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A tooth filing ceremony (mesangih or mepandes) is one of the ceremonies that a Balinese must undergo when they come of age. Depending on the finances of the family, they will take place at the onset of puberty or at the latest, when they die. To reduce costs, often families wait till enough children are old enough to have a mass ceremony, rather than having each child done individually.

The ceremony is symbolic essentially of three things: a coming of age, a transition from animal to human represented by the filing of the sharp canines, and the control of the six human evils: desire (kama), greed (lobha), anger (krodha), intoxication or being under the influence of strong emotion (mada), confusion (moha), and jealousy (matsarya).

It is a joyous affair with a lot of colourful offerings and gentle music. The music is played on two gender wayang instruments, particularly suited because of their calming sound and soothing scale. Those present will be family members and invited guests. The people who have their teeth filed are often dressed in fairly ornamental garb with the women donning gold-gilded headdresses.

It takes about ten minutes for each participant to have their teeth filed by the lay priest and is said to be fairly painless. They do however use cloves to numb the mouth slightly. Those not wishing to have their teeth actually physically filed for cosmetic or health reasons may choose to have the ceremony performed only symbolically.

The ceremony, in typically Balinese style, is completed by a buffet of spicy food, sliced fruit and strong coffee or sweet tea.

I've heard that Balinese Hindus always sleep with their heads facing north, why is this?

Balinese have a different view of the world and the cosmos than other races do and this influences even the way they sleep. Hindus here believe that people should sleep according the magnetic alignment of the Earth, meaning that our heads should face north and our feet south. In a Balinese worldview it is not as simple as this however. For a Balinese, north is also called mountain-wards or kaja and local people align themselves with the highest mountain in Bali, sacred Mt. Agung (Agung meaning large) located in the Karangasem regency.

As you may have noticed, Mt. Agung is not always northwards for local people, especially those who live in Singaraja, meaning that in fact kaja is reversed in north Bali. It could be assumed then that traditionally Balinese had no word for north until they adopted the Indonesian word, utara.
For a Balinese, there are only two rational possibilities for sleeping positions: kaja or kangin (east). East is also a safe one because it is in the direction of the rising sun, a major source of energy for life. In fact, Balinese believe that if you choose to sleep in any other direction, i.e. seawards (kelod) or in the direction of the sun setting (kauh), you will be a bearer of ill fortune. If you face your head west you will have no love in your life and everyone will hate you;

I'm going to a Balinese ceremony, what do I have to wear?

This really depends on what kind of ceremony you're going to. These days Balinese ceremonial dress varies according to the type of ceremony it is. There are four main ones: temple ceremonies (odalan), cremations (ngaben/pelebon), weddings (pawiwahan) and tooth filings (metatah/mepandes/mesangih). The costume is essentially the same but differs in terms of colour and formality, however this may depend on the person.

For a man this will be a head-cloth (udeng), a shirt with a collar or a safari jacket (kuaca), an inner sarong (kamben), an outer sarong (saput), a sash (selempot) and a pair of sandals (sandal).

The women normally wears a hair-extension (sanggul), a lace top (kebaya), underclothing or a corset (kutang), a sarong (kamben), a sash (selempot), and a pair of sandals. The hair extension is optional here.

First the temple ceremony- these days, white is the norm and your safest bet for most parts of the clothing, especially for the man's head-cloth. Over the years, a yellow outer sarong has become sort of standard for men. The sarong may be any colour you wish. The same goes for the women. Best not to wear black.

For cremations, black or other dark colours are the norm for most parts of the attire. However, this depends on who is getting cremated at higher caste cremations (pelebon) may require one to wear white.

At tooth filings and weddings you don't have to worry too much about colour. If so inclined, you can express yourself with different types of material (songket) and accessories, such as handbags and flashy jewelry.

These days, ceremonial dress in Bali is very much affected by local and international trends but basically as an outsider it's probably wiser to dress up rather than dress down.

I want to visit a temple - any cultural tips?

There are a number of guidelines to follow when you enter a Hindu temple in Bali.
The first one is that you must be appropriately dressed. In the most basic form, this means that you should wear a sarong, a sash around your waist and a shirt that covers your shoulders. Preferably you should try to avoid letting what you're wearing underneath show, i.e. your trouser legs poking out from the bottom of your sarong. The man should wear a head-cloth called an udeng. Oh and don't forget - please sandals, not shoes. It's best to ask a local Balinese to dress you up in temple gear or simply buy some at a local market or store (great souvenir). If there is no ceremony on, the above will suffice; otherwise it's best to wear the complete costume.

A woman should be aware that if she is menstruating she is forbidden to enter the temple according to Balinese custom. If you have an option, best towait till another day. If there is a ceremony on, be aware that there are designated entry and exit points - the gate with the ngeranjing sign means enter and the one with medal means exit. If the worshippers are queuing up to pray, let them go in first.

