Balinese celebrate peaceful Galungan

Balinese celebrate peaceful Galungan

I Wayan Juniartha, The Jakarta Post, Denpasar

The Hindu Balinese turned the resort island into a gigantic
shrine of devotion on Wednesday, with colorful offerings and
solemn rituals performed simultaneously at thousands of temples
in a festival to mark the victory of good over evil.

The Galungan religious celebration came just four days after
terrorists bombed Bali for a second time in a tragedy that gave
this year's annual event a tone of somberness.

"This year's Galungan is quieter than the last one we had," a
canang (offering) seller Ni Wayan Suci said.

Suci, a 38-year old mother of three, sold canang, a simple
offering comprising flowers and shredded leaves arranged on a
palm-size rectangular structure made of young coconut leaves, a
few meters from the main gate of Denpasar's main temple,
Jagatnatha.

"Last year I could sell 150 canang on Galungan day. Today, I
brought only 100 canang and, as you can see, there are still many
left unsold," she said.

Hindu devotees began pouring into the temple early in the
morning. Dressed in traditional costumes, they gathered at the
temple's main yard before praying together toward a towering
Padmasana shrine that bore the golden Acintya, the mysterious,
incomprehensible aspect of the Almighty.

A similar ritual and joint prayers took place throughout the
island. Balinese congregated and prayed at family temples before
carrying the fruit and cake offerings to the major temples of
their villages.

Balinese also made offerings at numerous shrines at the
roadside, riverside and beachside to honor the deities and other
supernatural beings there.

Denpasar looked like a deserted city, with most of the Hindu
population spending the religious holiday in their native
villages.

"Let's hope that the chance to share intimate moments with
relatives and close friends that Galungan has provided would
enable the Balinese Hindus to view and treat the recent tragedy
in a much calmer and more peaceful way," cultural observer Sugi
Lanus Kaleran said.

A similar sentiment was shared by Ni Wayan Suci.

"All I want is safety. Without security stability it will be
impossible for us, the poor people, to pursue our livelihood,"
she said.

Suci said that although she was saddened by the tragedy, she
bore no hatred toward Javanese Muslims. The 2002 Bali bombings
were all perpetrated by Javanese Muslims.

Mardi, a vendor of traditional sweet beverage Dawet, smiled in
agreement. On the mildly hot Galungan day, the 34-year old native
of Banjarnegara, Central Java, had parked his Dawet wheeled cart
a few meters from Suci.

"Of course I am a bit worried about a possible retaliation by
Balinese against Javanese Muslims. But I have no choice but to
stay put here in Bali, my job here is to feed my family in Java,"
he said.

"So far, the Balinese have treated me well. After the
bombings, none of my customers has shown any hostility toward
me," he said.

The only trouble the Balinese gave to Mardi on that afternoon
was that they forced him to close early.

"In just two hours, the Balinese Hindu devotees had already
purchased all the Dawet I stored in this cart. Now, I have to go
home for restocking," he said with a wide smile on his face.

Mardi's statement was echoed by a 26-year old Abdul Muchid,
who sold tiny, colorful butterfly and dragonfly toys made of
chicken feathers. A native of Bojonegoro, East Java, Muchid
praised the Balinese for having a friendly attitude toward non-
Balinese.

"I am more comfortable here than in Surabaya. The Balinese
have never treated me as an outsider," he said.

He was briefly distracted by a couple of Balinese children,
who inspected the toys before running off with two brightly red
butterflies and leaving their confused mother finishing the
financial end of the transaction.

"The government should take a tougher actions against the
terrorists. It should simply kill them, one by one. By doing
that, we will eventually kill all of them and solve the terrorism
problem," he said calmly.