CEREMONY BALI

FESTIVAL IN BALI





BALI KITE FESTIVAL
The Bali Kite Festival is an annual international kite festival held in July in Padang Galak area, Sanur Beach, Bali. Traditional giant kites (4 meters in width and almost 10 meters in length) are made and flown competitively by teams from the villages (banjar) of Denpasar. The event is a seasonal religious festival intended to send a message to the Hindu Gods to create abundant crops and harvests.
Bebean (fish-shaped), Janggan (bird-shaped) and Pecukan (leaf-shaped) are three traditional kites flown during this kite festival. The kites are flown by teams of 10 or more adult kitefliers. The Bebean is the largest kite, and looks like a broad-mouthed, split-tailed fish. The Janggan form has a broad flowing cloth tail that can reach more than 100 meters in length. The Pecukan requires the most skill to fly, as its unstable form often tumbles towards the ground. Red, white and black are traditional colours used in the kite's designs. Each type of traditional kite has its own competition, with heats of 10 teams vying for the best launch and longest flight. Sometimes the kites come down over the adjacent rice paddies, and the team members have to dash through the paddy to rescue the kite before it lands in the water.
A competition is also held for 'New Creation' kites which may include detailed three dimensional figures representing the Hindu Gods or sponsorship kites. Traditional and new creation kites are constructed from bamboo and cotton cloth.
In the dry season of June through August, the winds blow continually from east to west in most of Indonesia. Balinese children and adults fly kites in the vacant rice paddies during this period.
A gamelan orchestra plays music throughout the festival. The festival attracts many tourists and international kitefliers, along with many local spectators.
GALUNGAN
Galungan is a Balinese holiday that occurs every 210 days and lasts for 10 days. Kuningan is the last day of the holiday. Galungan means "When the Dharma is winning." During this holiday the Balinese gods visit the Earth and leave on Kuningan.
Occurring once in every 210 days in the pawukon (Balinese cycle of days), Galungan marks the beginning of the most important recurring religious ceremony that is celebrated by all Balinese. During the Galungan period the deified ancestors of the family descend to their former homes. They must be suitably entertained and welcomed, and prayers and offerings must be made for them. Those families who have ancestors that have not yet been cremated, but are still buried in the village cemetery, must make offerings at the graves.

A "penjor"

Although Galungan falls on a Wednesday, most Balinese will begin their Galungan 'holiday' the day before, where the family is seen to be busily preparing offerings and cooking for the next day. While the women of the household have been busy for days before creating beautifully woven 'banten' (offerings made from young coconut fronds), the men of our village usually wake up well before dawn to join with their neighbours to slaughter a pig unlucky enough to be chosen to help celebrate this occasion. Then the finely diced pork is mashed to a pulp with a grinding stone, and moulded onto sate sticks that have been already prepared by whittling small sticks of bamboo. Chickens may also be chosen from the collection of free-range chickens that roam around the house compound. Delicate combinations of various vegetables, herbs and spices are also prepared by the men to make up a selection of 'lawar' dishes. While much of this cooking is for use in the offerings to be made at the family temple, by mid-morning, once all the cooking is done, it is time for the first of a series of satisfying feasts from what has been prepared. While the women continue to be kept busy with the preparations of the many offerings to be made at the family temple on the day of Galungan, the men also have another job to do this day, once the cooking is finished. A long bamboo pole, or 'penjor', is made to decorate the entrance to the family compound. By late Tuesday afternoon all over Bali the visitor can see these decorative poles creating a very festive atmosphere in the street.
On Wednesday, the day of Galungan, one will find that most Balinese will try to return to their own ancestral home at some stage during the day, even if they work in another part of the island. This is a very special day for families, where offerings are made to God and to the family ancestors who have come back to rest at this time in their family temple. As well as the family temple, visits are made to the village temple with offerings as well, and to the homes of other families who may have helped the family in some way over the past six months.
The day after Galungan is a time for a holiday, visiting friends, maybe taking the opportunity to head for the mountains for a picnic. Everyone is still seen to be in their 'Sunday best' as they take to the streets to enjoy the festive spirit that Galungan brings to Bali.
The date for Galungan and other special Balinese days is shown on the Balinese Calendar.
NYEPI
Nyepi is a Balinese "Day of Silence" that falls on Bali's Lunar New Year (in 2009, it was on March 26). It is a day of silence, fasting, and meditation. The day following Nyepi is also celebrated as New year Gudi Padva in Maharashtra and Ugadi in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka in India
Observed from 6 a.m. until 6 a.m. the next morning, Nyepi is a day reserved for self-reflection and as such, anything that might interfere with that purpose is restricted. The main restrictions are: no lighting fires (and lights must be kept low); no working; no entertainment or pleasure; no traveling; and for some, no talking or eating at all. The effect of these prohibitions is that Bali’s usually bustling streets and roads are empty, there is little or no noise from TVs and radios, and few signs of activity are seen even inside homes. The only people to be seen outdoors are the Pecalang, traditional security men who patrol the streets to ensure the prohibitions are being followed.
Although Nyepi is primarily a Hindu holiday, non-Hindu residents of Bali observe the day of silence as well, out of respect for their fellow citizens. Even tourists are not exempt; although free to do as they wish inside their hotels, no one is allowed onto the beaches or streets, and the only airport in Bali remains closed for the entire day. The only exceptions granted are for emergency vehicles carrying those with life-threatening conditions and women about to give birth.
On the day after Nyepi, known as Ngembak Geni, social activity picks up again quickly, as families and friends gather to ask forgiveness from one another, and to perform certain religious rituals together.

