Purification ritual and a visit to the Shaman

We woke up early to drive to Pranasanti yoga studio. This was a very quiet place away from the busy street and very lush, landscaped, and peaceful. We were served tea and coffee and given traditional Balinese clothes for the water temple ceremony. We met Ena, our guide who was so kind, knowledgeable and spiritual. She is training to be a priest, but priests need to have all their business tied up so they can focus on being a priest. She wants to do this in the next few years but is waiting for her kids to be grown up so she is more financially stable. Priests need to be free of all stressors and worries to focus on the rituals.

So we got into the van and headed to Pura Mengening temple. This was a temple built in the 11th century with 11 different pools (pancoran solas) The pools are all for different functions, and pools 3 and 10 were specific to purification. Most people do a purification ceremony every full or new moon because it is when you are most open to new energy from the sun and the moon. But you can also go when you need a cleanse of anger or other emotions. To go in the pools other than purification you need a priest to enter. 

Balinese Hinduism celebrates Hindu and Buddhist gods, it is very open to other religions. While Bali is mostly Hindu, Java is mostly Muslim, but there is a lot of harmony in the way people live. 

Re: birth and death- when you are born you do not enter the temple for 6 months, which is 210 days including some pregnancy time. That is your first birthday on the Balinese calendar. At that point you are presented to the priest at the temple. People are cremated when they die, sometimes they are buried for 3 years and then cremated in a mass ceremony. The cemetery is always near the temple to Shiva.

There were a couple colors associated with this temple- white is the symbol of chastity and purity of heart. Yellow is for abundance. And the black and white checkered pattern is for yin yang, similar to in China.  Interesting fact, you’re not allowed to go into the temple if you are on your period because your hormonal energy is unstable  and that invites in lower spirits. Similarly, if you are grieving death of a loved one you need to wait 42 days to enter the temple to give time for the spirit to rise.

Temple couture- for women we wear a sarong that is tied on the right. Men wear two layers- a sarong on the inner layer and a saput as the outer layer, tied on the left. Men also wear a headband which focuses their mind while women wear a sash around their waist as they function with emotion. 

So we walked down the many steep steps into this lush grotto, changed into the sarong only, and went into the pool. We started with an offering (flowers and incense) and an intention that we prayed about. We prayed to the sun and moon, to our ancestors, and to the gods for wisdom. Each flower represented a different prayer and we waved it through the incense to purify it before praying and offering it. 

The pool had 5 different water sources and then a bigger waterfall. We were supposed to put the water into our mouths and spit it out 3 times, then splash water on our face, neck, ears, and head 3 times, then put our hands on the wall and our head under the water, and turn around and put our back under the water. For each of the 5 pools. Then for the last, we just put our heads under and our back under the super strong water. 

After the water ritual we went back to the prayer pagoda and expressed gratitude. That was the main theme- gratitude. The flowers and offerings are intended to express gratitude for life, wisdom, love, etc. She put water on us and gave us flowers and stuck rice to our forehead, crown of our head, and the middle of our neck. We were wondering what this meant because we had seen it around Bali. You put rice on your head after you cleanse and pray because the water is the symbol of Vishnu (the Protector) and the rice is a symbol of Lakshmi (abundance). 

From there we drove to breakfast which was at this lovely hotel and retreat center. The highlight was banana crepes and Liz’s lemongrass drink. 

The last part of the experience was a trip to the Shaman. We entered this traditional Balinese house complex. This is where an extended family would live. Each person or couple would have a house and they would have communal gathering spaces. The sleeping quarters were at the north and the kitchen and bathroom were at the south. Interestingly enough, families rarely dine together in these compounds. 

Side note about the Balinese caste system- in the high caste, the eldest son is entrusted with the responsibilities of the family, but in lower castes, it is the youngest son. In families with only daughters, the families decide who will be the heirs. Children are also named by birth order. For example, first born children and named Wyann, third born are Nyoman, and Kathy is fourth born. Fifth born would be Wyann again. 

The Shaman sat on the porch with Ena. The difference between a priest and a shaman is that a priest is more about the rituals and the shaman is more of a healer and advisor. She asked us to write our name, where we live, and our date and time of birth. 

The Shaman started with the colors of our aura and then went into our numerology, then read our palms. We got the chance to ask questions and of course I froze at that moment because I couldn’t think of anything to ask. It was a pretty powerful experience and amazing to hear things about your life that she wouldn’t have otherwise known. We went one at a time while the others waited on another porch and made canang sari- these are offerings that you make every day to show your gratitude. You make a presentation plate with palm leaves and bamboo and then put flowers on top of it.  White flowers were on the north side, and then the other colors were orange, red, and a dark color like blue or purple. You take the canang and bring it to a shrine (I chose Buddha who was a symbol of general wisdom) and said a prayer with my intention and put it in front of the shrine. So then you have the trifecta- the cleansing, the offering, and the rituals! 

So that ended our amazing and spiritual day! Except on the way home I was thinking that we hadn’t seen the Tanah Lot temple, and, well, YOLO. So we stayed in Inaya’s taxi, and had her drive us over there. Again, breathtaking landscape, with fairly small temples. Just the environment around was so spectacular. We got there just in time for sunset, and it was also high tide so were able to see the water coming over the rocks at the base. Right at sunset we saw this enormous flock of birds which we realized later were bats, literally thousands of them, that flew up and over the temple from their cave. 

Check out these bats!

My price for Liz coming with me was that we had to stop and get some street food and she wanted babi guling- pig. It actually smelled delicious and I am kind of excited to try it. But we knew we had dinner waiting for us at the house so we saved it for tomorrow. After a lovely last dinner at the villa, we started packing our treasures up for the trip home.