Galungan, a time of blessings and festivity in Bali

By I Wayan Juniartha

DENPASAR, Bali (JP): For many people, Galungan is considered as the biggest religious festival in Bali. Yet for some, it holds more significance than that.

The festival of Galungan, which fell on Wednesday Sept. 26, is a six-monthly religious event during which the Balinese Hindus celebrate the victory of righteousness, or dharma, over unrighteousness and evil, or adharma.

During the festival, people prepare delectable dishes for their fellow human beings and elaborate offerings for the gods, goddesses and other benevolent deities.

Penjor, a tall bamboo pole decorated with young palm leaves, fruit, cakes, and rice, is erected in front of each home as a sign of thanksgiving, of respect toward nature and moreover as a symbol of victory.

The pole is erected on the day of Penampahan, exactly one day before Galungan. Penampahan means sacrifice and indeed on that day the Balinese Hindus sacrifice various animals, mostly pigs and chickens, both for meals and offerings. It is also the day when the Balinese Hindus are supposed to sacrifice the negative aspects of their character, such as anger, hatred, jealousy and ignorance.

This pole is one of the most important elements of the Galungan celebration. In making it, a family -- the father and his sons -- experience a rare opportunity to strengthen family bonds while at the same time, making the street look more beautiful than usual. Each family tries their best to outdo its neighbor's penjor, which can be appreciated for a few days before the merciless tropical sun scorches the palm leaves' original attractive yellow-green color.

"Penjor is also becoming difficult to make, especially in a big city like Denpasar, where bamboo plants are scarce. As many people are becoming busier year by year, they cannot even find the time to make the penjor," a Denpasar resident said.

And, that is exactly why 34-year-old Ngakan Putu Jendra appeared on the scene.

Six years ago, this construction materials trader saw a business opportunity in the Galungan celebration and he quickly seized it. People needed a lot of bamboo, yet no one had addressed that need.

"I went to small villages in Kintamani and bought thousands of sticks of bamboo from the villagers and then transported them to Denpasar," he recalled.

It was a golden opportunity for Jendra. In a period of five days, he managed to sell around 4,000 bamboo poles and achieved a significant profit.

Others people saw his success and in no time at all, they started imitating Jendra's business scheme. More and more bamboo sellers emerged each year, especially when Galungan drew close.

With the market's competition became tighter, Jendra could only sell around 3,000 bamboo poles this year. At Rp 8,000 per bamboo pole, he only earned around Rp 24 million.

But, what he lost in the bamboo market he quickly made up in other businesses.

Jendra also sells fresh, young palm leaves, a small shrine made of bamboo and other decorative materials necessary for making a penjor. All are sold at prices which vary between Rp 10,000 and Rp 12,500 rupiah.

And, still, for those who are too lazy to buy the materials and assemble them into an attractive penjor, Jendra can arrange for a beautiful penjor to be custom-made for you. It can be delivered directly to your door if you wish.

"But that is not common. Most people are very happy to make their own penjor, especially since it seems that each area has a unique penjor style of its own. They only need somebody to decrease their burden by providing the raw materials," Jendra said.

Although declining to reveal his profit margin, Jendra repeatedly claimed that he only took a small amount in profit from each item sold. Jendra, with a wide grin on his face, said that it was enough to keep him, his family and his workers happy.

"Well, I don't do this just for the sake of the money, since I have already own a steady business. This penjor business, ... you get to travel to remote villages in search of fresh bamboo, meet new and interesting people in the process. Well, it's fun, it brings some kind of holiday spirit, it makes me happy," he said.

And, if you happen to be a native of Gianyar regency, Jendra will be very happy to give you a big discount on everything. He comes from Pejeng, a village in that regency.

Not just a ritual

Jendra was definitely not the only person that saw Galungan as something more than just a religious festival.

There were others that viewed it as the perfect time to indulge themselves in somewhat illicit forms of entertainment, such as gambling. From the complicated and exhausting capjiki card game to the simple domino-type card game. Or, from the hilarious fair-ball, "bola adil" to the addictive cockfighting, tajen. There is a lot of entertainment to choose from during this festive period.

"It definitely sends a mixed signal about the true meaning of Galungan, doesn't it? The victory of righteousness over evil they say; but look at all the gambling frenzy, all those people trying to outclass everybody else by wearing the most expensive dress and jewelry to the temples, all that hypocrisy," a scholar Nyoman Gede Sugiharta said.

And, there are always people like Nyoman Gede Sugiharta, who consider Galungan mostly as an inherited cultural event that needs continuous evaluation and assessment.

"The mythological story of God Indra leading heaven's troops to victory over the heretic King Mayadenawa of Bali, which is considered as the origin of the Galungan celebration, must be re- assessed," he said.

Sugiharta assumes that the mythological story is based on real events; the victory of Javanese troops, from Singasari or the Majapahit kingdom, over the native people of Bali. Perhaps that is the reason why various Bali Aga villages, populated by people who claim to be descendants of the original natives of Bali, refuse to erect penjor during Galungan to today.