• First, The Melasti Ritual is performed at the 3-4 previous day. It is dedicated to Sanghyang Widhi Wasa and is performed at the beach to respect them as the owner of The Land and Sea. The ritual performed in temple near the sea (Pura Segara) and meant to purify Arca, Pratima, and Pralingga (sacred objects) belongs to several temples, also to acquire sacred water from the sea.
• Second, The Bhuta Yajna Ritual is performed in order to vanquish the negative elements and create balance with God, Mankind, and Nature. The ritual also meant to appease Batara Kala by Pecaruan offering. Devout Hindu Balinese villages usually make ogoh-ogoh, demonic statues made of bamboo and paper symbolizing negative elements or malevolent spirits. After the ogoh-ogoh have been paraded around the village, the Ngrupuk ritual takes place, which involves burning the ogoh-ogoh.
• Third, The Nyepi Rituals is performed with the following conditions:
  
  
  
  
  
  • Amati Geni: No fire/light
  • Amati Karya: No working
  • Amati Lelunganan: No traveling
  • Amati Lelanguan: Fasting and no revelry/self-entertainment
• Fourth, The Yoga/Brata Ritual starts at 6:00 AM (e.g. March 26, 2009) and continues to 6:00 AM the next day.
• Fifth, The Ngebak Agni/Labuh Brata Ritual is performed for all Hindus to forgive each other and to welcome the new days to come.
• Sixth and finally, The Dharma Shanti Rituals is performed as the Nyepi Day or "Day of Silence."

NGABEN

Ngaben, or Cremation Ceremony, is the ritual performed in Bali to send the deceased to the next life. The body of the deceased will be placed as if sleeping, and the family will continue to treat the deceased as sleeping. No tears are shed, because the deceased is only temporarily not present and will reincarnate or find his final rest in Moksha (freeing from the reincarnation and death cycle).
The proper day of the ceremony is always a matter of consulting a specialist on ceremony days. On the day of the ceremony, the body of the deceased is placed inside a coffin. This coffin is placed inside a sarcophagus resembling a buffalo (Lembu) or in a temple structure (Wadah) made of paper and wood. The buffalo or temple structure will be carried to the cremation site in a procession. The procession is not walking in a straight line. This is to confuse bad spirits and keep them away from the deceased.
The climax of Ngaben is the burning of the whole structure, together with the body of the deceased. The fire is necessary to free the spirit from the body and enable reincarnation.
Ngaben is not always immediately performed. For higher caste members it is normal to perform the ritual within 3 days. For lower caste members the deceased are buried first and later, often in a group ceremony for the whole village, cremated.

BROMO BEAUTIFUL

BROMO

Cold, so you'll feel when you first get out of the car. The temperature here reached 10 degrees and even up to 0 degrees Celsius during the morning. So, you should prepare for cool clothes, hats skullcaps, gloves, socks, scarves to overcome. But, if you forget the equipment, there are many vendors offering wares of hats, gloves, or scarves.


The view from Mount Bromo Pananjakan
Bromo Sunrise view from Pananjakan

Regular visitors visiting this area since the early days with the aim of seeing the rising sun. To see it, you have to climb Mount Pananjakan which is the highest mountain in the region. Field to go through to get to Mount Pananjakan a heavy field. To get to the foot of Mount Pananjakan, you have to go through a desert-like area that can make you get lost. We had to climb Mount Pananjakan, narrow streets and lots of tight curves necessarily require a high driving skills. For that, many visitors who choose to rent a car hardtop (jeep type) driven by the community around. Communities around the Tengger tribe comes from a friendly with the visitors.

