Contexts - The Rough Guide to Bali and Lombok - page 465

perhaps the occasional curious tourist. But this all changes on the occasion of the temple's an-
niversary celebrations, or odalan , a three-day devotional extravaganza held at every temple
either once every 210 days - every Balinese calendar year - or once every 354-356 days (the
saka year). As there are at least three temples in every community, any visitor who spends
more than a week on the island will be certain to see some kind of festival. Most temples wel-
come tourists to the celebrations, provided they dress respectably (see Religious etiquette ) ,
wear the temple sash and don't walk in front of praying devotees.
The more important the temple, the more dramatic the odalan celebrations. But whatever
the size, the purpose is always to invite the gods down to earth so that they can be entertained
and pampered by as many displays of devotion as the community can afford. In the days be-
fore the odalan , the pemangku (village priest) dresses the temple statues in holy cloths , either
the spiritually charged black-and-white kain poleng , or a length of plain cloth in a symbolic
colour. Meanwhile, the women of the community begin to construct their offering towers, or
banten , and to cook ceremonial food.
Odalan are so important that everyone makes a huge effort to return to their home village
for their own temple festival, even if they live and work far away; most employers will auto-
matically give their Balinese staff time off to attend. Celebrations start in the afternoon, with
a procession of ceremonially clad women carrying their offerings to the temple. Sometimes
the gods will temporarily inhabit the body of one of the worshippers, sending him or her in-
to a trance and conveying its message through gestures or words. Elsewhere in the temple
compound, there might be a cockfight and some gamelan music, and sacred dances are often
performed as well. After dark, a shadow play, wayang kulit , is often staged.
As well as the temple anniversary celebrations, there are numerous island-wide religious
festivals , the most important of which are Nyepi and Galungan-Kuningan.
Offerings
The simplest offerings are the ones laid out every day by the women of each house, and
placed at the household shrine, at the entrance gate, and in any crannies thought to be of in-
terest to bhuta and kala . These offerings, called canang , are tiny banana-leaf trays, pinned
together with bamboo splinters and filled with a symbolic assortment of rice, fruit, flowers
and incense. The flowers are always red or pink, to represent the Hindu god Brahma, and
white for Siwa, with the green of the banana leaf symbolizing Wisnu. Though it's still com-
mon for women to make their own canang , an increasing number buy theirs at the market.
Offerings for the gods are always placed in elevated positions, either on specially constructed
altars or on functional shelves, but those meant for the demons are scattered on the ground.
When the devotee places the gods' offering, she sprinkles holy water over it and wafts the
incense smoke heavenwards. This sends the essence of the canang up to the appropriate god