RELIGION ON BALI

The Balinese are nominally Hindus but Balinese Hindiusm is half a world away from that of India. When the Majapahits evacuated to Bali they took with them their religion and their rituals, as well as their art, literature, music and culture. The Balinese already had strong religious beliefs and an active cultural life, and the new influences were simply overlaid on existing practices- hence the peculiar Balinese interpretation of Hinduism.   The balinese worship the same gods as the Hindus of India- the trinity of Brahma, Shiva and Vishnu- but they also have a supreme god, Sanghyang Widi. unlike in India, the trinity is never seen- a vacant shrine or empty throne tells all. Nor is Sanghyang Widi often worshipped, though villagers may pray to him when they have settled new land and are about to build a new village. Other Hindus gods such as Ganesh, Shiva's elephant-headed son, may accasionally appear but a great many purely Balinese gods, spirits and entities have far more relevance in everyday life.   The Balinese believe that spirits are everywhere, an indication that animism is the basis of much of their religion. Good spirits dwell in the mountains and bring propsperity to the people, while giants and demons lurk beneath the sea, and bad spirits haunt the woods and desolate beaches.The people live between these two opposites and their rituals strive to maintain this middle ground. Offerings are carefully put out in the morning to pay homage to the good spirits and nonchalantly placed on the ground to lacate the bad ones.