I’ve had the blessing to spend the last three weeks living in Bali, Indonesia. Indonesian culture has captured my attention ever since arriving to this country a few short weeks ago so I thought I’d share some of the intriguing things I’ve learned and enjoyed the most.
If you’re unfamiliar, Indonesia is a country located in Southeast Asia right along the equator, just above Australia. It is the largest archipelagic country in the world consisting of 13,466 islands, and is the fourth most populous country in the world. Indonesians speak over 725 languages and have 24 dialects. Thankfully though, many people speak English due to the many tourists and large Australian expat population.
Bali is just one island in Indonesia, also known as the “Island of the Gods”. The culture here is completely unique and extremely intriguing. While Indonesia as a whole is the most populous Muslim country in the world, the majority of Balinese people are Hindu. The culture is based around these Hindu beliefs, customs, and practices. In the Balinese Hindu religion, there are thousands of gods. Their worship incorporates ancestor worship and the view that objects, places and creatures possess spiritual qualities. Shrines are created for the different gods to appease them.
It’s quite interesting because while most locals understand that they are Hindu, they refer to their religion as Balinese. Many don’t understand why they perform many of their customs and rituals, but do it primarily because it’s tradition and what they’ve been taught. One of the most interesting rituals we learned about was the teeth filing ceremony. When a child turns 16 years old, they must have their teeth filed by the priest. No anesthesia or anything! It is thought that the teeth are a sixth sense and filing it makes them pure. OUCH!
Walking down any given street, you can see at least five Hindu temples and step over hundreds of small offerings. These offering baskets are placed on streets, homes, cars, and businesses multiple times a day to appease and please the various gods and demons of Balinese Hinduism. They almost always consist of flowers, rice, incense, and personal offerings such as cigarettes and crackers. Balinese women spend hours every day hand making these offerings and dispersing them around their homes and businesses. Most people give these offerings three times a day, once in the morning, mid-afternoon, and at night. The creation of these offerings is seen as a self-sacrifice and is both a gift of gratitude to the maker and a request to the bad spirits to not disturb the living. Once the incense is burned, the offering becomes earthly rubbish and snacks for monkeys and street dogs.
Balinese people generally live on housing compounds that are passed down through the generations. Each compound has a “head”, “body”, and “feet” region. The “head” is where the family temple is which faces north east, the holy direction that brings positive energy. The “body” is comprised of four buildings, one for each cardinal direction, north, south, east, and west. Each building has a specific purpose according to which direction it faces. The “feet” region houses the bathrooms and laundry facilities. Many families live multi-generationally at these large compounds.
Everything in Bali is very religion, nature, and art based. The streets are adorned with intricate, handcrafted decorations, there are fresh plants and flowers everywhere, and the smell of incense follows you wherever you go. There really is something mystical and magical about it. Bali is a unique treasure– it takes pride in it’s authentic and exotic culture, the amazing beaches, extraordinary rice paddies, and delicious local, organic food. The locals never stop smiling and are truly some of the most hardworking, hospitable people I’ve ever seen.
Some other fun facts about Bali:
- The Indonesian currency is the Rupiah and $1 USD = 13,333 Rupiah
- A warung is a small Indonesian restaurant
- The white cow is extremely holy in Balinese culture so beef is rarely served at restaurants
- Traditional woman Balinese dress is a lace top with t-shirt sleeves, a mid-calf length sarong and a belt wrap around the waist. During special events at the temple everyone dresses in white and yellow.
- People sell petrol on the side of the road in Absolut vodka bottles to avoid going to the gas station
- Nasi Goreng is a traditional Indonesian dish consisting of fried rice with vegetables and meat and a fried egg on top
- You don’t tip at restaurants but a tax and service charge for restaurants is always added on and is usually 20%
- Motorbikes are everywhere—whole families of five ride on them!!
- There are only four names given to Balinese children, both boys and girls, that mean what order birth, so everyone basically has the same name
- “Suk suma” means thank you in Balinese
I hope you learned a lot about Balinese culture and enjoyed it in the process! Sending lots of love from Bali.
