daily offerings and participation in village and
temple events. Bali has become known in the
wider Hindu world for its frequent and dramatic
ceremonies, rather than for any intellectual or
spiritual leadership.
Unlike in India, the gods of Balinese Hinduism
are not seen as dwelling in their images; they live
atop the great volcano Gunung Agung, which is
identified with Mt. Meru, considered the axis of
the world in many stories of traditional Hindu-
ism. During worship and festivals the gods are
called down from the mountain to enter their
statues and the masks worn by celebrants. When
the worship or festival ends, the gods return to
their abode.
The Balinese generally bury their dead; crema-
tion is performed only for the more significant
members of society. When a cremation is per-
formed, corpses of commoners who have died
since the last cremation are dug up and burned
along with the newly deceased. These crema-
tions are elaborate events; a grandly built tower is
burned as part of the rite. The cremation is con-
sidered to purify the souls of the deceased.
Although the images of the gods are not
considered sacred, the temple sites are. Bali has
more than 20,000 temples. Each village usually
has three main temples: the Village Temple, the
Temple of Death (in memory of dead royalty), and
the Shrine of the Beginning.
At the Village Temple villagers congregate for
worship and meetings, which center on shared
sacred communal meals. The Temple of Death is
associated with the nether world and is dedicated
to the ancestors of rulers. In Bali, the dead are
perceived as dangerous until they are purified by
cremation; the temple keeps these negative forces
in check.
The most important temple is the Shrine of
the Beginning, dedicated to the Original Ances-
tor (the equivalent of Shiva) and His Consort.
Other temples are dedicated to specific functions:
water temples are responsible for irrigation and
adequate water supply, sea temples hold back the
forces of the underworld, and harvest temples
secure abundance of food. Temples are built with
inner courts containing shrines to the deities and
platforms for offerings, and outer courtyards for
more mundane purposes, such as the prepara-
tion of food. The inner courts also contain one
or more towers that represent Mt. MERU. Outside
most temples are sacred groves, usually banyan
trees, where demonic forces are propitiated. Each
household also contains a shrine known as the
“shrine of origin,” dedicated to ancestors and to
the Sun god SURYA. Shiva, in the form of Bhattara
Guru, the Divine Teacher, is included.
According to the Balinese, the Hindu gods
migrated to Bali. Indigenous deities such as
Ranga and Barong also have an extensive mythol-
ogy, which has been grafted onto the tales of the
imported gods. Many Balinese live in a lively
world inhabited by spirits of all varieties and
ghostly entities, many of whom inhabit vari-
ous animals, all existing alongside the deities of
the Hindu pantheon. They also fear witches
(malevolent sorcerers) who live among them
more or less openly. Evil spirits are still looked
upon as causes of illness and misfortune. Daily
offerings are designed, in part, to appease angry
spirit entities.
Balinese Hinduism distinguishes between two
types of priests: the pedandas and local pemang-
kus, or temple priests. The pedandas are always
male BRAHMINS; they perform duties and rituals
primarily for the higher castes. The pemangkus
are in charge of specific temples and daily rituals
and serve as priests for commoners. Pemangkus
are primarily men but can be women and can be
either of caste or without caste. Unlike pedandas,
pemangku priests are allowed to be possessed by
the gods.
Uma, sometimes called PARVATI, is the prin-
cipal goddess of Bali; she is the Goddess of the
Mountain Gunung Agung, where she dwells as
the consort of Shiva, the Great Ancestor. She has
many manifestations. As Uma, she nourishes and
causes seeds to germinate. As DURGA, she is theBali, Hinduism in 67 J