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?