Penelope Gan | Photo Blog just some cl!cks by me …
Odalan: Bali’s Temple Festivals
With temple festivals being celebrated on a new or full moon or every 210 days on an island with countless numbers of temples, there is literally a festival of some kind every day in Bali. Besides making offerings to the gods and demons, Odalan is a social event that entertains and keeps the community closer together.
Canang Sari for the Honoured ‘Guests’
With basic principles of Balinese Hinduism revolving around obtaining balance and harmony of all elements in life and afterlife; between spirits and mortals, and nature that surrounds them, the Balinese are driven to perform Canang Sari 3 times a day to show their gratitude to the one supreme spirit – sang hyang widhi wasa.
‘Ngaben’ – Bali Cremation
The Balinese cremation or ‘ngaben’ is anything but a sombre event with hundreds of spectators, musicians and men carrying multi-tiered funeral pyre clowning around to confuse the soul from having any earthly attachments before it ascends to heaven upon the scattering of the ashes in the ocean. ‘Ngaben’ is the most expensive and extravagant rite of passage for any person.
The ‘Gathering’ of Sri Lankan Elephants
The ‘Gathering’ is a stunning natural phenomenon of wild Sri Lankan elephants ‘coming together’ as a coalescing herd from Wasgomuwa Park to as far off as Kantale on the receding shores of the Minneriya Tank during the dry season to feed towards its need of about 100 litters of water per day per adult elephant.
Domesticated Dromedary
The one hump camel – dromedary – have been domesticated from as far back as 4000 BC for its versatile usage that range from transportation, milk, dung, hair, skin and even meat by conquerors and nomadic pastroralists. Today, they are widely used in the tourism industry despite its ill-tempered temperament.
Great One Horned Rhinoceros
At a rate where more than 90 percent of the world’s rhinoceros have decimated over the past 40 years due to illegal rhino horn trade, and the stakes stacked up against them, will the Great Indian One Horned Rhinoceros be a unicorn for future generations?