The People of
Bali Celebrate Mother’s Day

Mother’s day is celebrated every 22 December. It is different from the ‘Mother’s Day’ that is celebrated in other countries; Mother’s Day in Indonesia is celebrated as an historical milestone of woman’s struggle in Indonesia to gain progress and to release them from colonial pressure.

According to historical note, holding the first Congress of Indonesian Woman in Yogyakarta on 22 December 1928 commenced the first women’s struggle of Indonesia. This event was very important and special, and since then the Indonesian Women have united their struggle in reaching progress legally, obtaining the Independence of Indonesia. That special day up till now is celebrated as” Mother’s Day”.
For the people of Bali, the Mother’s Day celebration has a wide meaning. Apart from celebrating this historical day, it can also open everybody’s heart, to all “Mother’s” who occupy a special position in daily life. Tasks and responsibilities of a Balinese woman is very complex, ranging from giving birth, breast feeding, taking care of children, cooking, handling household work, preparing offerings for ritual ceremonies and social activities in desa adat (customary village).
At the interval of her mounted activities, they still find enough time to earn their living and raise income. Don’t be surprised, when you are spending your holiday in Bali you find women engaged in hoeing in the rice field, selling for a living at street side, or getting involved in building construction.
The celebration of Mother’s Day constitutes an opportunity to honor deeply and bring the rasa bhakti (devotional worship) to reality to guru rupaka (parents) who have given birth and raised children and continued the life on earth. By giving birth to children, the life cycle of mankind remains rotating. We live today because of the extraordinary merit of a mother, from the womb until we are able to stand-alone. That’s why Balinese people very much believe that the goodness and badness of mankind’s future lies on the shoulder of the mother. It is no exaggeration to say that heaven and hell lies on mother’s feet.
Maharishi Manu in the Holy Scripture Manawa Dharmasastra says that to be a mother, a woman is created, and to be a father, a man is born. A woman is predestined to bear a baby in her womb that guarantees a reward for moral conduct, to be worth idolizing and to brighten up her home. (Manawa Dharmasastra IX.26, 27, 96). A mother, therefore, for Balinese people is a deeply honored figure on earth.
Children who are born will be looked after with complete love and affection, never discriminated upon. Before the Family Planning program (KB) applied, a woman in Bali used to give birth to ten or more children. But today, due to a government program to control the birth rate, mothers in Bali give birth maximally to three children. If more than three, it may be caused by the failure of the use of a contraceptive device.
Sincere love and affection of a mother for her children can be seen in the Mahabharat Epic that the sincerity of Kunti Devi to bring up her children after the death’s of her husband, King Pandu. She did her best to look after her children and never discriminated against them, and they grew up to be honorable kings as they were taught to be frank and fair to their citizens.
Her children also showed a great honor to Kunti Devi. The story that recounts Kunti Devi may have certainly well inspired many mothers of Bali, to behave fairly in love, affection, and work hard to reach prosperity together with their husbands. Therefore, except for the responsibility for managing the household, women in Bali also earn their living by doing jobs, in line with the norms of dharma (truth and goodness).
“In love and affection affairs, a mother should behave fairly, both to the ‘have’ and the ‘have not’ children, all are taken care of and well treated,” says Maharishi Wararuci in the Holy Scripture Sarasamuscaya. Poetically, he writes,” a mother is much heavier than the land, so it’s worth honoring her whole-heartedly.”
Because of the great appreciation and sincerity of a mother by Balinese people, at every family temple, except for sanggah kemulan (shrine of origin), is established a special shrine called pelinggih ibu dedicated to ancestors’ souls that have been cremated in the Hindu tradition. In addition, it also means to honor the earth that has given prosperity to mankind; Balinese people call the earth ibu pertiwi (motherland). Furthermore, to guard the security of the motherland, as mentioned in detail in tri hita karana concept, three elements that lead to prosperity on earth, especially the element of palemahan (environment), that is the harmonious relationship of mankind with its environment.
For Balinese people, preserving and honoring a mother is a glorious duty to make a prosperous life for the inner self and the outer world. Mother represents
pradana element, and father as purusa element, and both are inseparable. They should ally as guru rupaka. Balinese people believe that whoever does not obey guru rupaka (parents), even dare abandon their mother, he or she is called alpaka guru, they will be tulah (accursed), their life will not be peaceful and will often get misfortunes. Consequently, Balinese people seldom entrust their mother or parents to old folk’s homes. No matter how hard the life of a mother is, parents are brought along with them, taken care of and sincerely honored.
If you’d like to have a look at how the Balinese take care of their advanced aged parents, come to any Balinese urban house compound. Preferably, you could also make a visit to any rural area to enjoy the special rural tradition of Bali whilst watching women chewing betel and chatting with their grandchildren.
(Ketut Sumadi, Contributor of Bali Travel News)

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