Tag: Balinese Hinduism
-
Photo du Jour: A Red Hibiscus in Buddha’s Hand – Ubud, Bali
At our home away from home in Bali, Indonesia, this Buddha statue greeted us daily with a splendid flower in hand. The flowers — quite often hibiscuses or frangipanis — had been carefully selected and placed by the homestay’s hostess, Ayu. Like the practice of making canang sari, Ayu’s ritual is another example of the…
-
An Evening Ablaze: Attending the Kecak Fire Dance at Bali’s Uluwatu Temple
The setting for the Balinese Kecak Fire Dance was dramatic. First, we passed a swarm of mischievous macaque monkeys that spiriting away visitors’ sunglasses, water bottles, and sandals before our very eyes. We’d read warnings about these cheeky monkeys prior to arriving at the Uluwatu Temple, and the guidebooks advised visitors to stow away any removable…
-
An Offering Basket Procession in Ubud, Bali
While walking to dinner in Ubud, Bali, we were delighted to cross paths with a procession of women as they gracefully carried offering baskets to a nearby temple. Younger girls used a “training wheels” technique of sort whereby they practiced by holding the hand-woven baskets with both hands. Their mothers and grandmothers, on the other…
-
Serendipitous Moments in Spiritual Bali
Amid black volcanic rock temples and vibrant flower offerings, Shawn and I experience the warm hospitality of a Balinese family during a ceremony for an infant boy.
