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Daily Life in Bali
Harmony and cooperation within the village compound

The rhythm of the day in a typical Balinese family compound is ruled by the rice harvest, governed by tradition and watched over by the gods. Several generations usually live together in the compound, which is laid out in accordance with esoteric Balinese principles and surrounded by a mud of brick wall. The holiest part of the land (that which faces the mountains) is reserved for the various shrines honoring the gods and ancestral spirits.

Beyond this enclosed area a series of other pavilions or rooms used as sleeping and living quarters, with the kitchen or paon and the bathroom near the least auspicious part of the property - that closest to the sea. Farthest of all from the holy area one finds the family pigsty (there is always at least one occupant being fattened up for the next important feast) and the rubbish pit.

Flowering trees and shrubs (a source of blooms for the daily offerings) are dotted about the compound, while the gardens at the back often contain several fruits trees: papayas, bananas (their leaves essential for wrapping food) and coconut palms, among others.

The women are always occupied, cooking, cleaning, washing clothes, sweeping and preparing offerings. Older women often take the daily offerings around the compound, setting them before the various shrines before anyone has their first meal of the day, as well as performing other tasks, such as feeding the pigs, weaving offerings, making special rice cakes and keeping an eye on the youngest children.

The old men who are no longer fit for work in the fields pass the day slicing strips of bamboo and shaping them into baskets, repairing tools or utensils, and doing odd jobs about the yard. When nothing remains to be done, or they feel like taking a break, they wander off to a nearby warung (simple local store) for a cup of coffee and a chat with friends.

Towards the end of day, when it's cooler and the younger men have returned from the fields, they may all gather to watch a cockfight. Although gambling is forbidden throughout Indonesia, there's always a corner of every village where this traditional sport goes on, with scan regard for the law.

Young girls learn to task of a woman in the same way they learn to dance - by imitating their elders from a very early age and perfecting technique over time. The bale gede is usually where women gather to prepare temple offerings, including weaving young coconut palm leaves into trays, baskets, or complex hangings.

This pavilion is also where utensils and other objects involved in worship are stored (generally in the rafters) and where ceremonies involving rites of passage, such as weddings and tooth filings, take place. (The Balinese abhor pointed canine teeth, which they say makes them look like animals, and they are filed down by priest usually when youths reach puberty.)

Culinary skills are passed on from mother to daughter down the generations. Girls frequently undertake the daily task of peeling shallots and garlic, slicing and chopping seasonings, and grinding spice pastes with a mortar and pestle. They are also entrusted with cutting banana leaves and trimming them into shape so that they can be filled with food, folded and secured with a sliver of bamboo.

The complex ingredients for Balinese food and ritual offerings are all committed to memory. No Balinese woman ever needs to consult a cookbook for a Balinese recipe, although a modern woman might follow a recipe or dishes from other Indonesian regions.

Many families now have television sets, and most bale banjar, or community centers, also have a set where anyone can gather to watch programs in Indonesian, English or Balinese. Early evenings are also the time when the various cooperative organizations meet for discussions and planning, and there are also informal "drinking clubs'" where the men meet over a glass of tuak (palm brew).

By about 9 pm, doors of the enclosure are closed against any malign spirits that may be wandering in the night, and the only lights to be seen in the village are those of twinkling fireflies.

Copyright by The Food of Bali, Authentic Recipes from the Island of the Gods

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