We left little bits of our hearts here. Never have we been so embraced and welcomed like we were by our homestay family and the villagers of Banjar Sakti – We stayed much longer than we expected, in fact I don’t know how we ever left. We had plans to venture to the north of the island but when it came time to leave we just couldn’t. We fell in love with the place and the folk. And we weren’t alone as we met two other travellers who said they stayed here way longer then they had planned. I guess if you need to be here you stay -this area does have a lot of magic.
Pre 6th century people came to this area to harvest medicinal plants and it has always been know as a healing place. We lived such a simple life not really doing anything special just walking through the rice fields everyday connecting with all the folk who live and work along the way. We often stopped for chats and tea, food, or fruit. The energy here is very restorative and calming people seem connected and busy in a slowly slowly way, there seems no rush. We played with the kids, watched the local boys playing soccer every night – listened to them practicing their music at the temples, watched the women making and delivering offerings to the temple. Loved the ducks roaming the land in great gaggles. It was the rhythm that resonated I think. Like the rushing waters of the rice field…constant, nurturing, and grounding.
Our experience would not have been the same with out our host family. Our host Kasna, his wife Ana, and kiddies little miss Karyana and big brother Iputugede, Grandmother and Grandfather and Blackie the dog all live together in this traditional house which is mostly a shrine with all the rooms around it. (shown here in their very smart temple clothes) grandfather Manwarsa is seen here with his prized rooster who he petted and stroked before the cock fights at the temple.
There was a small kitchen with a wood burning cooker. no table to eat at all eating and food prep, homework socializing and tv watching was done on the wide tiled platforms flanking the entrance way to the shrine.
We were lucky to be visiting during the ,most important religious ceremonies, Galungan. The spirits of relatives who have died and been cremated return to visit their former homes, and the earthly families have a responsibility to be hospitable through prayers and offerings. The most obvious sign of the celebrations are the penjor – bamboo poles with offerings suspended at the end. These are installed by the side of roads and in the rice fields.
There is so much business going on on the days up to the celebration. The family was very busy decorating ( Kasna and his boy making the penjor) and preparing special offerings for the multitude of temples they would visit on the day.The family shrine was wrapped in gold cloth offerings stacked high incense burning and
The day before Galgung is not a good one for pigs and chickens! truck loads of birds being sold at the corners of streets. Pick one it is despatched immediately and then taken home – well its fresh – The pigs were a bit harder for me an awful lot of squealing and then a lot of blood. The pigs are butchered next to the road and the cuts of meat washed in the stream. Everyone was very excited as the feast began to take shape.
Cock fighting has huge cultrual significance in Bali. It is very important before an auspicious religious holiday so there was a lot of it about. Although not our favorite thing to witness, we did watch the fights up at the local temple. All the men of the village were there a lot of shouting cheering and cock-a-doodle-doing the outcome between winner and loser is decided very quickly. The the knives bound to their feet are very sharp and deliver a fast outcome. The blood spilled in the temple is like a sacrifice and the meat of the slain roosters is imbued with magical properties. So it is highly sought after and expensive.
We forgot to ask about Manwarsa’s rooster however, we can guess… as we never saw it again !!
On Galgung day we were invited by the family to go to the temple with them and join in the night festivities. We were so honoured to be asked. The temple was full and the ceremony involves lots of chanting and prayer – We were each given a basket of flower offerings that we used to pray with then after you must put the flower in your hair. Finally after a long while a “priest” poured water in our cupped hands three times, we had to drink it and then we were given rice to stick on our foreheads.
Some of the people we saw everyday. Bagus, Potinara, the carving family and Noora the artist.
Bula Vinaka aka Ana and Andy and their doggies. Our next door warung serving fab food all home even the noodles.
