Ceremonies
Ceremony is very much a part of life here. In the past week, we were able to participate in two different ceremonies.
The first was at our house for Kuningan. Kuningan marks the tenth and last day of Galungan and is the time for commemoration as the
ancestors return to the heaven after ten days dwelling
on earth. The Balinese express their gratitude to the gods
for mercy to the human race. It is a time
for holiday, visiting each other and fun. Wayan, our pembantu (staff) came to the house to make elaborate offerings and lead us in a ceremony. There are 5 places in our house where offerings were made, each with three tins of fruit, Balinese cakes, sweets, flowers, and a couple of special decorations specifically for Kuningan. After making all the offerings at the various sites we knelt in front of our home temple and we followed Wayan's instructions on what color flower to hold between our fingers in prayer for each round of praying and then how to take the holy water. First, three splashes on the head, then three sips in your hands with the right hand on top, followed by the placement on the rice on the forehead and the lower neck.
This past Friday, we repeated the same ceremony for the rice harvest ceremony at the Green School. This time, however, we were praying to the Goddess of rice and God of water and making offerings to ensure a good harvest. After the ceremony, the kids all went in to the paddies and cut the rice. It will later be used for lunch at the Green School.
The first was at our house for Kuningan. Kuningan marks the tenth and last day of Galungan and is the time for commemoration as the
ancestors return to the heaven after ten days dwelling
on earth. The Balinese express their gratitude to the gods
for mercy to the human race. It is a time
for holiday, visiting each other and fun. Wayan, our pembantu (staff) came to the house to make elaborate offerings and lead us in a ceremony. There are 5 places in our house where offerings were made, each with three tins of fruit, Balinese cakes, sweets, flowers, and a couple of special decorations specifically for Kuningan. After making all the offerings at the various sites we knelt in front of our home temple and we followed Wayan's instructions on what color flower to hold between our fingers in prayer for each round of praying and then how to take the holy water. First, three splashes on the head, then three sips in your hands with the right hand on top, followed by the placement on the rice on the forehead and the lower neck. 
This past Friday, we repeated the same ceremony for the rice harvest ceremony at the Green School. This time, however, we were praying to the Goddess of rice and God of water and making offerings to ensure a good harvest. After the ceremony, the kids all went in to the paddies and cut the rice. It will later be used for lunch at the Green School. 
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