Up above, there are many shops serving coffee or hot tea and a fire to warm while waiting for the sun tebitnya time. There are also stores that rent warm clothes. Watching the sunrise is an interesting event. The proof, the visitors would have waited since 5 o'clock in the morning facing the east so as not to lose this moment. You were not always able to see this event, because if the cloudy sky, the appearance of the sun is not seen clearly. However, when the sky is clear, you can see the sun spots in the first place only as small as a match pins, slowly enlarge and eventually form a complete sphere and provide information so that we can see the mountains scenery in this area. Among others, Mount Bromo, Mount Batok, or Mount Sumeru which is the highest mountain in Java.


Towards the stairs Bromo crater
Ocean Sand crater and Bromo

Finished watching the sunrise, you can go back down the mountain toward Pananjakan and Mount Bromo. Sunlight can make you see the scenery around. Apparently you go through the vast sea of sand which reaches 10 km ². Arid areas filled with sand and covered only a little grass is dry. Gust of wind, making the sand fly and can be difficult for you to breathe.

To reach the foot of Mount Bromo, you can not use the vehicle. Instead, you must hire a horse at a price of Rp 70.000, - or if you feel strong, you can choose to walk. But, it is worth noting that walking was not easy, because the hot sun, long distance, the flying dust can make the journey even more severe.

Now, you have to climb the stairs that amounted to 250 steps to see the crater of Mount Bromo. Arriving at the top of the high Bromo 2392 m above sea level, you can see the crater of Mount Bromo smoke. You can also cast your eyes down, and sea sand with terlihatlah temple in the middle. Really incredibly rare and unusual that we can enjoy.


Bromo as a tourist attraction through MALANGThe journey through the west door from the direction of the entry of pasuruan Tosari village to get to the center of attractions (sea sand) fairly heavy because the field must be taken not to pass by ordinary 4-wheeled vehicles is because the road climbing towards the derivation of sea sand is steep, but We rented a jeep provided by the tour manager, so a lot of tourists on foot to get to the center location. But if we go through the north door of the direction before entering the region of Probolinggo TONGAS, we will go to the village of Lawang Cemoro before falling into the sea of sand is not too heavy because of the derivative of the slope is not too steep so the bike can go through. Most of the tourists who want easy access to the sea of sand through this route. But if you want to watch the sunrise is often shown in the photographs, which many photographed from the top of your climbing is more practical then the path through the west door.But if you have the adventurous spirit then you can try the path less traveled way tourists. Namely through the city of Malang you enter through the small town of Mixed Pronojiwo then entered the city and will go through a nature reserve which is very beautiful from here you will find the fork in the road towards the south which will enter Ranu Pane (towards Mount Sumeru) and towards the north you enter the ocean of sand Bromo in Bromo ridge south. T-junction is named Jemplang. The journey begins with a down hill and were met with pasture (savannah) which gradually changed into a sea of sand. The road around the mountain Bromo going through a sea of sand for about 3 hours. This track is not too steep and impassable bike, but need adventurous spirit because the track is still rarely passed and no one stopover or houses. We will actually presented with a very challenging journey. But your secret will be rewarded with another Bromo very rarely see tourists, the savannah grasslands and huge flowers beneath the hood of Mount Bromo. It's the opposite view on the north side of the arid and dusty. But remember, you should not through this route and at night or in foggy weather. Line will not be seen in this condition.Sea of sand is the mainstay of the mountain Bromo tour, in the cool mountain nature, we can see the desert and a vast grass. While most awaited of Bromo is the sight of the mountain view when the sun rises and sets because it would seem obvious and very beautiful. Although the trip to Bromo is very dusty, but not felt, because of the beauty that served really incredible.Vacation to Bromo can be practical if you are pretty much like the type of traveler, and through the north door. You can make a visit within 12 hours, of course, if you start from the city of Surabaya, Malang, Jember and surrounding areas. The journey can be started from 12 hours of the night so you will arrive at about 2 to 3 in the morning. Where you can relax before seeing the sunrise. Sellers of food and drinks at the area's sea of sand is usually open before 3 am, so you can get ready to make the climb over the top rung of the famous Bromo. Enjoy the view between the hours of 8-9 am and you can back up your departure city around 12 noon. For the record, if you're traveling in the area amid a sea of sand into the night, as a guide to the parking area around the temple you can see the stakes of the concrete that had been given as a pointer to the temple area. If you get lost do not panic and continue the journey (especially amid thick fog), just wait because it usually starts at 2 to 3 mornings a rental rider crossed the sea of sand area. .

history jogja

HISTORY JOGJA

Under the shadow of 2914-meter-high mountain, called Mount Merapi, standing Ngayogyakarto Sultanate, one of the Mataram kingdom in Java.Now known as Yogyakarta (Jogja) began in 1755, when the territory was divided into the kingdom of Mataram Sultanate of Yogyakarta and Surakarta (Solo)