Interesting facts about pain. Bali Island, Indonesia - "30 Surprising Facts About Bali!"

The small island of Bali, which is part of Indonesia, is well known throughout the world as first class resort. Every year it is visited by millions of tourists, and they strive to return here for positive emotions in the future. The island impresses with its excellent nature, the most beautiful beaches and numerous entertainments.

What is interesting about this island?
In the local language, its name is Pulau Kahyangan, which translates as the Island of the Gods.

Each Balinese simultaneously exists in a pair of worlds. Sekala is the visible environment around a person. The invisible world of Niskala can only be felt while performing national rituals that have a long history.

There is no time to work on the island, as there are 230 days off every year.

The religion of the locals is called "Agama Hindu Dharma" and is an amazing mixture of Buddhist and Hindu beliefs, mixed with pagan ideas about the world and belief in various spirits.

Bali law allows polygamy, with a maximum of four wives. It is curious that a man can remarry only after receiving written permission from the first of his wives.

One of the local traditions involves filing teeth. They make it to young people who have reached the age of 16-18. It is believed that such a procedure allows you to calm the six major spiritual sins in a person (lust, greed, and so on). By the way, if you are interested in this and other traditions in Bali, then the Gidnabali.ru company conducts excursions on the island with Russian speaking guide and also organizes wedding ceremonies. Wedding ceremonies from GidNaBali.ru will become an unforgettable moment in your life together. Trust me it's worth it.

The home of the Balinese is a full-fledged living being. The role of the head is played by the temple, necessarily turned towards the Agung volcano. In place of the hands are living quarters, and the kitchen and outbuildings are located instead of legs.

There are three calendars in Bali. The first is accepted all over the world and used in everyday life. The second is called Pavukon and is the calendar of the Javanese-Balinese peoples. The third is called Saka and is common to all Hindus.

If we proceed from the chronology of the Saka calendar, then today the island of Bali lives in 1936.

For any Balinese, the right hand is sacred. Only she can transfer any thing to each other.

The linguistic features of the island provide for the division into three castes, the indication of which is mandatory when referring to a person.

Gunung Agung Volcano - highest point Bali, its peak is at 3142 meters. At the foot is Pura Besakikh, the most revered temple among the locals.

Rice is the most common product on the island. Residents consider it the food of the gods, so you can meet dishes from it at any celebration.

Of the entertainment, cockfights have no equal in popularity. Fighting birds are cared for like their own children.

It is curious, but during a divorce, the children remain with their father, and the woman takes with her only the things that she had before marriage.

1. In Bali, for the consumption and distribution of drugs, there is the death penalty and at the same time in Bali in the free sale (absolutely legally) hallucinogenic mushrooms.

2. Polygamy is allowed in Bali - up to four wives. For the second and subsequent wives, the permission is signed by the first wife. Currently, polygamy takes place mainly among the Balinese from the upper castes.

3. The inhabitant of the island of Bali always eats using only his right hand, since he considers the left to be defiled. The left hand is never used to receive or pass things. Moreover, the Balinese will not allow himself to wave to someone with his “unclean” left hand.

4. Dancing and theatrical art is an integral part of the life of any Balinese. Regardless of occupation, every resident of Bali considers it his duty to be able to dance well and participate in theatrical performances.

5. The vast majority of the population (Hindu) believe in reincarnation. Babies under 6 weeks of age receive special respect from adults. It is believed that a child at this age is a living embodiment of the soul of some ancestor.

6. On about. You can still find real aborigines in Bali. The locals call them "Bali Agha".

7. The Balinese are real stone and wood carving geniuses. People from all over the world come here to buy something for their interior.

8. In Bali, there is a ceremony of filing teeth - flattening the two upper teeth, which most of all resemble the teeth of animals, fangs and four incisors. This is done in order to deprive a person of demonic character traits and pacify the 6 most important sins in Bali - lust, greed, anger, sadness, arrogance, jealousy and drunkenness. Usually, this ceremony is performed at a Balinese wedding. Interestingly, without filed teeth, a Balinese cannot fulfill his duty and karma. The most common age for this ceremony is 16-18 years old. But, if a person suddenly dies before this procedure, the teeth filing ceremony will be performed on the corpse. Splinters from the teeth are placed in a yellow coconut and buried in the family temple as a shrine.

9. In 1906, hundreds of Balinese came out to meet the Dutch soldiers in white robes and committed mass suicide. This moment in history is called "Puputan".

10. In Bali, it is not customary to express your feelings in public by kissing. The only day after the "day of silence" is that the chosen youth of the village may kiss in public to please the gods.

11. All residents of Bali belong to one of the four castes. The lowest caste, Shudra, is the most numerous. Sudras are the poorest of the Balinese. Representatives of the nobility form three other classes: Brahmins (priests), Kshatriya (military personnel and statesmen), Vaisya (merchants).

12. The Balinese language is divided into three levels (also, depending on the caste): elevated, medium and rough. People from a certain caste can use the language that belongs to their status. It is impossible to address someone in Balinese without determining the caste of the interlocutor.

13. What immediately catches your eye in Bali is a lot of colorful umbrellas located in different places. Umbrellas in Bali have a creative, protective meaning. They are called - "tedung", which means "protection". The color of the umbrella can vary and carry a different meaning, basically, the colors reflect the colors of the castes.

14. The religion of the Balinese is called "Agama Hindu Dharma", it is a mixture of Hinduism and Buddhism, pagan faith and worship of ancestors and spirits of nature.

