An appropriate hole is being dug to place this beautifully decorated Bamboo in the ground and it is fixed with stones. Looking down the street your sees all these beautiful Penjors lined up in front of each house. Like a Balinese version of the Christmas tree. The woman are on their way to take their offerings to the temple. They look incredibly graceful while balancing the loads on they heads. The Penjor stays up for at least one month.
Galungan is for the Balinese like Christmas for the West. A time of celebration and meeting with friends and relatives, traveling everywhere.
The preparations for the festivities takes place 2 days before, with the man preparing the sate, chicken and tuna. Well mixed version with coconut flakes and cream stuck on a wooden small spear to be seared over and open charcoal. Every family produced masses of these.
The next step is to find the right bamboo branch, very long and flexible on the top. It involves very intricate decoration work. Ours, at Jiwa Damai, is about 9 meters high and the tip is supposed to be flowing in the wind.
Jiwa Damai is a hands-on, socially responsible organic garden and retreat center.
We are located amidst lush tropical vegetation in the heart of Bali (20 mins from Ubud).
