Balinese Wisdom

I was in Bali last weekend. All the streets were lined with decorative bamboos "penjor" with offering baskets suspended at the end. From 1 Nov for 10 days the Balinese celebrate Galungan,  a festival about "togetherness". Apparently every family hangs one bamboo. Where the offerings are more and heavier the bamboo droops lower forming an arc over the street. The driver told us it is a reminder to the people that the more you have the humbler you should be. You can see the locals all dressed in ceremonial dresses with baskets of food and flowers atop their head walking to the temple. The women usually wear white or yellow kebayas and the men are mostly in white tops.

During Galungan the creator of the universe and the spirits of the ancestors are honoured. Families come together to share food and immerse in the festive spirit.

Occasionally along the streets you come across a small group of teenagers doing a dance with a mythical animal head accompanied by the sound of gongs and other musical instruments. The driver told us it is known as the Barong dance where the mythical beast is invited into the villagers' home to restore the balance of good and evil. The Balinese believe there is good and evil in all things and it is mankind's duty to keep the two forces in balance. The concept is that evil can not be defeated but can be brought under control. The Barong ceremony aims to achieve the delicate balance between these universal forces.

I find this very interesting. Instead of just purging out or blocking out evil the Hindu Balinese recognise it and believe the best way to deal with it is to have it controlled to derive a balance or equilibrium. Immediately I think of Carl Jung 's concept of accepting the 'shadow' in ourselves. Jungians advocate that "shadow integration" has to continue to take place throughout our lives. "Coming to terms with the shadow and constructively accepting and assimilating it into the conscious personality is central to the process of Jungian analysis".

I always feel that Bali has an air of indigenous wisdom and it is once again manifested during this trip.