Celebrating the victory of dharma over adharma, or the triumph of good over evil, the Hindu holiday of Galungan is believed to be a time when the spirits of the ancestors visit the earth. Streets in Bali fill with decorations, homes fill with offerings and feelings of reverence, and observers, wearing beautiful traditional attire, gather to visit relatives and attend ceremonies.
Watching over the festivities during Galungan, decorated and laden with offerings, are the ornate bamboo poles known as penjor (pictured above in this photo by Ruben Hutabarat).
On Kuningan, the last day of the holiday, the spirits are thought to return home — until it is Galungan in Bali once again. |
