For the past few days we have been in the Karangasem regency in Bali about a 1.5 hour drive from Denpasar. We are currently in a homestay in Sidemen surrounded by gorgeous views of rice paddies and a nearby river. Karangasem is beautiful and is very lush and green, more greeney than this city kid has ever seen. Karangasem is also drastically different then the crowded streets of Bandung in which we first started our work in Indonesia. The population in Karangasem is approximately less than 500,000 according to the reseller we are working with here. The regency for the most part is divided into villages and there are hundreds of villages. Each village has its own leadership and village center. The village center is the administrative hub of the village and also close to the nearby schools and banks. The villages for the most part are rather empty with only a few shops and warungs (restaurants) on the street corners. Village life is very communal and cooperative. Coming from the west, it is always strange for me to see people working together cooperatively, as horrible as that may sound. The homes we visit as well are also very communal in nature. It is common to see shared showers and living spaces. Typically a housing complex has about 2 to 4 homes with a temple in the center. Nearly every single home has a temple. Even some of the lower income homes we saw had some variation of a temple in their home.
Which brings me to my next point about religious life in Bali. Religious life has probably been the most interesting aspect of life to observe during our time in Bali so far. In Java, it was common to hear the adhan during the five daily prayers or see women in hijab. Although Islam is a very dominant part of life in Java, I do not think it played a huge significance in Javanese culture in the way that Hindusim does for Balinese culture. In Bali, Hinduism is very ingrained into culture and everyday life. Nearly 90% of the population in Bali identifies as Hindu according to national data. However, only 3% of the total Indonesian population practices Hinduism, making Bali really unique.
During our first day in Karangasem, we went to the village of the reseller in which we are working with for the week in Kebung. The village itself was virtually shut down because there was a religious ceremony going on which only occurs every 100 years. We attended the temple for the ceremony and it was definitely an interesting experience. I must admit, I initially felt very uncomfortable, being in a Hindu temple during the start of Ramadan, participating in a ceremony in which I did not believe. I also felt a little awkward participating in the ceremony because I felt like I was intruding on something that was sacred to someone but had no significance to me. Eventually, however, my awkwardness and hesitation cooled off and I was able to take in the ambiance. I decided to not take any photos because I thought that would be pretty invasive. At the ceremony, everyone was wearing white and traditional temple sarongs. I clearly didn’t get the memo and although I was able to borrow a temple sarong to wear around my waist my light blue shirt stuck out like a sore thumb. Throughout the temple, there were shrines and animal and plant sacrifices. There was also music and dancing from the Hindu holy book.
From talking to people, I learned that people spend a lot of their income for religious obligations. The reseller we are working with said he spent approximately 1.5 million rupiah this month on the preparations for the ceremony. Preparing the sacrifices also has a financial and time burden which I found interesting to observe. During our week here, I have seen people participating in wedding ceremonies, cremation ceremonies, and temple ceremonies almost daily. Prior to coming to Bali, I did not know anything about Balinese Hinduism and only had a vague understanding of Hinduism, in general. From being here for week, I can gather that Hinduism is a very important part of life, culture, family, relationships, and business for Balinese people.
Today, we attended a womens group, which is called a PKK meeting for Desa Budakeling, which is a village in Karangasem. The meeting was run by the village heads wife and was attended by over 20 women. The women were very interactive and enjoyed the presentation. From talking to the resellers, apparently women are the main driving source for sales in this region because of their concern for family well-being and health. The resellers said that they actually target women’s groups as prime resources for attaining sales in villages. Tommorow, we head to Lombok with a Bali based reseller with operations there. We plan to stay in Lombok for a week before returning to Bali for another week.
In general, being in Bali was probably the first time in this trip in which I felt a complete sense of culture shock. For instance, it was weird being in a small town environment. I also felt out of my element in the Hindu temple because I knew very little about that faith. However, I think this type of culture shock is necessary to learning and is a humbling experience and I welcome the opportunities in which I am forced to see through a different perspective, as cliché as that may sound.
Hati Hati (Take Care), my new favorite phrase in Indonesian. It literally translates to liver, liver but also means to take care. I have seen it written all over street signs to indicate treacherous stretches of road.