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Daily
Religious Activity of the Balinese
 If
you are on vacation in Bali and happen to
stay at a home stay or house belonging to
the natives of Bali, attempt to pay attention
to their activity since their waking up
in the morning up to the time going to sleep
in the evenings. You will get amazed and
hold your breath to see their remarkably
religious activity. For instance, as soon
as they completed their cooking in the morning,
the Balinese do not want to savour such
food directly. Instead, they will take small
amounts of it and arrange in such a way
into small offerings on banana’s leaf.
Then, these small offerings are presented
to God along with all of his manifestations
in the form of gods and goddess as symbol
of thankful expression for all endowments
he has delivered.
This religious activity to present small
offerings after cooking is called mebanten
saiban or yajna sesa. They are placed on
particular places such as on the stove as
presentation to Lord Brahma who masters
the power of fire used to cook the rice.
That put on the pan or rice bowl is dedicated
to Goddess Sri who has blessed the food
and clothing prosperity; offering on the
cover of water jar to Lord Vishnu who presides
over the water and preserver of all beings.
Meanwhile, offerings presented on the family
shrines are intended for the ancestors who
have become deva pitara, bhatara-bhatari
(savior of the family). In the courtyard,
in front of house entrance, back yard garden,
bicycle, motorbike or car and some other
special places, they are also presented
as gratitude for the blessings of safety
extended.
Having presented the offerings, it’s
the time for family to have a breakfast,
rejoice in the food vigorously. After the
meal, the family members will go to their
own workplace and children to school. Or
if they are traders, they will leave for
their shop cheerfully.
At workplace or school, religious activity
continues to be carried out before working
or studying. Some employees, particularly
women, will put the canang offerings and
sodan kecil (oblationette) on the shrine
within the office compound like working
room, courtyard, operational vehicle, machines
and so forth. Through the presentation they
say prayers as the company or office where
they work could remain to operate well and
flourishingly.
Except for presenting the oblation, the
office of government and private company
are obliged to enable their employees to
say prayers together prior to beginning
the activity. They pray in order that God
lavishes safety on the employees in performing
their tasks. Similarly, if they are shop
owner or do selling at the market, they
will put the offerings at Melanting Temple
(temple for trading profession located at
upstream area of the market compound).
Slight different ambience occurs at schools
where students present the offerings at
the shrines within the school complex and
classroom, then resume with saying prayers
en masse by uttering mantra of Tri Sandhya.
When the teacher enters the classroom, the
students say ‘Om Swastyastu’,
a gesture of respect meaning maybe god delivers
safety during the learning-teaching process
takes place. Just as on ending the lesson,
they close with ‘Om Santih, Santih,
Santih, Om’ meaning possibly the God
bestow peace so the knowledge obtained could
be of much benefit for the nobleness of
life.
Purchasing
oblations at street side
At the nightfall when all family members
have come home from undertaking their daily
routines, they also make canang or oblationette.
For those who have no time to make it, they
can purchase at market or street side on
the way home. Today, the canang vendors
are just like mushrooms in rainy season
in Bali, particularly in urban areas, in
keeping with the increasing business of
most people working in several natures of
activities. The canang vendors also have
a precise business instinct, where they
hawk the offerings at strategic places such
as at the street side to make them within
easy reach for buyers on the way home from
their daily work.
Offerings purchased at street side or self-made
after arriving home on that afternoon are
then presented at the family shrine and
places made sacred. Having put the offerings,
they perform worship together at family
shrines and pay tribute to God for the safety
given in undertaking their daily tasks and
all endowments obtained on that day. Likewise,
they pray in order that God guides them
in taking advantage and managing the endowment.
Afterwards, they have dinner together while
chatting or watching television. They ultimately
do their own leisure activity and go to
bed.
Pancha
Yajna
What has been put into words above is just
the small part of religious activities performed
by the Balinese individually. Other than
daily individual routines, religious activity
of the Balinese involving all family members,
relatives and its community (hamlet or customary
village) can also be observed virtually
every day.
It is closely associated with the implementation
of pancha yajna, namely five kinds of religious
activity comprising (1) deva yajna (homage
to Gods and elementals), (2) rishi yajna
(homage to the seers), (3) pitri yajna (homage
to ancestors), (4) manushya yajna (homage
to men since being in the womb to marriage)
and (5) bhuta yajna (ritual for the power
of nature and its environment).
Deva yajna can be easily observed on the
temple anniversaries, feast days like the
Galungan, Kuningan, full moon, new moon
and so forth. Rishi yajna can be seen on
the initiation of high priest called madwijati;
pitri yajna on the ngaben cremation ceremony
up to its mamukur; manushya yajna on rites
of life-cycle starting from the baby within
the womb, birth, 42-days time and marriage;
while butha yajna can be seen when the Balinese
organize what the so-called mecaru exorcism
rite pertaining the preservation of the
environment.
(Ketut Sumadi)
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