August 31, 2019
During our days in Bali, we had the opportunity to closely observe not only the island's nature and temples, but also its traditions and festivals embedded in daily life. One of these was the Galungan and Kuningan festival, one of the most important religious periods of the year for Balinese Hindus.
Galungan is an important religious festival celebrated twice a year according to the Balinese calendar, symbolizing the victory of good over evil. During this period, it is believed that the spirits of deceased relatives return to visit the earth. Kuningan, celebrated ten days later, is considered the day these spirits depart the world once again.
You realize the true meaning of Galungan best when you start seeing the preparations across Bali. Before the festival, houses are cleaned, altars are prepared, and streets are decorated with traditional ornaments. In particular, long bamboo decorations towering in front of homes immediately catch your eye. These decorations, called Penjor, are one of the most prominent symbols of the Galungan period. You can see uniquely crafted penjoors in front of almost every house. The streets suddenly take on a more colorful, lively, and ceremonial appearance.
Galungan preparations begin about two days before the festival. During this process, we were guests at the home of a Balinese family and helped with the preparations. Together, we prepared small offerings called Canang sari. These are presented to the gods on Galungan day, and visitors are also given one each to leave at their lodging. The food placed inside the offerings carries a special meaning as well.
The home itself offers insight into religious life in Bali. The house resembles a small temple complex, with the family's own shrine located on the upper level. The prepared offerings are placed inside this shrine.
The mother of our host family had passed away the previous year. They believed her spirit would return home during the Galungan period and remain there until Kuningan. Reflecting on this, every offering prepared in the house, every prayer uttered, and the small temple area itself take on a whole new meaning.
On the morning of Galungan, the streets became even livelier. Everyone was dressed in traditional attire, preparing to go to the temples.
We were kindly offered traditional clothing, and after dressing, we joined them for their temple visit and prayers. Following the prayer, a few grains of rice were placed on our foreheads. Known as Wija or Bija, these rice grains are not only an expression of gratitude for the offerings and food provided, but also symbolize mental purification, prosperity, and God's blessing.
Afterward, all family members gather at the house containing the shrine, having breakfast and praying together. Gathering at the elders' house, giving symbolic amounts of money to children, and sharing a meal felt remarkably familiar to us. Even though we were thousands of kilometers away in a completely different culture, seeing how similar certain family traditions are makes you feel right at home. The language and rituals of the holiday were different, but the feeling of coming together as a family was not foreign at all.
While walking through the streets of Bali during Galungan, we come across the Barong figure, which is almost impossible to miss. This large and elaborate costume boasts an impressive appearance with its long white fur, large eyes, and striking face. It looks both menacing and almost like a fairytale character.
Representing good in Balinese Hindu belief, Barong is considered a powerful figure that fights evil. Dances performed in the Barong costume depict the eternal struggle between good and evil.
Celebrated 10 days after Galungan, Kuningan marks the day when the ancestral spirits that returned to Earth depart once again. The two holidays mark the beginning and completion of a single religious period.
However, it is not just this belief that makes Kuningan interesting in Bali; certain regions of the island feature unique traditions for this day. We witnessed the most remarkable of these in the Munggu region.
There is a very unusual tradition that has been carried out for years during the Kuningan period in Munggu. This ritual, known as Mekotek, is also referred to as Megebug in some sources.
Said to originate from an ancient victory celebration, this ritual involves witnessing a clash between two opposing groups holding long sticks. One person from each group is raised to the peak where the sticks converge, and they attempt to knock each other off. Formerly performed with iron spears, this ritual caused numerous injuries and is executed today using special bamboo poles called pulet. Still, it presents a very dynamic and occasionally dangerous spectacle.
Unique to Munggu, the streets fill with spectators during this ritual; local television channels and newspapers also visit the area to cover the event. An interesting aspect of the spectacle is that the ritual is performed successively across different neighborhoods. When the ritual in one neighborhood concludes, the crowd moves on to another neighborhood, and the tradition continues.
The Galungan experience in Bali was more than just observing a holiday for us. We saw distinct facets of the same period, ranging from preparations in a family home to temple visits, from the penjoors lining the streets to the unusual Kuningan tradition in Munggu.
On one hand were the offerings quietly prepared inside the home, devotion to departed loved ones, and family prayers. On the other were crowds filling the streets, noise, and an energetic contest carried on for centuries.
Galungan and Kuningan showed us that religious life in Bali is not made up solely of temples and rituals. Faith, family, ancestors, food, clothing, and the streets themselves transform into integral parts of this season. Tradition here is not a relic of the past, but a living reality within daily life.