Religion on Bali

Bali is a Hindu island. Due to some strokes of good luck throughout history and its location, Bali was spared from the onslaught on Islam. Instead, most of the ancient beliefs, superstitions, and worship practices remain even today.

Spatial orientation is very important on Bali. It is also the key to understanding their view of and approach to the gods. The most important references are "kaja" (upstream or toward the mountain) and "kelod" (downstream or toward the sea). Please note that in southern Bali "kaja" lies north while in northern Bali it lies south. The opposite is true for "kelod".

There are literally thousands of temples on Bali. These can be divided into two distinct groupings - private ("sanggah") and public ("pura") temples. The private temples are in each family compound. A family must retrieve holy water every six months from the main temple for each god's shrine they have in their compound temple.

These are the shrines from the family compound we visited. The most important god would be closest to the mountains. The least important would be closest to the sea. The Balinese believe that the mountains are the place where all life begins. It is obvious why they would have this belief. All water flows from the mountains and water is the ultimate giver of life. The volcanoes would be another example of creation coming from the mountains.

At the heart of the religious community of every village lies the "kahyangan tiga". These are the three core village temples which are closely aligned with the spatial orientation from the mountains to the sea. The three temples found in every village are the "pura puseh", the "pura bale agung", and the "pura dalem".

The "pura puseh" (or the temple of origin) is the closest temple to the mountains. The "pura bale agung" or "pura desa" (or great meeting hall temple) is in the middle of the village and serves the purpose its name suggests - it is the temple which serves as the heart of the community. The "pura dalem" (or death temple) is the closest temple to the sea and is always located close to the cemetary. These temples are linked with the three most powerful gods in Hinduism: the "pura puseh" with Brahma the Creator, the "pura desa" with Vishnu the Preserver, and the "pura dalem" with Siwa the Destroyer.

We visited a "pura bale agung" in one of the villages we passd on our journey. It was a very peaceful place with water flowing throughout the temple. Shrines to different gods were erected on a hierarchial approach up the side of a hill. The temple sat in the middle of the jungle at the base of a small mountain.