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Grating
coconut and grinding spices can be
time-consuming unless such tasks are
shared.
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Food
in Bali is literally deemed fit for the gods. Every day of the year,
the spirits whose shrines occupy the forecourt of every Balinese family
compound are presented with offerings of flowers, food, holy water
and incense. The offerings serve to honour the spirits and ensure
that they safeguard the health and prosperity of the family. Even
malicious spirits are pacified with small leaf trays of rice and salt,
which are put on the ground. These simple offerings are, without fail,
presented before the whole family eats their first meal of the day.
At more elaborate temple festivals,
brilliantly dressed women form processions as they bear towering offerings
of fruits, flowers and food upon their heads. These elaborate temple
offerings are virtually works of art, but have a deep symbolic significance
which goes far beyond mere decoration. A seemingly endless round of
religious and private family celebrations ensures that the women whose
task it is to prepare such offerings always spend some part of the
day folding intricate baskets or trays, or preparing some of the more
than sixty types of jaja or rice cakes essential for
festivals. Young girls sit beside their elders who pass on the intricate
art of cutting and folding young coconut palm leaves, moulding fresh
rice-dough into figures, colouring rice cakes and assembling the appropriate
offerings for each occasion. Women working out- side the home may
purchase their offerings from a specialist tukang banten
in a market, but they never fail to observe their ritual obligations.
Temple festivals and private celebrations,
such as weddings or tooth filing ceremonies, don't just provide food
for the gods-the mortals also get their share. Offerings brought to
a temple are first purified by the priest, who sprinkles them with
holy water while chanting prayers. Once the "essence" has been consumed
by the gods, the edible portions are enjoyed by the families who brought
them. Any stale left-overs, less tasty morsels and stray grains of
rice are eagerly consumed by the dogs, chickens, wild birds or even
ants. Nothing goes to waste.
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