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Balinese
BALINESE SOCIETY Traditional Balinese society is intensely communal; the organization of villages the cultivation of farmlands and even the creative arts are communal efforts - a person the belongs to their family, clan, caste and , all village as a whole. Villagers Come Out To Say Hello Religion permeates aspects of life and ceremonies, and rituals mark each stage in the life cycle. Children Performing Barong Dance on Street Spirit Houses with Swastika Motif The first ceremony takes place before birth, at the third month of pregnancy, when a series of offerings is made at home and at the village river or spring to ensure the wellbeing of the baby. When the child reaches puberty its teeth are filed to produce an aesthetically pleasing straight line-even teeth symbolize an even temperament, while crooked fangs are characteristic of witches and demons. Balinese women are not cloistered away, although the roles of the sexes are fairly well delineated, with certain tasks handled by women and others reserved for men. For instance, the running of the household is very much the woman's task, while caring for animals is mostly a male preserve. Balinese society is held together by a sense of collective responsibility. If a woman enters a temple during menstruation, for instance, it is a kind of irreverence, an insult to the gods, and their displeasure falls not just on the transgressor but on the community as a whole. This collective responsibility produces considerable. pressure on the individual to conform to traditional values and customs, called adat.
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copyright © 2014 Joseph P. Giardina All Rights Reserved |
