Balinese changing colors for religious ceremonies

Balinese changing colors for religious ceremonies

By Garrett Kam

DENPASAR, Bali (JP): There was a time not all that long ago
that the Balinese dressed for ceremonies in all the colors of the
rainbow.

Temple festivals were a feast for the eyes with brilliant
reds, deep purples, iridescent blues, bright pinks and deep
greens. Even cremations, while not sorrowful events in
themselves, saw splashes of color that enhanced the rambunctious
atmosphere.

But in the last five to 10 years something strange has
happened. Now temple ceremonies appear to be void of color. In
the past, it was easy to spot a religious leader among the crowds
of worshipers, for they were the only ones allowed to wear white,
a symbol of the spiritually pure.

But today it is a different matter. Now, the boys and men wear
long-sleeved white shirts -- almost like jackets -- made of thick
polyester material totally unsuitable for the warm tropical
climate, white headcloths and cheap yellow material for outer
hipcloths.

The understanding is that people going to a temple should be
in a pure state of mind and should therefore wear colors which
represent purity, white and yellow. What this means to the
spiritual leaders does not seem to matter anymore.

There is a double standard, however, as women continue to wear
their usual bright colors. After all, they are the ones who
prepare the offerings at home, which is part of the process of
religious devotion that starts before going to the temple. Credit
must be given to the independence of Balinese women.
Unfortunately, the growing trend now is for women to wear yellow
blouses.

In traditional religious symbolism, the white and yolk of an
egg symbolized male and female respectively but the Balinese have
carried this further into gender specific color codes for temple
wear. Almost anyone -- except for a few more exceptional or even
eccentric persons -- who goes against the new standard is frowned
upon and made to feel out of place at a ceremony or temple. Some
people have been forbidden entry to certain temples for
ceremonies because of the color of their clothes.

While traditional Balinese culture does not encourage
individualism, this dress code seems to be carrying the idea too
far. Group pressure and conformity has a lot to do with this kind
of mentality. The white and yellow temple outfits are meant to
discourage displays of wealth by those who can afford expensive
brocades and silks. Everyone should be the same in front of God,
the reasoning goes. While this may be visually true, deep-rooted
ideas and behavior regarding caste distinctions and the use of
language are evident everywhere and being reinforced at the same
time.

Democracy

But surely there are better ways to make everyone equal and
democratic. Changing clothing rules is merely superficial and
does not really accomplish anything except make people spend more
money on extra outfits. A person's attitude and feelings when
going to a religious ceremony certainly are much more important.
After all, isn't the internal self, the soul, more important than
external appearances, the body? Isn't that what spirituality is
all about?

Even at non-religious events, such as a temporary village
restaurant (usually called a bazaar or bar), art opening or
village competition, the same rules of temple clothing apply. As
appropriate with the role of the participants, their temple
outfits begin to take on the character of waiters' or waitresses'
uniforms or even costumes. And what deity is being worshiped in
these cases? The god of money? The goddess of food and drink? How
does the new white and yellow religious combination apply to
secular functions?

In Hindu and Buddhist countries in Asia, white is the
traditional color of death, because with the end of life comes
the release of the soul from the physical world and its eventual
reincarnation. Thus, white is not really a color of mourning, but
a color of purity.

In Balinese religious symbolism, white is the color of Iswara,
Lord of the Universe, and synonymous with Siwa, Hindu God of
Death and Reincarnation. Yellow is the color of Mahadewa, Great
Deity of the West where the sun sets in the direction of the
netherworld. When holy people are cremated in Bali, their towers
and sarcophagi are white and yellow, and those attending the
funeral rites are similarly dressed.

But now it has become fashionable to wear, of all colors,
black. This represents a break from Hindu-Buddhist tradition, for
black is the color of mourning in Judaism and Christianity. Does
this represent a "globalization" of Bali's religion, a term so
commonly used as an excuse for becoming modernized these days?

Traditionally, death is not a time to mourn among the
Balinese, unless the loss of life is early or unexpected. Looking
at traditional symbolism, black is the color of Wisnu, god of
water, life and preservation.

If black is worn at cremations, then why are the towers and
sarcophagi -- except for black cattle -- still made in every hue
possible? By following the present logic applied to clothing,
everything also should be black. The colorful cremations would be
a thing of the past. Clearly the Balinese have not thought about
this and perhaps care not to. But it's further evidence of the
power of fashion and decision makers at the top.

Complication

An interesting complication occurs with the color red, which
is associated with Brahma, the Immense God of Creation whose
element is fire. He is the patron god of the pande or
metalsmiths, for fire is necessary in order to work metals and
crate items of utilitarian (knives, pots, tools, ploughshares,
coins), musical (gamelan instruments) and aesthetic (jewelry,
statues) value.

In the past, metalsmiths proudly wore red headcloths and red
outer hipcloths to temple ceremonies. This identified them as
members of a group with superior and even mystical knowledge, for
working with metals was a secret and powerful skill. Indeed, the
word pande carries over into the modern Indonesian word pandai,
meaning clever, skilled and intelligent.

With the changing colors of today, even the metalsmiths have
bowed to conformity, especially in an election year when
political party colors take on entirely new meanings even in
religious settings.

There is great reluctance to be publicly identified with
another political persuasion, even if that is a person's actual
following. In an attempt to solve this problem and reinforce clan
descent and traditional religious symbolism, some metalsmiths
have taken to wearing pink. This is an interesting solution to
the problem, literally "watered down" or "faded" as it might be.
However, the color pink is associated with another deity, the
Great Lord Maheswara.

And what about green? The symbolic aside, there are no "green
parties" in Bali, and certainly the environmental movement has
yet to establish a strong enough presence on the island with all
its apparent greenery masking serious ecological problems. Green
so far appears to be a rather neutral color in current Balinese
fashion trends. The same thing applies to blue, orange and any
other hue, at least for now.

To get away from any public political associations, some
people have turned to white as an "empty" caller. And with that,
the color changes have come full circle. Or have they become so
totally transformed that traditional meanings are confused at
best, or lost at worst?