Balinese Life Beyond The Beaches

28Mar08

Published December 18, 2006 in The Sherbrooke Record

Enter the world of the real Balinese.

Say Bali, and images of sun, tropical beaches, coconut palm trees and picture-perfect rice paddies loom up in most people’s minds. Although very true for this romantic paradise island, there is definitely more to Bali once you move beyond the crowded tourist areas and glamorous international-style beach resorts and enter the world of the real Balinese.

There, in the thousands of villages and hamlets, a whole new picture unfolds: one of active, tightly organized communities, of a very sophisticated culture of drama, music and dance, and of a religion that has been shaped over time by Hinduism, Buddhism, and animism,  and continues to govern every aspect of Balinese life.

My arrival date happens to be a lucky day for the Balinese, confides Made, my hostess for a month. So good things must be about to happen! For me, that is undoubtedly having the incredible chance of staying with a Balinese family, close to the pleasant, arts-oriented town of Ubud, and getting a glimpse of how Balinese villagers live, work, and celebrate life.

A  Balinese village is a self-contained, independent community (desa), sometimes divided into quarters (bandjars), ruled by a council of representative villagers in which every married man has equal rights and obligations.

The village consists of ancestral family compounds, each surrounded by walls of mud or brick, and containing – besides living and sleeping rooms – a communal family temple on the holiest part of the land facing the mountain, and a gate with two pillars supporting a thick roof of thatch. In front of the gate, on either side, are two small shrines for offerings, or there are simply two little niches excavated in the wall.

The heart of the village is the central square, invariably located where two main streets meet. There you can find all the important public places: the town temple, the market, the council hall, and the giant sacred banyan tree, where all the performances during the many festivals take place.

Names for people are the same for both sexes, and determined by birth order. Wayan is the first born, followed by Made, Nyoman, and Ketut. If there are more children, the same names are simply reused in the same order.

There is also a caste system, although its influence has considerably diminished over the last half century or so. Nowadays, in addition to caste, other factors like education and economic success have become equally important determinants for status.

Every morning, Made and her husband Ketut wake up at the first sounds of the rooster. Ketut goes off to his rice fields (sawas), and Made starts the fire for the day’s cooking. Before anything is eaten, however, she offers food to the gods and ancestral spirits. The night before, Made already folded coconut palm leaves into small trays, which she now fills with food, flowers and incense, and distributes at the various shrines. They are also placed on the ground to pacify the evil spirits, who may well be embodied in the scavenging dogs that often come to devour the offerings as soon as they are set out.

Although the daily Balinese meal can be frugal – rice, vegetables and some meat,  prepared in the morning and left in the steamer for anyone who is hungry, there is always the hot and spicy sambal to go with it. It is for the frequent temple festivals and private celebrations such as weddings and tooth filing ceremonies (beware of uneven teeth: they may well turn you into a monster in your next life!), that the Balinese dedicate themselves for hours on end to ceremonial dishes, often looking like true works of art.

What makes a festival most worth seeing, though, is the procession of women carrying the beautifully arranged tower-high offerings on their heads to the temple. They are all dressed in their most beautiful, tightly wrapped sarongs and wear colourful lace blouses. Their hairdos are  ingeniously fixed and decorated with flowers.

Of course, no feast in Bali is complete without the gamelan music and the dramatic dance performances. Boys and girls are already trained at a very young age to become skillful dancers, and this may also explain why the Balinese, young and old, move with such grace and poise through the streets of their villages.

The last ceremony of Balinese life, the cremation, is the biggest of all. You can regularly see noisy processions of musicians and villagers carrying the dead bodies in towers of wood and bamboo, beautifully decorated with tinsel, silks and colourful ornaments, to the cremation grounds for the grand send-off. But it does not end there, as the soul must then be purified, prayed for, and be consecrated as a god-spirit, with its place in the family shrine. So there are more offerings, more celebrations, and more towers to be built…………..

Galungan, one of the most important festivals in the Balinese calendar, happens to coincide with my last day on the island. It is a time when the spirits of ancestors are believed to return to earth, to live for a while with their families.

When my taxi slowly pulls away from Made and Ketut’s lane, which is heavily decorated with adorned bamboo poles erected outside each gate, the driver has to give way to a loud procession of gongs, drums, and dancing barongs (mythological beasts considered to be protectors of the village) parading through the main street, and entertaining the dressed-up villagers on the sidewalks. That makes waiting for the high towers of fruits, cakes, and chicken to be blessed by the priest at least a little bit easier. But once the gods have finally had their cakes, the living can, at last, eat theirs too.

Good to Know

• A passport valid for at least 6 months as well as a tourist card (which can be obtained at Bali’s airport) are required for entry.
• Ubud is by far the most attractive, centrally located, and arts-oriented town on the island, but is not situated at the coast.
• Upon arrival in Denpasar’s airport, using a taxi is practically the only way to reach your destination, unless you have arranged a pick-up with your hotel. During your stay, transport over the island can be done by taxis, local bemos (shared taxis), or motorcycles, whose drivers will offer their services everywhere in towns and villages. There is also a bus service operated by PERAMA on Jl. Hanoman St, or you can rent your own car or bike.

Where to Stay in Ubud

• High-end: Kajane Mua Resort, Monkey Forest Rd., tel. 972877, www.kajane.com
• Comfi mid-range: Siti Bungalows, Jl. Kajeng 3, tel. 975699/ 974271, www.hansnelbungalow.com
• Budget: Cheap Frog Pond Inn, Monkey Forest Rd., tel. 970757

Where to Eat in Ubud

• Lamak Restaurant & Bar, Monkey Forest Rd., tel. 974668
• Nomad Restaurant, Ubud Main St. 35, tel. 977169
• Indus Restaurant, above the Sungai Cerik Valley, tel. 977684
• Kafe Batan Waru, Jl. Dewi Sita, tel. 977528

Activities in and Around Ubud

There are plenty of activities to do in and around Ubud, such as cultural workshops and trips (including cremation ceremonies), drama and dance performances, bird walks, hiking, biking, rafting on the Ayung River, snorkeling at Lembongan Island off Sanur, cooking and batik classes. Ubud is also famous for its sarongs, jewelry and handicrafts boutiques, as well as for massages in its many spas. For more information, contact the Tourist Office on Jl. Raya Ubud (South side), in the center of town.

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