Rainy season - overflowing rivers

Downpouring rain

The rainy season has arrived - but these downpouring rains cause us some problems.

Due to the incredible powerful rains, our little river swelled to a ripping torrent. Many trees along the river were uprooted. Those trees which remained standing, lost most of the supportive earth and now their roots are stretched into the air.

river

To prevent other tree losses, the sand bags were placed directly around the roots to prevent possible future torrents from uprooting more trees.

river 2

Balinese tooth filing ceremony

The Tooth Filing Ceremony (Metatah ceremony) is one of the biggest Hindu rituals on Bali. This ceremony is executed by smoothing down the incisor and eye-tooth. The ceremony is performed on young adults. In the Hindu culture when a person turns 18 he or she is to be considered well on the way to adulthood. To help make this smooth transition from adolecent into the first phase of growing up, the young will have to take part in a teeth filing ceremony

Sugik, one of our appreciated team memebers at Jiwa Damai, had his tooth filing ceremony recently.

Sugik

Metatah ceremony is aimed to kill six enemies (Sad Ripu) in people who are often considered the enemy within ourselves. Sad Ripu include:

• Kama (lust)
• Loba (greed)
• Krodha (anger )
• Mada (intoxication)
• Moha (confusion)
• Matsarya (jealousy / envy)

This ceremony is performed on a certain day based on the Balinese calendar.

Sugik

Ceremony Sugik

Rainy season on Bali

Downpouring rain

Lately it has been raining a lot here on Bali.

The rains come all of a sudden and disappear the same way. The raindrops are warm but sometimes so hard that they destroy our young plants in the gardens.

The waters of the ponds become alive withe the rain drops dancing on it.

Rain

Saraswati our goddess of arts, culture and education remains majestically still, no raindrops can disturb her.

Shiva in the rain

Sacred temple snakes

Tropical snake

Last week we discovered two large beautiful snakes on the ceiling above the dining area.

After checking with the local priest, we were told that these are sacred temple snakes which usually only live in temples. He meant that obviously the energy at Jiwa Damai seemed attractive to them.

Actually they are nocturnal animals. Being concerned about our guests fears, the priest suggested to use burning incense to move them from the spot on the roof where one had gone to sleep. Low and behold, they moved away into the roof of the building.

Snake

Butterflies in our garden

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These are just a few of the many beautiful butterflies that live in our gardens at Jiwa Damai.

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Balinese religious ceremony

Balinese people are very religious and they regularly hold ceremonies and parades in their communities. They bring offerings to the Gods in order to ask for their good will and to appease them. Wira, the general manager at Jiwa Damai,  invited us to join his familiy in one of the bigger ceremonies held in his village.

We, the foreigners, got dressed up in traditional Balinses clothes. Everyone is wearing a sarong. This is really the essential piece of clothing you need during your stay on Bali!

The festivities started with a ceremony in the local temple.

Balinese ceremony

Afterwards all the people of the village set out to march to the next village, to the next temple to hold the religious ceremony there.

Ceremony walk

The whole march took about 6 hours in the hot Balinese midday sun! The group stopped at 4 different temples to hold ceremonies. It was quite a challenge to walk in the boiling heat for that many hours and for so many kilometers. But it was a very special and rewarding experience at the same time.  We, the foreigners, or the "bule" (how the Balinese people call foreigners) were the attraction of the group. Everyone eyed us carefully & curiously... but they welcomed us in the group with warm feelings.

The Balinese women were all dressed in their most beautiful clothes, carrying basket with offerings on their heads.

Balinese women

And the little kids were absolutely adorable !

Balinese kids

All in all this day was a great experience!

At Jiwa Damai we offer our guests the opportunity to get in close contact with the Balinese people and to take part in ceremonies and local festivities.

To inquire about upcoming festivities and the possibility to join, write us an email> info@jiwadamai.net.

New coconut house

coconut house with tree

A new addition to our Permaculture Garden and Retreat Centre is a building which is going to be used to produce our own Bali Virgin Coconut Oil and honey, as well as any other products from our permaculture garden we may develop in the future.

Coconut house being built

coconut house inside

Balinese wedding

Our long time support and volunteer at Jiwa Damai Philippe fell in love with a beautiful Balinese woman, Ari, and they were married in a traditional Balinese wedding ceremony last week. We wish our Swiss and Balinese combination much happiness ever there after.

Balinese Penjor for Galungan festivities

The Penjor is a traditional Balinese decoration made for the Galungan festival. Galungan is a traditional Balinese celebration, similar to a Western Christmas, where families get together.The Penjor is usually made by the head of the family, and it takes a whole day for the family to put it together.  It is then erected outside each family compound.

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The Penjor is made and assembled then it is erected in front of the house / compound.

What a beautiful piece of art!

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Slow down - chill out

Do it like the snail. Wouldn't it sometimes be nice to operate  on a slower speed,  leave the hustle and bustle of everyday life behind and live life more consciously and deliberatly?

Jiwa Damai is the ideal place for such a time-out. Here on Bali you can relax in a beautiful tropical setting, enjoy nature and find time for reflection and contemplation.

Snail on tree

to be continued.......