Celebrated this year on Wednesday, February 19 according to the Balinese calendar (every 210 days), Galungan is the most important religious event for the Balinese, symbolizing the victory of dharma over adharma (good over evil). They invite the gods and their ancestors to come down to earth during the following 10 days through various offerings and prayers. A week before the festivities, everyone is busy with the many preparations in their village; the women take care of making the offerings and decorating the temples according to a precise schedule with dedicated days such as Penyekeban (dedicated to banana cooking) or Penyajaan (dedicated to making jaja, small fried rice cakes). The men as for them make the famous Penjors, these long bamboo poles with a curved top (which symbolizes the tail of Barong). They are then decorated with palm leaves, rice, coconuts, and red wool tassels. The canes represent the rivers while the hanging ornaments evoke the harvests. A small altar is also installed at the base to receive offerings (representing the temple of Besakih). These complex and elegant structures are placed in front of each house and along the roads, Bali is then metamorphosed. On the eve of Galungan all the sacrificial animals are killed in order to serve as offerings for the spirits in the temples the next day. Throughout this period, the inhabitants then take part in various activities and traditional food cooking, accompanied by the spirit of their ancestor in order to give them the best possible time and hope to benefit from their protection until the next Galungan. These 10 days of celebration are marked by the second most important festival : Kuningan. This time the spirits are invited to return to paradise through prayers and offerings of yellow rice.
Do not hesitate to come to Bali, the island of the gods, where you will spend a fabulous stay immersed in the traditional Balinese culture during all this period.
