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The
Province of Bali consists of several islands. Those islands
are:
Bali, itself, the largest of the group, and the smaller islands
of Nusa Penida, Nusa Ceningan, Nusa Lembongan, and Serangan
Island as well as Menjangan Island.
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Bali Island covers an area of 5,632.86 km or 0.29% of the entire
Indonesian archipelago.
The Province of Jawa Timur, to the west is separated from Bali
by the Bali Strait. To the East is the island of Lombok, across
the Lombok Strait.
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Administratively,
the island is divided into 9 districts (8 regencies and 1 municipality),
51 sub districts, 565 villages, 79 local political district
and 3,499 banjar or community groups.
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Geographically,
the Province of Bali is situated 8°–03'–40"
to 8°–50'–48" South of the Equator and114°–25'–53"
to 155°–42'–40" East longitude.
Bali
has a tropical climate that is influenced by wind patterns
which alternate every six months. There are two seasons: the
dry season from April to October and the rainy season from
October to April.
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Temperatures
vary from 24.0 degrees Celsius to 30.8 degrees Celsius. Rainfall
during the last five years ranged between a low of 893.4mm and
a high level of 2,702.6 mm as an annual average.
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The
date of Piodalan generally comes every 210 days. However there are
also piodalan which are celebrated every one year, and special anniversaries
called Panca Walikrama, every five years. There is also one which
Hindus call Eka Dasa Ludra which occurs every one hundred years.
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Each Piodalan day, followers of Hinduism in Bali go to the temples
to pray. Complete with traditional clothing, carrying elaborate offerings,
and accompanied by musical instruments, they come to ask forgiveness,
salvation and happiness. Many of the large temples at Besakih, Uluwatu,
Rambutsiwi as well as others are filled with worshippers from all
of Bali as well as from other places such as Jawa and Lombok.
This
is the most important festival holiday in the Hindu cycle. Galungan
is celebrated every 210 days, and symbolizes the victory in the struggle
between the forces of Dharma and Adharma.
The people construct penjor, the elaborate decorations made of bamboo,
coconuts, fruit, and flowers, and place them on the right side of
their entranceways.
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This
holiday takes place ten days after Galungan, bringing the holiday
period to a closing time. On this day, special ritual ceremony is
held for the Ancestral spirits.
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Nyepi
is the first day of the Balinese New Year. It is a day of meditation,
when all the Balinese people stop their activities and daily routines.
People are not supposed to be at work on this day; they remain in
their homes, build no fires and spend a quiet day in preparation for
the year ahead. |
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This
feast day is one which honors the manifestation of the Creator in
the form of the Goddess Saraswati. She represents Knowledge and Wisdom.
On this day, all books are blessed and sacred manuscripts, the Weda,
are blessed and offerings are made to ensure the continuation of learning.
The
name literally means "iron fence", on which day ceremonies
and prayers are held for strong mental and spiritual defence in
welcoming the Galungan holiday.
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For
Hinduism, Ngaben is the ceremony of cremation. The purpose of this
important event is to cleanse the soul (atma) in preparation for the
passage from the Real World to the Unreal or Intangible World. This
event takes place in the cemetery.
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