Intriguing immersions in Bali (June 2002)-- Part 1

Bali.An exotic island. A honey moon destination. A weekend get away. An island small enough to tour in two days. You must be crazy to spend 28 days on this island unless of course you are in for some surfing, massage therapies or, yoga classes and retreats. But, hey! We had a deal too good to pass -- return flight to Bali with a night's stay in Holiday Inn thrown in. Plus, we had a 4 week vacation. Nothing to it but to fly there, pick up a map at the airport, get our bearings and take it from there.  For us it turned out to be 28 days of cultural revelation. 

Almost as soon as our pick up  dropped us at the hotel Drink was trying to talk to the bellboys, wondering if they could suggest weekly accommodation in the villages. As luck would have it, Made actually had a little cottage in Ubud built for the purpose.

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Settling in Bali

While we were enjoying the hotel's landscaped courtyard Drink approached one of the uniformed employees to ask if he knew of any accommodation we could rent for two weeks. The man called Madè spoke some English. As luck would have it, he he knew of one - his own purpose-built a cottage near his ancestral home and he would show us the way the next day after he had finished his duties at the hotel. The following morning we filled our bellies with the complimentary European breakfast and shopped for a rental car finalizing on one that would cost $10 a day. We were ready for Made who led us on his motorbike out of Kuta's maddening traffic, a sea of motorbikes.As we neared an interchange in the form of a circle we lost him but were fortunate enough to take the correct turning for we spotted him well ahead of us. Not wanting to lose sight of him there was no way I could enjoy the scenery that we were passing through. In about 30 mins we arrived at the little house with two bedrooms, a living room with basic furnishing, a kitchen with the bare essentials and a bathroom. A little fish pond graced the front yard shaded by a chayote tree and a turkey-berry plant -both came in handy for our meals. We asked if we could provide us some rice, and we were given some that was harvested in their own padi fields surrounding us. We could also use the vegetables from their garden. 

Daily rituals

On that very first day we had a big dose of cultural immersion that would continue over the rest of our stay. Since I could speak Malay, somewhat similar to the Indonesian language, there was a lot that the villagers could share with us. About two or three times a day a young female would come around to the house with a little floral offering and a lighted incense stick paying homage to the gods in thanks for peace. This took place in most the places we stayed in.

When I washed the clothes the following morning Drink suggested putting up a line between the posts on the verandah and he did string one up higher than our heads so we didn't have to brush against wet clothes. Almost immediately a young female tore up to us in a huff and asked us to lower the line. Why?( Blog post -- Laundry :the ropes)

Welcomed into the family

Upon our request we spent a day with our host family. After breakfast we walked up to their home made up of several pavilions. One was the living quarters with a wide verandah in front. The kitchen was in another pavilion. Made's father showed us his betel leaf box with compartments for betel leaf, areca nut,an areca nut cutter and lime compound- it was typical of sets found in Hindu homes, or any country in south East Asia that had a betel leaf chewing tradition. 

The mother showed me how to prepare the floral offerings which she sold in town everyday. After she taught me I made a few for her appreciating the extraordinary time and effort put into the task. Coconut frond was cut, slit, and folded strategically to form a square open tray the size of a palm, the loose ends held together with toothpicks (made from the stiff central vein of the palm frond)sharpened to a point . Incidentally, throughout south east Asia, brooms are also made from these veins. She'd put in the flowers when she was ready to sell them. 

I was also allowed into the kitchen. I helped cook so that the food did not turn out to be too spicy for Drink, and I could keep an eye on what really went into the dishes. The rice was steamed in a basket with chopped bits of tapioca added. The side dish was long beans spiced with chilli, onion and fresh turmeric ground in a stone mortar, which was a shallow basin with a pestle that was curved so that it was easier to hold while you crushed and dragged the ingredients to mash them.

After lunch Made's wife, Ketut, helped me dress in her traditional clothes -- a kebaya and a top under which a stiff belt, like an obi, is worn. Drink dressed in his white dhoti. We set off for the temple. She gave me a basket of fruits artistically packed into a rectangular woven basket with a lid. (The basket evoked memories of my visit to India with my mum in  younger days. Mum filled the basket with lunch and snacks, balanced it on her head, carried a water kooja and my baby sister, taking us across the padi fields to the nearest town for official business. She was something. sister and and  top of each other like a tall cone. I had to carry it on my head as I got out of the car and was not to put it down until we reached the altar. When we did we knelt in front of a priest while he chanted mantras after which we applied a dot of soaked rice to our foreheads, representing the third eye of Shiva, to thank the gods for rice & life.

While in conversation we also discovered why when at Holiday Inn we had asked to speak to Madè, they asked us ' Which Madè'. Every.family with more than one child has a Made simply because Balinese people name their children depending on the order they are born, and the names are the same for both males and females. The firstborn child is named Wayan, the second is named Madè , the third  Nyoman , and the fourth  Ketut. If a family has more than four children, the cycle repeats itself. The fifth child becomes  the next ‘Wayan, …'

A visit to another pavilion in their home explained to us the gaffe about the clothes line. ( blog post)This pavilion was open to the elements. A sort of  totem pole stood in the middle on top of which was a throne, a padmasana. It embodied the belief that God is everywhere. The reasoning is that the gods being summoned during special ceremonies can descend from the heavens into the temple before eventually returning home. What all this revealed to us is that Balinese Hinduism in monotheistic and therefore the deity does not have a shape. Each home, rice field, or market can have several temples. Daily offerings are made at these temples in the form of food, cigarettes, sweets, and sometimes even money in order to honor the good spirits.

Everyone an artist

We were given a  tour of the village. The streets were very clean – no unsightly drainage or garbage mounds anywhere. All households were surrounded by low walls all around. At dusk we visited the village school which put up a gamelan performance for us. We handed out little goodies to all of the players and  conversed with them. Apparently, all the young men in the village working in the cities came home over the weekend and taught the children music, dance, painting and sculpture. Music, dance and the arts in general were very much part and parcel of every single Balinese.

Made also introduced us to his artist and sculptor friends.

Guest of honour

Another night our hosts made us guests of honour at their weekly Ketchak dance. About 40  sarong-clad men, seated in concentric circles, provided the soundtrack-- 'Kechak , kechak', the sounds that a monkey makes – of haunting chants, while costumed dancers recreated a story from the Ramayana. I was invited to start the proceedings by lighting one of the oil lamps of several made of coconut shells filled with coconut oil and arranged in tapering tiers. It was refreshingly non-commercial. All the families in the village are involved and proceeds go towards temple activities.Ubud encompasses the rich culture of the Balinese imbued with spirituality. 

The beauty of silence

On yet another day there was almost absolute silence everywhere. No night life, no loud music, no roar of traffic. Even the airport shutdown for 24 hours. That is how the Balinese New Year, Nyepi, is celebrated. Every city should have a few of these days.