SIDE TRIP 3: Bali, Indonesia

BALI may be the Island of the Gods and the people steeped in
spirituality but here, it is quite manly for a guy to wear a skirt
and a flower behind his ear! Eh?!

Picture a fierce-looking warrior, intricate tattoos covering his
upper body, but wearing a yellow and gold skirt (sarong, actually, he
he) and a half-opened pink frangipani tucked in one ear. Ew!

Last night was a full moon and the mostly Hindu residents of the
fishing village in northeast Bali where we are having our workshop
formed a beeline to their temple. It is awesome to see these gentle
people in full Balinese regalia bowing before their Gods, bearing
with them offerings of flowers, food and incense.

Ever the Pinoy Usi, I also wanted to go, of course. But first I have
to wear the skirt; you can't enter the temple otherwise. Not having
the foresight to pack a malong in my suitcase, I had to borrow a
sarong from a workshop participant. Suitably attired in a red shirt
and purple sarong (para akong early warning device, wahehe), I went
past the intricately carved gate into a world quite unlike anything
I've known. Fine sculptures of Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva (and God
knows who else) adorn the temple at every corner. Inside were people
squatting before smaller temples, hands clasped over their heads and
bowing several times. With a flower between her fingers, a girl dips
her hand into a bowl of water and sprinkles the faithful three times.
It was all so quiet and peaceful.

But I've always wondered to what degree Bali's ceremonial activities
and supernatural beliefs – sitting side by side with discos and
McDonalds – are sustained from within, or perpetuated from without,
by the demands of the tourist industry. The obvious question is how
can a culture so rooted in the spiritual reconcile itself with the
increasing absorption of new gods so obviously rooted in the material?

But let them worry about it. First, I gotta have my picture taken.
Nyahaha!!!

Satu, dua, tiga… say cheese!

Klik.


Miki
(19 days down, one day to go. Uuwi na ako ng Pinas bukas!!! Yehey!)

HINDU TEMPLE IN BALI