Daily Offerings: Canang Sari

You cannot walk the streets of Ubud without seeing heaps of offerings, called canang sari.  And I do mean heaps.

As a practice of Balinese Hinduism, these offerings are put out three times per day as an offering to the good and bad spirits.  They are meant to thank the good spirits, and ask for further health and prosperity.  For the bad spirits, they serve as a bribe to keep them from interfering with the peace.

The offerings usually consist of flowers, rice, crackers, and incense.  They are placed at temples, out in front of stores and businesses, and outside homes.  A household can easily go through 50 offerings in a day, and they are all made by hand each morning.  We frequently come out to find that our landlord or neighbors have placed them in front of our house, and often find one sitting atop our motorbike.  Because they are put out three times daily, the streets are often filled with offerings.  Fortunately, it isn’t considered bad luck to step on one – accidentally, that is.  Doing so on purpose is a big no-no.  They are usually swept up at the end of the day, and replaced with fresh offerings the following morning.The multitudes of canang sari on the streets are beautiful, and really attest to the dedication of those who live here.  But the offerings are just one of the many ways that spirituality pervades everyday life here in Bali.  There are frequent ceremonies held in the temples, processions in the streets, and days dedicated to special prayer.  The day we took our cooking class, for example, was Tumpek Landep, a holiday of prayer and gratitude dedicated to the god of metal and all of the metal related implements that make every day life easier.  For days afterward, cars and motorbikes were decked out with elaborate offerings on their windshields and handlebars.

While I may not understand all of the ceremonies and holidays, I do love the constant reminder of gratitude that the offerings represent.  It really is a beautiful tradition.