 |
| courtesy of Google Image |
In
the Gregorian Calendar, I was born on 28th of October, but my birth
day in Balinese Calendar falls on Whraspati Kliwon Merakih. This day comes every
six months in Gregorian Calendar. Practically, we can say that I celebrate my
birthday once every six months. So, because in Balinese Calendar my birthday
comes once every six months, jokingly saying we can say that I get older every
six months! Until this year, I am 25 years old in Gregorian Calendar, meanwhile
in Balinese Calendar I am 50 years old! Unbelievable.
Balinese
Calendar is really mathematically complex calendar. It contains all possible counting.
On the counting of days, it has 10 different days’ cycles named as Wewaran that is rotating every day, from
one cycle day / eka wara, two cycle
day / dwi wara, three cycle day / tri wara, four cycle day catur wara, five cycle day / panca wara, six cycle day / sad wara, seven cycle day / sapta wara, eight cycle day / asta wara, nine cycle day / sanga wara, and ten cycle day / dasa wara. And it has weeks. This calendar
has 12 months which in every single month, there are 35 days and in 6 months
there are 30 weeks (1 week has 7 days) named as Wuku, which means there are 210 days in every 6 months or every 30
weeks. The Wukus’ names are as follows; Sinta,
Landep, Ukir, Kulantir, Tolu, Gumbreg, Wariga, Warigadean, Julungwangi, Sungsang, Dungulan, Kuningan, Langkir, Medangsia, Pujut, Pahang, Krulut, Merakih, Tambir, Medangkungan, Matal, Uye, Menail, Prangbakat, Bala, Ugu, Wayang,
Kelawu, Dukut, Watugunung. I hope
I will have a special writing about Balinese Calendar, as there are so many
amazing stories, legends, and also ceremonial events or holy days contained in
those days and weeks, as well as good days and bad days of doing activities.
Back
to my birthday in Balinese Calendar, Whraspati
is the seven cycle day / sapta wara which
is similar to Thursday, Kliwon is the
five cycle day / panca wara, and Merakih is the week / Wuku. It has been enough to mark your
birthday in the calendar – you importantly need the five and seven cycle day,
and the week. The rest are usually used to predict the characters of the baby /
child. The more I understand about the Balinese Calendar and my birthday, the
more I get stories and myths about it. Most of them are related to Niskala world / the invisible world.
I
cannot explain but to be honest I find a lot of my attention is in such ghostly
stuffs. I like listening to horror stories, things from the invisible world. Even
though I am such a craven, but I really enjoy things like that. However,
talking about the invisible world is not a mere ghostly talk. It can also be
like Gods and Goddesses, Spirits, Forces, and so on.
 |
| courtesy of Google Image |
In
Old Javanese Culture, they also have a similar calendar like our Balinese
Calendar. Maybe I should say this type of calendar existed in Java first and
then was brought to Bali by the priests and traders. However, they also have
this Wewaran things. For them, Malam Jum’at Kliwon or Thursday Night Kliwon is a sacred and mystique day,
where the underworld creatures and negative force or evilness spirit or Niskala world get in touch with the
human world. Many sightings often occur on this day. So that, most of the
people who believe in this will offer some offerings at the sacred places, so
the negative forces will not disturb their lives.
In
Bali, once I got told by somebody that those who were born on any day whose Kliwon Panca Wara tend to be liked by the negative spirits and underworld
creatures, and has a special mark(s) on their body. When I related this to me
myself, I thought that I have some similarities with that, as well as I am so
interested in anything related to spirits, Niskala
world, forces, and so on. And actually, I have been so happy mingling with
humans only, not evils. You know what I mean.
Here,
I am writing some stories and myths believed by Balinese people – as they also
still believe in animism and dynamism, together with their Hindu – Balinese.
When
I was younger, my mom invited me to go to a Balian
(Balinese Traditional Healer) to ask about life in general. This Balian was a type of a healer who could
do prediction like a fortuneteller and read your life line. My mom and I sat
behind him in his “holy room”, in front of a shrine and some statues as the
representatives of the spirits he “followed” or the ones who blessed him with the
power to heal. He started to do chanting and spell the mantra for couple
minutes. He also asked us to pray by giving us flowers. Not long later, he said
that when I was baby, I strangely kept on crying and always wanted to be
accompanied by someone or I would cry. He said that there was an invisible big
black dog that always stood next to me when I was baby, kept on watching me,
and scared me.
