Galungan and Kuningan Ceremony

Galungan enlivens the whole island of Bali. It marks the beginning of the Pawukon year.

These festivities, which start with the actual Galungan day, last 10 days and come to an end with the Kuningan celebration.

Galungan celebrates the creation of the universe, the victory of the good, Dharma, against the evil, Adharma. It takes place in the familial temples where, according to the Balinese, the gods come down to earth and the ancestors’ souls pay a visit to their family.

Galungan is always celebrated on a Wednesday.

The Celebration’s preparations start on the previous Monday, with the preparation of the cakes that will be used as offerings. On the Tuesday, men prepare the festive dinner (they kill pigs, to turn them into kebabs and blood sausages) and women prepare the offerings.

Men also make some << penjor >>, finely decorated bamboo trunks with corn cobs, plaited palm leaves, yellow or white fabric and young coconut shoots, which they position on the side of the roads and in front of each house.

Festivities come to an end with Kuningan, which celebrates purification. On that same day, the ancestors’ souls are leaving their family’s temple.