Balinese Cultures & Arts

The Hindu people of Bali celebrating Galungan

The Hindu people of Bali celebrating Galungan

Today 30/05/2018 in Bali the Hindu community celebrate the day of Galungan,

which commemorates the triumph of Dharma over Adharma, or good against evil.
On this day the Balinese welcome the spirits of deceased

relatives who come to visit earth during this time.
Businesses close down and everyone puts on their devine traditional dress

to spend time with family. It's like Christmas Day.

 

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On the lead up to Galungan Day all the  streets are lined with these beautiful long

ornamental bamboo poles called Panjor.
It takes a few men to actually erect these as they are quite heavy and intricately decorated.

If you look closely they have individual trinkets and detailed paintings,

naturally curved at the top and made out of harvest items such as rice, fruits, coconuts and coconut leaves.

Traditionally, Galungan day sees the slaughtering of pigs for communal feasts,

as well as baking traditional rice cakes

Today on Galungan Day We drove the Backstreets of Bali on our scooters and it was just a pleasure,

riding through the traditional towns, leafy green streets and all the decorations hanging over the roads.

It just made me feel all kinds of positive vibes

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Celebrants in traditional attire attend temple ceremonies with their families,

bringing with them offerings of fruits to temples and family shrines – which they share and enjoy after prayers.

The day of Galungan is important for the Balinese, similar to a new year,

when everyone returns to their families and home villages.

The ceremony surrounding Kuningan refers to special offerings made of yellow turmeric rice

Yellow is also the colour of the god Wisnu, the protector of the Hindu trinity.

Brief History and Legend As local legend goes, Galungan commemorates

a Balinese victory that involves the central figures of Indra (the Hindu god of thunder,

rain and lightning) and the Balinese king, known as Mayadenawa,

who denied his subjects the worship of Hinduism.

So powerful was the king that no one could overcome him.

The conquest of Java's Majapahit army back then had little effect.

Battles ensued until finally Indra descended from the heavens to defeat the king.

The battle raged in Tampaksiring, Gianyar, where the king was finally subdued.

While under siege, he tried to escape by various ways including via supernatural means

such as turning into a statue, a stone, and a wild boar. He easily fooled the troops, but not Indra.

Mayadenawa then retreated to the jungle leaving behind disguised footsteps,

hoping his assailants would not easily track them. Indra's magic arrow put an end to the rebel king.

The legendary site where he bled to death became a freshwater spring, the current-day site of the

Tirta Empul Temple. The king’s slanting footprints gave the name to the valley area,

later pronounced as Tampak Siring – ‘slanting footprints’. The Balinese and Majapahit armies

honoured Indra, commemorating the defeat of the king as Galungan,

the day of victory of dharma over adharma.

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 The decorative bamboo poles signify upheld Hinduism and wisdom. So traumatized were the people

 that they were not easily convinced of the king’s defeat, believing that he had probably used his magic

 to turn into a statue, tree or even another animal. To overcome public fear,

 an official announcement of the defeat was made 10 days later,

 commemorated as the day of Kuningan, which has two meanings, ‘to announce’ and ‘of yellow’.

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