On the beautiful island of Bali, the fragrance of incense is a near-constant companion. You might wonder, Why do they burn incense in Bali? Let’s explore this unique facet of the Balinese everyday life.
Understanding Canang Sari
Canang Sari, the daily offering by Balinese people, is a symbolic fusion of colorful flowers, palm leaves, and food items. Each Canang Sari features an intricate layout of flower petals, often including frangipani flower and vivid yellow flowers. Moreover, the delicate aroma from the burning incense sticks provides a unique sensory dimension to this daily ritual of the Balinese people.
On the whole, Canang Sari forms an integral part of the Balinese offerings. Crafting these offerings is almost a ritual in itself, with Balinese women joining hands to delicately place each element, including the incense sticks and colorful flowers, in the Canang Sari.
There’s a beautiful word in Balinese culture that, when roughly translated, describes Canang Sari rather appropriately. That word is “self sacrifice.” After all, creating offerings requires time, effort, a little prayer, and self-sacrifice in offering to the gods.
The Significance of Burning Incense
In Balinese Hinduism, burning incense carries divine importance. Every incense stick burnt, every prayer spoken, every Canang Sari created bears significance in expressing everlasting gratitude to the gods. Moreover, the act of burning incense also aims to maintain balance in this world. It’s a stark contrast to our fast-paced life, makes us pause, allows us to tap into our essence, and experience inner peace.
Burning incense stick, wherein the incense rises up to meet the heavens, acts as a symbolic fusion of the world and the cosmos. It’s a little act of creation performed daily by the Balinese as an expression of devotion to the gods.
Beyond the Incense
While incense and offerings form a tangible aspect of the Balinese culture, there’s much more to it when you look beyond. It’s also about feeding stray dogs, looking after other animals, and showing kindness. In the village markets, specialized vendors sell coconut leaf and palm leaves for Canang Sari, exuding an air of peace and devotion.
Furthermore, you’ll notice more women in the local markets. Society has divided the task of creating offerings mostly among women. They bind the palm leaves, place the colorful flowers and food items, and finally perform the ritual with the family. It’s a dance of love, duty, and devotion that fills the island with divine essence.
Bali: An Island of Offering
The rituals in Bali are a testament to the Balinese people’s philosophy of maintaining balance. It is a world where village and temple rituals harmoniously co-exist with the hustle and bustle of the local markets.
Rituals in Bali go beyond incense burning; they vary from simple home offerings to elaborately planned temple ceremonies. So, the next time you visit Bali, make sure to not miss out on these experiences. Take a moment to truly embrace Balinese Hinduism’s rituals and offerings in their full essence, marked by self-sacrifice, gratitude, and deep harmony. After all, Bali breathes on these little prayers, and it’s the strength of its wonderful people offering to the gods daily that make the island what it truly is – a paradise on Earth.
After diving into these stories, you might not just wonder, “why do they burn incense in Bali?” You’ll have a little piece of Bali living in your heart, reminding you of its vibrant flowers, sweet smell of incense, ever-smiling people, and the constant whisper of the coconut leaves in the island air.
The Essence of the Four Elements in Bali Offerings
The daily offerings in Bali, particularly Canang Sari, do more than appease the gods. They represent a symbolic fusion of the four elements: earth, water, fire, and air. Each substance placed on the Canang Sari tray connects to these elements, the balance between which is crucial in Balinese Hinduism.
Flowers, food items, and palm leaves forming the Canang Sari embody the ‘earth’ element. Fragrant flower petals and colorful flowers are central to Balinese offerings as a symbol of beauty and natural abundance. Among these, white petals denote east and purify the mind or soul, red petals represent south and symbolize the physical body, while yellow flowers denote west and represent intellect and wisdom.
‘Burning incense’ represents ‘fire’, indicating the energy that sustains life. The ‘water’ element symbolises the blood of life, showcased in the ritual via holy water. Balinese women sprinkle holy water during prayer, signifying purification and the flow of life. ‘Air’ is depicted via the offering’s essence, representing freedom, movement, and the eternal link connecting humans, gods, and the natural world.
The ritual ends with a prayer spoken in whispers. The aim is harmonious self-sacrifice to the gods, quite a stark contrast to more familiar religious expressions. In essence, each Balinese offering is a poem of humble gratitude spoken via items of the earth, flame of the incense, holy water, and a prayer flying free as air.
The Fragrance of Incense: Trade and Local Markets
A visit to the local markets of Bali is an assault on the senses. These markets bloom with a myriad of colors from the flowers and an array of smells from the burning incense. Specialized vendors showcase a vast collection of incense sticks and other offerings, and the sight of Balinese women buying ingredients for offerings is a routine image.
The business of incense, palm leaves, and other religious items contribute substantially to the economy. You’ll find the vibrant local markets filled with vendors selling palm leaves, frangipani flowers, incense, and other offering-related things. From crafting the incense sticks to selling them at stalls and finally burning them in offerings, incense is closely tied to the economic fabric of the island.
Apart from incense, flowers, especially colorful ones like the stunning red and yellow flowers of the jepun (frangipani), are ubiquitous at these markets. The scattered flower petals across the market’s floor represent mere remnants of the morning’s hustle and bustle.
Feeding Stray Dogs: The Essence of Kindness in Bali Culture
Interestingly, the daily ritual in Bali isn’t just about making offerings to the gods; it’s also about feeding stray dogs. It might seem strange at first, but the act itself embodies the deep essence of Balinese culture: respect and responsibility for every living creature.
In the process of maintaining a balance in nature, Balinese people are often seen feeding stray dogs after their daily ritual of making offerings. Among the food items used in Canang Sari, a portion is always shared with stray dogs, emphasizing the interconnected nature of life and the responsibility that humans bear to care for it.
It’s not just limited to stray dogs; other animals too are beneficiaries of this kind act. Hence, the act of feeding stray dogs becomes, in a way, another kind of offering; an offering of kindness to the world around us.
Richness of Traditions: Balinese Women and Offerings
Bearing the mantle of tradition, Balinese women carry the responsibility of maintaining balance by crafting the daily offerings. In local markets, as women shop for palm leaves, incense, fruits, and flowers, they chit-chat, a subtle orchestra in the rhythm of daily life in Bali. It indeed is a simple yet poignant spectacle that mirrors the devotion of the Balinese people, specifically the women.
Final Reflections: The Magic of Bali
In exploring the question, “Why do they burn incense in Bali?” we find ourselves journeying through the cultural bedrock of the island. The answer is multifaceted, layered with religion, ritual, symbolism, and an enduring spirit of communal harmony.
Visit Bali, immerse yourself in the scents and sounds—from the whiff of burning incense and colorful flowers in the market to the sight of fruits and foods meticulously placed on Canang Sari, everything adds up to a beautiful experience.
From the early morning when the first light bathes the temple shrines till the last burning incense stick is extinguished, the island of Bali pulses to the rhythm of offerings and prayers. And in this divine rhythm, the line between the physical world and the ethereal gods wonderfully blurs, revealing an island that is a world infused with religious devotion, a world that is always in the act of offering…
