BALINESE HINDU OFFERING

The Balinese Hindu Offering is a religious ritual that is done on the island of Bali. It is based on Hindu beliefs. You may already know that Hindus in Bali came from Hindus in India. But Hindus in Bali adapted to local customs before Hinduism came there. Because of this, the way Balinese Hindus and Hindus in India do religious ceremonies is very different. One of them is the process of making offerings to God, which is shown by the different kinds of offerings that people make based on their customs and traditions. In general, people make daily offerings like Segehan and Canang Sari, which we often see on the street, in front of houses, or in front of shops. It is a type of gift given to God to show gratitude for his many gifts, such as life, safety, health, and wealth. In thanks for giving them life and salvation, people bring gifts to God Almighty in a procession.

What Can a Balinese Hindu Give You?

Balinese Hindu Offering is a way to show respect or gratitude to Ida Sang Hyang Widi Wasa as God Almighty, who has given them life, safety, health, and other things. This offering comes in many different forms, so the name “Banten” covers a very wide range. Banten Canang Sari or Banten Segehan is a type of banten that is often served every day. Balinese Hindu Offering comes in many different shapes and sizes, depending on what the offering is for and what the ceremony needs. We usually make Canang Sari offerings every day. These are made of coconut leaves shaped into squares, triangles, or rounds and filled with flowers of different colors, like red, white, and yellow, which represent the Hindu Bali Tridharma, or Lord Brahma, Lord Vishnu, and Lord Shiva. The flowers in this canang sari stand for sincerity and purity. There is also potpourri in the canang sari. These are green pandan leaves that have been cut into small pieces and put in the canang sari. They smell good and represent wisdom. The canang sari also has bananas, sliced sugar cane, small Balinese snacks, and sometimes sweets. When you go to Bali, you’ll see a canang sari in front of every house or shop. This is a sign of thanks to God Almighty.

Banten means Hindu offerings from Bali.
Banten is a Hindu offering that includes things like fruits, flowers, and animals like pigs, chickens, geese, and others. Banten combines fine arts and make-up to make the shape of the offering, which shows the creator how grateful the people are. Using art to make offerings will help the mind find its own beauty, peace, and satisfaction. This peace of mind is necessary to be able to think clearly when praying to God Almighty, so art is an important part of moving toward a positive religion as a supporting element for the ceremony. Banten is a way of making offerings that involves different kinds of art and appreciation. It is made up of three very important parts, which are:

Mataya: This is one of the gifts that are made from plants and plant parts, like leaves, flowers, and fruit. Most of the time, this kind of offering is seen on the street, in front of people’s homes, in front of local temples, and in front of shops, where it is appreciated as canang sari offerings, segehan offerings, and sodaan offerings.

Maharya is one of the animals that are given as gifts. Other animals include pigs, goats, buffalo, and cows. Animals are used as a part of a ceremony that is very important. This happens at important events like mecaru, ngusaba, and other Hindu religious ceremonies.

Mantiga is an offering made from chickens, ducks, geese, chicken eggs, and other animals that hatched from eggs. This bird is also used as a part of one of the most important religious ceremonies. We often see this when there is a piodalan ceremony at the local temple, Galungan and Kuningan holidays, and other holidays.

Hindu and Balinese Offerings Every Day

When it comes to the Hindu religion in Bali, there are different kinds of offerings depending on what they are for and the customs and culture of the place where they are made. Also, the type of offering is inextricably linked to the job of the local people. For example, farmers make offerings to Dewi Sri Sedana, the Goddess of Fertility, by giving rice and fruits from their farms. On the other hand, traders make offerings to the Goddess of Rambut Sedana, the God of Prosperity, by putting fruits on a canang sari. Depending on what the offering is for, the way it looks changes. As for whether the daily offerings are done the same way, which is to make Canang Sari offerings, the answer is yes. Hindus in Bali make several Banten offerings every day to pray for safety, health, and wealth.

Segehan is a gift that is given to Bhutakala so that evil spirits won’t bother us and mess up our minds. With this, Segehan is supposed to cancel out and get rid of these bad influences. Segehan is also a symbol of how people and all of God’s creations, even the ones we can’t see, live together in peace. Segehan is served every day. This segehan is usually on the street in front of a shop or a house. This segehan is also based on the level and day of the ceremony. For example, on normal days, it only serves Segehan Kepel Putih, which are leaves filled with a pinch of rice and put in front of the yard or shop. On special days, like the full moon, the rice is colored white, yellow, red, and brumbun (mixed colors), which is called segehan manca color.