When you walk in, take note of people praying and be sure not too walk too close to them (if possible) or in front of them. Be aware that silence is optimal for prayer and try not to talk loudly when people are worshipping. It's usually all right to take photos in the temples but not with a flash and not in front of people praying. Perhaps flash photography is ok when people are not praying but don't take flash photos of priests performing rituals. Don't be disappointed if photos of sacred objects don't come out Bali is full of mystery!

What are Wayang Kulit?

Wayang kulit are two dimensional stick puppets made from leather with movable arms and sometimes jaws and legs. Wayang on its own simply means puppet and kulit means leather, which is what they're made of. The leather is intricately carved so that light can pass through it, throwing a flickering shadow onto a white cloth screen light by an oil lamp at night performances.

A banana tree trunk serves as the base of the stage and the puppets are stuck into this when they are not walking, running, fighting or flying. The puppeteer keeps his puppets in a large wooden box (keropak), which is also used in a percussive manner by tapping on it with a wooden knocker held in his hand or toes.

Night performances are known as wayang peteng and usually the Mahabharata or Ramayana stories are told. Some puppeteers are also adept at telling local legends such as Calon Arang or Cupak.

Puppet shows called wayang lemah/gedog are often held during daylight hours for ceremonial purposes. It is not dark enough to cast a shadow on a screen, so a thick cotton thread is employed instead; the puppets are leant up against this. As this performance is primarily entertainment for the gods and the language used is very philosophical and often drowned out by other ceremonial activity, the audience is small and usually draws the attention of only young children or elderly men.

Performances are accompanied by a gamelan orchestra. Traditionally, this was a either a duet or quartet of 10-keyed gender, known as gender wayang. This was augmented for Ramayana, Calon Arang and Cupak performances with drums, flutes, cymbals, kettle gongs and a medium sized gong called bebatelan.

Over the last ten years, puppeteers have started using larger gamelan orchestras with different tunings, such as gong kebyar, seven-tone semara pagulingan, semarandana, angklung, joged bumbung and even the sacred iron selunding.

Bemos are a Tourist-go-Local Guide

Most visitors to Bali have had at least one experience (either out of necessity or sheer curiousity) of traveling in a bemo.

What are they?

Basically, it's a wee van that seats between 8 (in theory) and 18 people (in practice!) and has a hold cut in the side of it where you get in. They come in a variety of colours. There is one driver and on the bigger bemos (there are two sizes) a ticket collector who kind of hangs out the door waving down potential commuters.

Where and at what time can I catch a bemo?

Bemos follow routes around most villages and all cities and have designated terminals and waiting points. Some of the more well known ones are in Batubulan, Kereneng and Tegal in Denpasar, and at Bemo Corner in Kuta. Depending on the area, bemos will run from as early as 5am through till around 7pm.

Do bemos have designated stops?

No, you just call out Stop Pak! when you want to get off and then pay at the end. If you don't know where you're going, you can ask the driver first if his route goes that way and to tell you when you get there.

How do I catch one and how much do I pay?

If they don't honk for you first, just wave one down as it passes. Payment is a tricky one because even the locals get charged different prices according to their age, bemo experience and disposition. One thing is certain there is a tourist price and it's hard to battle for a local one. If it's still within one region, say Sanur, locals only pay a thousand rupiah. Have the correct money ready and say 'terima kasih' as you hop out and pop it in his hand.

Selamat jalan!

A banjar is a community centre for a designated number of families. Anything from 20 to 500 families, known as KK (Kepala Keluarga) may make up a banjar community. The banjar is concerned with village affairs and operates beneath a larger social structure called the kelurahan which is a division of the desa (village).

All married men in the local area are expected to become a member of the banjar and participate in all of its activities, including meetings held in the first week of every Balinese month.

The banjar will invariably have a committee made up of a head, known as klian, a secretary (sekretaris), treasurer (bendahara), and messengers known as kesinoman. Kesinoman perform the important role of relaying pertinent information to an assigned number of KK.

Anyone from any religion or belief is welcome to join the local banjar but one may be put on a waiting list and in some cases charged a joining fee. Once you are a member of a banjar, your life automatically becomes busied by all the religious ceremonies and community events the banjar is involved in. For this reason, most banjar members are Balinese Hindus.

Women and children are also banjar members and have their own committees which address particular issues. The women's group traditionally focuses on matters such as offering making, birth control and child raising, while the youth group may have its own gamelan and dance troupe and hold events such as bazaars to earn money for the banjar.

A banjar has its own buildings for meetings and events. They normally include a main pavilion for performances, a watchtower, a kitchen, a gamelan and costume room, and a small temple. On the top of the watchtower a huge slit drum called a kulkul is hung and used to call the community to the banjar and relay other information.

