Bali Tour Guide

Last Wednesday was my Balinese birthday. I didn’t even remember until my mother called me to be home that night. My Balinese birthday falls on BUDA WAGE UKIR. This is the name of the day based on Pawukon/Wewaran system in Balinese circle calendar system.

BUDA is similar to Wednesday, come once in seven days. Soma = Monday, Anggara = Tuesday, Buda= Wednesday etc.

WAGE is coming from Panca (five) Wara, one similar day comes every five days. There are Kliwon, Umanis, Poing, Pon, Wage in this circle. Thus Wage is come every five days.

UKIR is the name for third week in Pawukon (derive from WUKU literally mean week). There are 30 name of weeks ( wuku ). Those wuku are Sinta, Landep, Ukir, Kulantir,………..and end by Watugunung. Each wuku length for seven days. 30 times 7 days become 210 days. Therefore my Balinese birthday comes every 210 days. This Balinese birthday we call it ‘oton’. We do not normally count or say the number of oton we have, after the first seven oton. I am about 62 oton now if we want to say that, as I am 31 year old now based on Gregorian calendar.

When I get home that evening from touring, I saw a basket full of offering lies on the head side of my bed. On the offering, I notice there were some ‘canang sari’, -regular daily offering, on the top, some ‘tumpeng’,-mountain shaped rice, and some other coconut leaves cut in certain ways which I do not really know. What attract me the most are the fried chickens, and mangoes on it. This would be my birthday cake after I pray.

I asked my mother either it is time for me to pray as I finished bathing and put my temple dress. She said no, and asked me to get ‘tirta’,-holly water first, from my main family temple. We went there together and bring another basket of offering with a glass of clean water in it. My mother put the basket in the altar, put incense on it and start ‘ngayabin’. She took some piece of flower on her hand then sprinkles the water into the offering while silently says her wish to our ancestor God to bless the water so it can be use for my birthday prayer. She told me to pray afterward.

We brought the blessed water back to the room and put it on the offering. I lit an incense and start praying by sitting on the bed facing the offering. My mother told me to pray focus to the ancestral spirit that reincarnate in me, so I can be given a good guidance. My mother then asked me to ‘natab’ I put two my hand in front of my chest and move it toward and backward from the offering to my body. After that I took the holly water, sprinkle some in my head and face then drink them. It is party time after that. But I was a silence party, no happy birthday song, no drink, no presents. I ate the chicken, rice and mangoes on the offering. By tradition my mother cannot eat them as she is older then me. If my younger brother at home, he will help me to eat them.

Afterall, Balinese birthday is not a party. It is day to remember that there is spirit inside me that need to be taking care off by do good deed so it can direct me to the right way.