Canang Sari is a daily thank-you gift to Ida Sang Hyang Widhi Wasa, the god who made people, for giving them life, safety, wealth, and happiness. This thanks is shown by giving a canang sari in the shape of a flower that is placed in square, triangular, or round coconut leaves. This canang sari is often seen in front of homes, on streets, and in temples. This is a holy offering made to God, who made people. Canang comes from the words “Can,” which means “beautiful,” “Nang,” which means “purpose or intent” in Kawi/Old Javanese, and “Sari,” which means “core or source.” So, Canang Sari means to call on Widya’s power in front of Sang Hyang Widhi and His Prabhawa (manifestation) on both the world and subtle spirit realms.

Pejati is a gift that is given on a special day or as part of a religious ceremony that calls for it. The Pejati are a large group of gifts that include canang sari, fruit, diamonds, and other things. Pejati is a full offering given to Ida Sang Hyang Widhi Wasa to show sincerity in doing a ceremony and to ask to be seen for the purpose of salvation. Pejati’s offering is the main offering that is always used in religious ceremonies. This Pejati is only done on special days, not every day. It is only needed for religious ceremonies because it is a complete offering to God Almighty.

The gifts given at the Great Ceremony

The difference between the offerings made on special days and those made every day is that the offerings made on special days are more complete. This is because people believe that gods come down to earth on special days and stay in temples where ceremonies are held. On the day of the ceremony, we make complete offerings. as a way to thank God for giving them life, wealth, and good health. So, if it’s a big holiday like Galungan or Kuningan, you’ll see a lot of Hindus going to the temple to pray, and some of them may bring gifts that are different from what you usually see. Here are the main things that are done:

Banten Sodaan is a full offering to the ancestors in the form of a holy daksina with fruits and canang sari. It is usually put in every temple in the house, so if there are a lot of temples, it takes a lot of sodaan to make and put in each one. If you go to Bali during a big holiday, you will see that every temple has this soda offering. This Sodaan is only available on big ceremonial days like Galungan, Kuningan, and Pagerwesi, as well as on other important days. Also, when people go to big temples to pray, such as Besakih, Lempuyang, Tanah Lot, Uluwatu, and others, soda is served.

Banten Gebogan: This is an offering that we might see on the day of a big religious ceremony. It consists of fruits put in a container that shows respect. The height of this gebogan can be anywhere from 50 cm to 100 cm, depending on taste, but it is not required to be that tall. During the big holidays in Bali, you will see women carrying gebogan to the temple on their heads, which is a very beautiful sight. Gebogan is usually given as a gift during religious ceremonies at temples and on religious holidays like Galungan, Kuningan, and other religious days that are part of Bali’s most important Hindu holidays.

Babi Guling: Also called “Suckling Pig,” babi guling is a symbol of fertility and prosperity that is given as an offering or used in a ceremony. Babi guling is often required as one of the complementary means of the ceremony during certain events. The level of the ceremony determines whether or not the babi guling is used as an offering. Some religious ceremonies don’t need the babi guling and can use other gifts instead, like grilled chicken or eggs.

Why do Balinese Hindus make offerings?

The reason for this offering is also very good for the lives of those around us. In a Hindu ceremony on the island of Bali, fruit and flowers are given as gifts. These gifts are called Banten and Canang. If you go to the island of Bali and walk around the city, you will see small shrines and offerings in front of shops and houses. These are the things that Hindus in Bali bring as gifts, and each type of gift has a different purpose. Here are some good reasons to make offerings that are also good for the people in the area and the environment.

Hindu teachings in Bali say that offering fruits and flowers to God is one way to worship him. This is written in the holy Bhagavadgita, Chapter IX, Verse 26: “I accept offerings of leaves, flowers, fruits, or water made with love and from a pure heart from anyone who bows to Me.”

You can also make an offering to yourself, since one of the goals of religious rituals is to make you feel good about yourself. When people have ideals, they will devote themselves to divinity by loving and serving God. Doing worship and offerings as a way to make yourself happy in this life will make your day full of joy.

For the General Public: Since fruit and flowers are used to make the offering, it helps develop agricultural and plantation products. This is because fruit and flowers are needed to make offerings that help agricultural products sell well and people do well.

For the environment, the ingredients in banten and canang are very good for farmers and plantation owners. This is because they feed insects that eat the juices from fruits and flowers, which makes more photosynthesis happen, which turns carbon dioxide into oxygen.

Banten is a symbol of peace.
Banten, which means “offerings,” are a type of offering that shows Hindus’ gratitude to Ida Sang Hyang Widhi Wasa as God Almighty and his manifestations for giving life, grace, and all protection to this universe and keeping harmony and balance in nature. Offerings can also help keep the balance between the universe, which here means the natural world, and the unseen realm where bhuta kala (spirits) live, so that life in the natural world doesn’t get messed up. Because this world is based on the idea of cause and effect, which can be thought of as a balance of good and bad, black and white. The offerings are meant to balance out this cause-and-effect way of thinking so that we can live in a more peaceful way. A Hindu offering procession in Bali is a very interesting thing to see. This kind of offering procession only happens on the island of Bali, where most people are Hindu.