More next issue on the activities and responsibilities of the banjar.

What are the activities and responsibilities of the banjar?

The activities and responsibilities of the banjar are guided by the village authority, one level above this powerful community unit. Depending on how active the banjar committee is, they will be intimately involved with most local activities. For an activity to be discussed, the banjar will hold a meeting, attended by all the married men. Only then can the activity make any headway.

Examples of activities may be fundraising for the youth group, renovating the banjar buildings, or purchasing a gamelan set. The activity may be a cultural or sporting event such as a dance performance or a martial art contest. It could simply be the anniversary of the banjar, an event that all members are expected to attend.

Most activities will be carried out together, working in a system known as gotong royong, where there are more hands available than needed and everyone has an equal opportunity to help. The important thing is that each member is seen by the banjar committee, as absentees are noted and may be heavily fined.

An important banjar activity is participation in religious ceremonies such as temple ceremonies, weddings and cremations. The latter, in particular, would be difficult for a grieving family to handle without the help of the banjar.

Being involved in so many activities, the banjar takes on great responsibilities for its members. It is expected, among other things, to keep the area clean and disease free, as well as handle environmental and social problems. Banjar committees often address problems such as conflict, social unrest and household disputes. The division responsible has an abbreviated name: The Siskamling, Hansip or Pecalang address local safety issues, some which are permanent and others which are specific to an event, for example: Nyepi. Whilst, the Posyandu takes care of infant health, from weighing babies to immunization, similar to Plunket in some western countries.

What are Ogoh-ogoh and what are they for?

Several months before Balinese New Year (Nyepi), the banjar youth group get together and plan the construction of ogoh-ogoh. Ogoh-ogoh are giant dolls made from bamboo frames which are intricately weaved and tied and then covered with papier mache. They are made in the form of creatures of the underworld known in Balinese as buta-kala. The creatures are based on characters taken from traditional myths and legends, however in modern times many also take the form of modern characters, including even people in the media or in the government.

For young Balinese, making ogoh-ogoh is a challenging but exciting art form and one month before Nyepi, most banjars are bubbling with ogoh-ogoh fever. It's no mean feat to make a papier mache doll many metres high. Just getting it to stand up is a task, let alone making it lifelike.

Ogoh-ogoh are paraded around the streets on the eve of Nyepi, known as Hari Pengerupukan. Most main roads are closed off and thousands of people gather to watch the parade. It may take up to 30 people to carry a large ogoh-ogoh and each banjar includes a team of musicians playing gamelan and sometimes male and female dancers. Traditionally, however, it was just the ogoh-ogoh which were paraded in the streets on the eve of Nyepi. These days, however, this night has become an excuse for an ogoh-ogoh festival which is judged and the winning team rewarded with a large prize.

The gamelan ensemble used to accompany the ogoh-ogoh is called baleganjur which is made up of up to 15 musicians playing gongs, cymbals and drums. The louder the music the better, as their function is to scare off any demons before Nyepi, the day of silence. After being paraded till midnight, the giant dolls are ceremoniously burnt to represent the destruction of the demons on Earth.

What is Joged?

Joged is a secular social dance which originated from an ancient dance called gandrung. Whilst gandrung was performed exclusively by a young solo male dancer, joged is danced by young women. Joged dancers may wear two different types of costumes, including a simple lace kebaya blouse and a kamen (sarong) or gold gilded material wrapped around their bodies. The headdress is in the legong style, covered in flowers and gold paint. A dancer carries a fan and a sash which is used to wrap a dancer from the audience.

Joged bumbung or pejogedan is the name of the gamelan used to accompany joged. It is made up of 2-8 bamboo instruments known as rindik, grantang or tingklik which play the melody; a horizontal gong called a gong pulu; small cymbals; two pot gongs to keep the time; a small flute which enriches the melody of the rindik at a higher octave; and a kendang drum. The kendang plays a fundamental role in the dance, interacting with the dancers and emphasizing their movements. A good kendang player will be able to react spontaneously to any improvised dance moves.

The movements of joged are simple and slightly evocative, in the effort to encourage members of the audience to join in and out-dance her. Slightly evocative may be an understatement in some villages where sexy female dancers gyrate their hips and bottoms la dangdut dancers. This style is extremely popular amongst young Balinese men, but it has been heavily criticized by conservatives who dismiss it as pornography.

You can see performances of joged at parties, receptions, at arts festivals and many other venues. Some of the participants from the audience are great dancers, but not all, and itâ€™s wonderful to watch the different improvised styles. If you get the chance, check out a joged performance, but don€™t stand back and pretend to be shy - get up on the stage and give it go!

What is a tooth filing ceremony?