The Balinese

As each day passes in this frenzied city, I think my understanding of the Balinese people increases. At the risk of passing on some grossly inaccurate information, I would like to try my hand at giving a window into their world…

I have found that I am a fairly culturally ignorant person, despite my haughty declarations of living in one of the most cosmopolitan cities in the world, Toronto. In Toronto you can go days without hearing English; there are enclaves (some might call them ghettos but I feel the negative connotation of that word does them no justice) of Italian, Indian, Chinese, Portuguese, Korean, Greek, Polish, Ukrainian, and countless other languages, cultures, and faiths living literally next door. We profess to be so worldly and tolerant, but it occurs to me, as I am now completely immersed in a different culture, that I have never really bothered to learn anything about the different cultures that make up the fabric of my city.

Given this ignorance, I feel as though I am walking on eggshells here, mortified that I might offend someone. I am slowly realizing, however, that the Balinese are a very tolerant culture and I need not worry about offending, so long as I am careful with the more obvious customs.

Faith is strongly intertwined with day-to-day life here in Bali; they are primarily Hindu, though there are pockets of Muslims and Christians as well. My host family graciously attempts to explain the different rites and rituals they perform each day. I am not sure of my understanding at this point, but I believe it goes something like this. In the Hindu faith, there is one god, Brahma, though he takes many forms. Several times per day the family prepares offerings for Brahma to ask for his protection. For example, each morning they place an offering of rice and yesterday’s meals in a shrine in the kitchen so Brahma will protect their ability to provide food for their family. They place an offering of rice, candy, incense, and other foods at the foot of their gates to their homes to ask Brahma to protect their security. There are elaborate altars created in different locations throughout a family home for these offerings. My host family has just created a new one at the gate, and they have chosen Wednesday February 25 as the day they will conduct a ceremony dedicating the new altar. I’m not sure why, but according to the Hindu calendar, this was the best day for them to hold this ceremony.

The belief that Brahma can take many forms is also part of the reason why the Balinese are so friendly; they believe that any creature, from a honeybee to a stray dog to your neighbour could be Brahma watching over you.

When I walk down the street to and from school, I often find myself the subject of quite a bit of scrutiny, mainly because I am white, tall (comparatively) and not in a tourist area. The standard greeting rings out for my entire 20 minute walk – “Hello Mister! Where are you going?” It would not matter if I were a man or a woman, it’s always “Mister.” Their inquisitiveness about my destination is not “none of their business” as it would be in my culture, but merely their curiosity about who I am, what I’m doing in their midst, and into what context they should place me. This was explained to me by another volunteer who has a good 3 months on me. My age, marital status, and number of children are usually the next three topics of conversation. In Bali you never say, “I’m not married” or “I don’t have any children.” You must say, “I’m not yet married” or “I don’t yet have any children.” They would not – could not – understand someone who would choose not to participate in marriage or childbearing. Age, by the way, is more than a number in Bali, the older you are, the more you are respected, so people are proud to tell their age. Perhaps we have it backwards in our enlightened Western society?