Galungan Day is one of the Hinduism biggest ceremony in Bali which is celebrated in every six month according to the Balinese calendar. At the Galungan Day the Balinese celebrate the victory of the good conquered the bad.
In every villages in Bali, we can easily find line of decorated bamboo pool called “Penjor” which plated and stand beautifully in front of each houses. In the morning at that day, there are women, men and children all in Balinese traditional dress walk on the street to go to their temple. The women bring offering called “Pajegan” contains of different and colorful fruits, cakes, coconut leaf and flowers which is arranged in a stack about 1 meter high and put on their head. When they arrived in the temple, they will pray together lead by the Hindu’s Priest called “Pemangku”.
After finishing they will go back to their own home and to gather with all members of extended family. The members of family and friends who are Moslem, Buddhist and Christian will pay a visit to their Hindus family and together will enjoy Balinese cookies.
Here are the activities related to Galungan Day in Bali:
- Three day before Galungan Day, the men set up the equipment associated with Galungan Ceremony such as bamboo, young coconut leaves and various kinds of flowers, material for making offering, while the women prepare various kinds of fruits.
- Two days before Galungan Day, the men decorate the family temple with white and yellow cloths which means the symbol of purity, and black white cloths (looks like chess board colors) which means the symbol of harmony, while the women very busy make various kinds of cakes for offering.
- A day before Galungan Day, early morning the men join with their neighbors to slaughter a pig, than cook any types of Balinese dishes: lawar, komoh, serapah, kuwah balung, sate lilit, jukut ares, tum bungkil (I will write about these kind of Balinese dishes on other occasions) and grill some chickens for the offering, at noon the men make a long bamboo pole or “Penjor” to decorate the entrance of family compound. By late afternoon a day before Galungan Day, all over Bali decorated by penjor creating a very festive atmosphere in the street. While the women of the household have been busy for days creating beautifully woven ‘banten’ (offerings made from young coconut leaves),
- On Wednesday, the day of Galungan Day, all part of family pray at family temples and other village temples. On this special day most Balinese will try to return to their own making offeringancestral home at some stage during the day, even if they work in another part of the island. This is a very special day for families, where offerings are made to God and to the family ancestors who have come back to rest at this time in their family temple. As well as the family temple, visits are made to the village temple with offerings as well, and to the homes of other families who may have helped the family in some way over the past six months
A day after Galungan Day, is a time for a holiday, visiting friends, picnic to beach or just chilling with family, and be ready to welcome the Kuningan Day in the next nine days.
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