Festivals and ritual ceremonies are classified under 5 categories mainly :
1) Dewa Yadnya: Rites related to worship God, gods, mainly temple festivals
2) Rsi Yadnya: Rites related to prophet, priest or priesthood
3) Pitra Yadnya: Rites related to the death
4) Manusa Yadnya: Rites related to social human beings
5) Buta Yadnya: Sacrifices to placate the negative or demonic forces (Butas)
Important Religious Ceremonies:
Galungan & Kuningan
As mentioned, the Balinese have extreme respect to the Gods and hold many ceremonies in their honour. These elaborate ceremonies happen once every 6 months and they are to celebrate the winning of the Good over Evil Gods and at the same time, to thank the Gods for all the good things that have happened in life. The Galungan Ritual is usually a 10-day festival and the Balinese dress their finest on these day and the entire island is colorfully and majestically decorated. Females also wear fanciful and decorative headgears and walk parade around the entire village.Birth & Childhood
Balinese have the traditional belief that babies and the reincarnation of their ancestors and thus treat them with much honour and respect. During pregnancy, offerings will be made to the baby to ensure a smooth delivery and journey to the 'mortal' world. The remains of childbirth such as the umbilical cord and placenta will be kept and buried in the family compound.
Newborns are not allowed to be placed on the ground and are always hand carried by their parents until a purification ceremony. On their first Balinese year (210 days), the baby will be blessed in a temple and a feast will be carried out to celebrate his/her first birthday. Other than the first birthday, the other birthdays are considered of little significance to the Balinese and many will have forgotten how old they are.
Other important ritual part of life is a girl's first menstruation which requires a purification ceremony.
Cremation Ceremonies
In Bali, souls are not considered 'freed' if they are not cremated. It often depends on the financial status of the family whether or not they are able to afford an elaborate and decent funeral for their loved ones. If they are not able to do so, they will bury the deceased and wait till sufficient money is raised before doing a cremation. Cremations are usually planned ahead and are large in scale to give the dead a last grand and magnificent journey. In Singapore, cremations are usually heart-wrenching to watch as families cry and mourn over their loss. In Bali however, these rituals can be colourful, spectacular, noisy and upbeat.The body is usually burnt on a paper tower carried by men from their homes to the cremation ground. The number of men and size of tower usually depends on the status of the deceased and family. For example, a high priest in Bali may have an elaborate and grand tower carried by hundreds of men.
Cremations are usually accompanied by the traditional music of Gamelan and there will usually be a priest standing on the tower soaking bystanders - usually tourists with holy water. At the end of the ritual, usually the eldest son or priest will poke through the remains and ensure that no part of the body is left unburnt. After this, families can collect the ashes and put it in their home or ancestral home.
Bali Arts Festival
Held in Denpasar, it is an annual one month event during the period of June to July which showcases the creativity and innovation of the Balinese. The whole of Bali would come together to celebrate and present its offerings of dance, music and beauty to everyone - Gods to tourists to fellow villagers. Schools such as the STSI School of Dance and Music was set up to standardize the dance moves for tourist dances and to produce new forms of Balinese dance. However due to the increasing costs and economic crisis, the Balinese view this Arts Festival as a source of entertainment and tourist revenue generator instead of participating in it for pure pleasure and enjoyment.
