'bright moon') is an Indonesian pancake, similar to Malaysia's apam balik, but much thicker and spongier and similar in texture to a big English crumpet.
We drove to a shop called Holland, which led me to believe that there might be a Dutch connection with this dessert. Our host chose a family sized terang bulan. The batter was poured into a 10 or 12-inch circular pan, and left to rise and bake, creating small bubbles on the upper side like a crumpet. Once cooked through, the pancake - now about half an inch thick - was lifted out, slathered in 'Blue Band' margarine, and covered in chocolate sprinkles (very Dutch), peanuts, sesame seeds, and condensed milk. The whole thing was sliced into half moons and sandwiched to form a cake, which was cut into bite-sized pieces.
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| Terang bulan |
Each piece taste like a heart attack waiting to happen. It was unarguably delicious, but our host was dismayed that he forgot to include cheese in the order. That's one to try later!
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