Contents:

Bali Travel Guidebook:
Baby's 3-month Ceremony

Introduction
Background on Bali
Activities & Tours
Language
Climate & Clothing
Money
Shopping
Health
Balinese Culture
   Naming System
   Religion
   Temples
   Ceremonies for          Children
   Wedding &
         Tooth Filing
   Royal Odalan &
       Tooth Filing
   Purification
         Ceremony
   Cremation
   Royal Cremation
   Special Days

The birth of a new baby is so important to the Balinese that details of one of the "Upacara Manusa Yadna" (life cycle ritual ceremonies) for the Hindu-Balinese baby is provided for you.

This is written about one particular child - the baby daughter of Ketut Partha, the popular driver of many KLUB KOKOS guests. Our June 2001 newsletter wrote of the birth of Ni Wayan Dwi Juniati. Since then it has been our pleasure to be invited to her 3-month "nelubulanin" (telu = three, bulan = month) ceremony in the nearby village of Pejeng where Ketut's family lives. (The accompanying photos may be enlarged for better viewing by clicking on the image.)

There are quite a number of ceremonies associated with pregnancy and birth in Bali, but these are private family ceremonies, so visitors rarely get the chance to witness them:

• In about the third or fourth month of pregnancy a cleansing ceremony is performed for the parents with offerings and holy water.
• Once the baby is born a special ceremony is performed for the ari-ari (afterbirth), that is washed with flower-scented water, placed into a halved coconut with flowers and uang bolong (Chinese coins), wrapped in white cloth then buried by the father at the entrance to their home, girls buried on the left of the stairs, boys on the right.
• The father lets his hair grow throughout the pregnancy, but once the umbilical cord of the baby has been shed - around a week after the birth - his life can then return to normal. The umbilical cord and various spices are packed in a woven palm-leaf receptacle and stored at the foot of the baby's crib.
• Above the head of the crib in the direction of Mt Agung hangs a carved offerings platform for the God of Infants, the son of Siva, who will protect the child until it looses its first baby tooth. Every day offerings are placed here for the healthy development of the child.
• For three days after the birth the father is considered sebel (unclean), until special offerings have been made for him.
• Further offerings are made after twelve days, when it is thought that the soul is now firmly anchored within the child, and the baby is then given an individual name.
• After 42 days a more elaborate ceremony of purification is carried out, where the baby now becomes a fully-fledged family member. Up until this time the mother has still been considered sebel, and only after this ceremony is she able to return to her husband and daily religious activities.

Above: Elaborate offerings are prepared to promote the baby's welfare.

Around mid-morning on Saturday, 15th September 2001, Krishna and I set off from KLUB KOKOS in a car with three of our guests, all dressed in our traditional Balinese clothing to drive to the village of Pejeng, about 5 km to the east of Ubud to attend the ceremony to mark 105 days since the birth of Ketut Partha's daughter. As specially invited guests for the occasion, we were soon presented with a welcome drink by one of the members of the family, followed by a delicious luncheon prepared with great care, and presented on 'plates' like those used for the towering sesajen offerings used for ceremonies. Each dish was cupped in banana leaf, while small bowls filled with water were provided to wash our hands before and after eating.

Soon all was in readiness for the pemangku (village priest) to begin the ceremony. While the pemangku carried out the prayers for the mecaru (cleansing ceremony of the family compound) with the help of a group of women from the household; Ketut Partha and his wife Ketut Mariani, holding their daughter, sat below him in the Balé Dangin building of the family compound, where all life cycle ritual ceremonies are held. Numerous offerings were also piled high in this building in honour of the occasion, including a babi guling (suckling pig), indicating the importance of the day for the development of little Juniarti.

Once the mecaru was over, the parents and child then became a part of a further cleansing with holy water sprinkled on them by the pemangku.

Then comes the most important part of the nelubulanin ceremony, where the baby is held over a flat water-filled clay bowl representing the 'pond of life'. This bowl contains things that will be important for the child in later life:

• an inscribed lontar leaf representing intelligence & wisdom
• uang bolong representing wealth
• grains of rice and kernels of corn representing industriousness and diligence
• gold and silver jewellery representing the need for desire
• objects woven into the shape of aquatic animals to bring to life the symbolic pond

What the baby grabs with her right hand will be bestowed upon her in abundance in later life.

Then bracelets are put on her hands and feet, a ring on her finger and chain around her neck. A token meal of rice is then fed to her, this being the first time that the baby has been given any 'solid' food.

Once further prayers have been said over the baby, the rest of the extended family then join in with the parents to pray together for the well-being of the child's development. Once all the prayers were over the proud grandparents gathered with Ketut's new family for a photo, before we headed home to KLUB KOKOS.

I hope to keep you informed about Juniati's development through her baby years. Future important ceremonies will be held on her:

• first oton (Balinese birthday), when she is 210 days old
• third oton

Thispage was last updated on December 5, 2001