I
was sleeping in my mom’s womb for almost 12 months, while a normal pregnancy takes
more less 9 months. I heard from my mom that somebody jealous tried to bring
misfortune to me as a baby, even when I was not born yet. She blocked the way
out, so that I couldn’t come out normally. So then my mom needed to go to see a
Balian, a grandmother who was an
herbalist and able to give treatment to pregnant women. With her prayers and
the herbal drinks and paste, gatefully, thanks God I am here now writing this
and healthy.
I
think that big black dog was also from this jealous woman and she still tried
to track and harm me.
I
ever had a student who was a bank officer. She took an English class with me. Once
we discussed about the invisible world and she told me her story.
That
day, she was at her house praying at around 5.30 p.m., going from a shrine to
another. Her house had a back yard with bamboo plants and there was a river
passing by. This time she needed to pray at the shrine that was so close to the
river and bamboos. Balinese people get familiar with this that at Sandi Kala time; at noon 12 p.m and
evening 6 p.m., we better do not go to bamboo plants or a river. Because we
believe that at those times, the Bhuta
and Kala or “ghosts” are playing
around and go out to the human world. One myth is that if they see you, they
would invite you to their world or even forcingly kidnap you and take your soul
out to their world. Then the next day, your dead body will be found in the
bamboo plants or the river as they hide it there.
She
headed to the shrine there and prayed. Once she was done, when she would go
back to her house, she saw a guy squatting by the river bank and she approached
him. She asked him why he was there alone because it was getting dark and she
suggested him to go back home. That guy was so silent, even though she repeated
her questions for couple times. And finally he opened his mouth. He asked her
if he could have a bar of cigarette from her. She knew something wrong there
and she indeed had some cigarettes, the left-over from the offerings. She said
to him that she did not have any cigarette, but she just gave him a candy, also
the left-over from the offerings. After that, she left him alone while he was
still squatting there.
Reaching
her house, she told what just happened to her father. Her father was relieved
that she did not do something wrong. Because once you say “yes” for anything they
ask you, even though it was a bar of cigarette, it means “yes, take me” for
them, it is like an agreement if you will follow them to their world. And probably
they will marry you and live in the invisible world forever. However, not
everyone can see these creatures directly. Some people are called Melik, is a special ability when you can
see the invisible world creatures, get in touch with them, even talk to them
like you talk with your friends. Many of Balinese also can feel the presence of
these creatures or just see some shadows or fast movement of them.
 |
| a statue in a temple courtesy of Google Image |
Another
story is a God spirit story in a temple.
Not
so long ago, I was attending a ceremony in Segara
Temple, a temple built to worship God Baruna,
the ocean ruler. This temple is usually located by the beach. The ceremony was
for selecting the new priest because the previous priest was demoted for some
particular reasons. The people got together in Jeroan, the most sacred area of a temple compound and some priest
from the village were also there doing chanting and spelling mantras. I was
sitting with other people in circle and just witnessing what would happen. At that
time, the priests started the pray to call the spirit to give them guidance and
choose who was the best to replace the previous priest’s position. And out of
nowhere, all of sudden, a not so old lady who sat next to me was screaming and
found her step to stand up. I was surprised because while other people and I so
focused on the ceremony, she screamed, stood up, and danced, with her eyes
closed! I should admit that she danced so well and so flexible, even though
some people behind me who knew her saying that she could not really dance. Then
we or maybe just I figured it out that she was in trance by the God spirit. Amazingly
shocking!
Long
story short, she danced and she grabbed the hand of an old guy. With the
gesture, she seemed like saying “Come on, accompany me dancing here”. That old
guy was a shadow puppet player or called as Dalang
in Balinese or Indonesian Language. Once he was told to be the priest by
the spirit through the lady body, he sort of refused it by reasoning that he
could not spell any mantras well and he did not deserve it. The spirit seemed
so annoyed and yelled at him. Then it convinced him that he could do it. It said
that it liked him as a person and it wanted him to be the new priest of the
temple. Nowadays, whenever I go to that temple, mainly on the holy days, I will
see him leading the ceremony and it seems that he enjoys being a priest and
does it so well. Because I think he does deserve it. He is the spirit choice.
To
wrap up, from those 3 stories I write, all of them talks about the invisible
world, the Niskala world. It is true
that the invisible world is not always talking about the underworld creatures,
evils, or ghost; they are also spirits and forces that belong to the Gods or
Goddesses, the people’s leading or guiding spirits. I actually am much like a
realistic person, even though me myself is a real Balinese.
So difficult to
believe it, yet more difficult to ignore it.
Comments
Post a Comment