A Checklist of Unique Balinese Ceremony

The Sacred Balinese Ceremony Gives More Beauty to Bali

The beauty of Bali’s natural landscape is unquestionable, ranging from the seas to mountains and rice fields. However, Bali holds more gems, including the sacred Balinese ceremony. Here are five Balinese ceremonies you should know.

Melasti

The Melasti ceremony is part of Nyepi, the Balinese day of silence. This ceremony is held two to three days before Nyepi on beaches and lakes because the water is the symbol to purify our souls.

During this ceremony, people wear white clothes and bring temple antics like Pratima to be cleaned. Once they arrive at the beaches or lakes, the Hindu stakeholders will sprinkle water onto people’s heads as a symbolic act to clean bad karma in the body.

Galungan and Kuningan

Galungan means “win” in English. As the name suggests, this Balinese ceremony aims to celebrate the victory of good over evil. It also means to honor the universe and every element in it.

Galungan marks the beginning of the ritual series when the ancestors come to the earth. Meanwhile, Kuningan refers to the day when the ancestors leave. This ceremonial series occurs for ten consecutive days every 210 days in the Balinese calendar.

Mepandes

Mepandes is the teeth-cutting ceremony performed when a Balinese reaches puberty. This ceremony aims to eliminate vices, like anger, jealousy, and greed.

In this ceremony, Balinese boys and girls will perform a special religious ceremony, then the elders will scrape their front teeth. After that, they pray together to ask for the Gods’ blessings. 

Ngaben

Ngaben is a festive cremation in Bali. This Balinese ceremony also refers to the celebration of death because the ritual “helps” the spirit to leave for another life in heaven. No wonder this Balinese ceremony appears to be a joyous event rather than mourning.