Odalan at Selanbawak Bali

When I moved to Bali in 2003 the main thing I was hoping for was a completely different culture from the one I was used to. I got that and for all its frustrations Bali offers up instances of cultural / religious observance that are colorful and different. Today while riding through Mengwi, which is roughly equidistant between the towns of Tabanan and Ubud, colorful street decorations alerted me to the fact an odalan (temple anniversary) ceremony was underway in the village of Selanbawak.

Outside the Bale Subak, which is the open sided structure belonging to the Subak, (which is the organization controlling irrigation, extremely important and powerful group) a carnival-like atmosphere centered around food preparation and consumption. A local had set up his mobile sate babi (pork satay) stall so I bought a packet of 10 sticks for 4,000rp. This included hot sambal and peanut sauce. Out in rural Bali its not like ordering sate in a warung. They like to add chunks of fat to sate sticks, wasting nothing. My tendency is to chuck the fatty pieces away but locals will tell you its all part of the deal. Other Balinese ladies were busy deep frying some kind of yellow vegetable in oil that looked like it came out of a diesel truck.

My presence did nothing to disrupt the event or make people uneasy. Indeed after parking off of the street and eating my sate, I said hello to quite a few people, including many kids who seemed to find it highly entertaining testing their handful of English phrases on a weird looking wanderer with a big helmet. Across from the Bale Subak was a local temple, which I’m guessing was the Pura Dalem because of its site within the village at the kelod (unclean) end. Balinese people in traditional attire entered the temple through the candi bentar (split gate), the kul kul (split log bell) tower adjacent. Groups of Balinese sat is rows outside, chatting, smoking and enjoying the festivities.

Balinese kids always look a picture of health (beggars excepted) and the kids today were as photogenic as any I’ve seen. Another smaller temple situated next to the Bale Subak has its wall stacked with fruit offerings. A couple of hundred meters up the street another temple was decked out for the odalan, giant figures guarding the entrance. Directly outside 2 older women assembled offerings and across the street a temporary structure marked ‘Bale Gong‘ offered a place to sit for a group of local women. The odalan ceremony will continue in the evening and last 3 days. Getting to attend an odalan as a guest of a Balinese person would be a very cool experience and one that should be accepted if offered. I only discovered this one by taking a quiet lane off of the main road that led down a route which was unfamiliar.