The rains are considering stopping as they have crossed the line into the dry
season weeks ago. But the weather gods don't seem to be in complete control
these days.
The entire island is awash in green; Earth Day was just celebrated in the Ubud
hills and people are getting ready for the Bali Arts Festival (mid-June to
mid-July); Galungan and Kuningan holy days (June 27-July 7, 2007) and the Kuta
Karnival in early September.
Galungan is a holy day celebrating the victory of dharma or justice/truth/right
living over adharma or injustice/deception/the wrong path. It always falls on
the Wednesday in the week of Dungulan in the Balinese calendar and Kuningan
falls on the Saturday ten days later. On the Monday prior to Galungan, the
women are frying up the ricecakes that are used in the offerings. Tuesday
before Galungan, penjor or tall bamboo poles with offerings and sometimes rice
plants hanging off of them, are placed outside of every family shrine on the
road outside the house. The men of the household are making lawar a traditional
dish consisting of finely minced pork, coconut, spices and at times the raw
blood from the pig. Lawar is a must in the offerings.
Wednesday itself sees everyone dressed in their finest temple attire, taking
offerings to temple, gathering with their family and of course, feasting and
praying together. On Galungan, the ancestral deities are invited into the house
temple to be feted and on Kuningan in the morning they are ceremonially bid
farewell again. This occurs every 210 days, one Balinese year.
Galungan will occur on January 23, 2008 and Kuningan on February 2, 2008.