15. The houses of the Balinese are a living creature. His head is the family temple (looks at the Agung volcano), his hands are residential buildings, and his legs are the kitchen and barn.

16. Most Balinese go to bed with their heads to the sacred mountain and the family temple always looks towards Agung.

17. Bali gate without a top is called Chandi Bentar (Candi Bentar), which translates as "split gate". Chandi Bentar Gate symbolizes the cosmic mountain of knowledge, split into two parts - half good and half evil - forces that symbolize the fundamental energies of the Universe.

18. On the territory of almost any Balinese temple there is a multi-tiered tower - this is a symbol sacred mountain Balinese Agung. Also, it is a symbol of the holy Mount Meru. Meru towers can be 3, 5, 7, 9 or 11 stories high, depending on the status of the deity they are dedicated to.

19. On the island 230 (!) official public holidays in a year. Therefore, numerous ceremonies and festive processions can be seen on the streets of cities and villages almost every day.

20. Canang offerings are handmade bamboo baskets filled with gifts for the spirits. Absolutely all Balinese women can make such offerings, they are taught this from the age of 6. Baskets are made from banana and bamboo leaves using weaving techniques.

21. An important and indispensable product in Indonesia is Nasi rice. Rice is the food and gift of the gods. Here in Bali there is a cult of rice, all rituals and ceremonies include a rice product. The rice whisk is even featured on the Indonesian flag. Rice is placed in all offerings to good and evil spirits, rice is planted everywhere and everywhere, in general, rice here is the head of everything.

22. The Balinese are very passionate people. One of their favorite pastimes is cockfighting. For these purposes, in almost every yard, special fighting cocks are grown, which they groom and cherish, communicate with them like with small children - the roosters have their own diet, they are washed and bathed. Often, on the streets of the island you can meet a company of Balinese sitting together and each has a cockerel sitting on their knees, which the owners lovingly stroke. In cockfights, the stakes are cash. Many Balinese lost their fortunes in these games, after which the fights were banned and covered ... but it is allowed to hold cockfights on special ceremonial days and on the full moon, which everyone uses.

23. There is an important duty for the Balinese - this is marriage. And the most important thing in marriage is to have children, only then can the Balinese be present at important ceremonies and perform rituals intended for the dead, to purify their souls, which are necessary for further reincarnation. Childlessness and impotence are grounds for divorce

24. The Balinese love children, especially boys, because sons traditionally look after their elderly parents and home. And, also, it is boys who can inherit land, farmland and houses. Girls get married and go to the husband's family, so they do not have the right to inherit something from their family.

25. If a divorce occurs in the family, then the wife returns to her parents and can only take her personal belongings with her. Her rights are so limited that few women dare to leave their husbands. It is interesting that the children, for the most part, stay with the father, as they are considered to belong to the father. And after a divorce, the mother loses almost all rights to them, especially if the child is male.

26. Traditional Balinese childbirth is carried out surrounded by all the next of kin. It is believed that in the last month of pregnancy, in the birth itself and the first 42 days after birth - both the woman and the baby are most vulnerable to sorcerers, witches and other "dark forces", because they are between the worlds - between earthly and heavenly space. Dark forces are activated at this time, trying to access the pure energy of the child. Therefore, the father of the child all this time (and especially during childbirth) is next to his wife and protects her from evil spirits with his presence and special rituals.

27. In Bali, they believe in the invisible world, in light and dark spirits. And, accordingly, in white and black magic. Therefore, witchcraft is highly developed on the island. There are special black sorcerers who can send conspiracies to a specific person, an entire family or a house. Everyone is respectfully afraid of black magicians and often turns to them when sorting out relationships. There are white sorcerers who are visited to recover from an illness, to receive material benefits, or simply to tell fortunes for the future. They are called healers. The main path of healers is massage, divination by the hand, prediction by the stars, and the preparation of magical mixtures.

28. Traditional Balinese dances - Legong (Legong), Barong (Barong) and Kecak (Kecak). The Barong dance is a whole performance that shows the opposition of good and evil, which symbolize the character of Barong and Rangda. A real Barong dance can last several hours.

29. Water in Bali is sacredly revered. The religion of the Balinese in ancient times was called "Agama Tirta" - "religion of sacred water." The element of water for the Balinese is deeply revered and always carries a creative and cleansing power. Many ceremonies in Bali are dedicated to the element of water.

30. In Bali, it is customary to cremate dead people. The cremation ceremony is usually noisy and fun. Especially if it's massive. A cremation ceremony is extremely expensive, so it's not uncommon for a family to share the cost with neighbors and cremate in batches. For example, in 2001, the remains of 830 people already buried in a cemetery from 37 villages were added to the cremation by Ida Tjokorda Mengwi, a descendant of the 13th generation of King Mengwi (note: until the required number of dead is reached: those who died before the ceremony cremation - buried in the ground for a while, then dug up).

Bali is small island in the Indian Ocean, the country of Indonesia. If you are going to go there, then I suggest you read 20 interesting facts about Bali.

1. The area of ​​the island is 5780 km², the length is 150 km from east to west and 80 km from north to south.
2. There are only two big ones in Bali active volcano: Gunung Agung (3142 m) and Gunung Batur (1717 m) are located in the northeastern part of the island.
3. The largest eruption of Gunung Agung was recorded in 1963.
4. Only two seasons are distinguished on the island: dry (June-October) and wet (November-March), the most precipitation falls in January-February.
5. In total, 3,890,757 people live in Bali (2010).
6. Most Balinese (83.5% of the population) profess a local variety of Hinduism, which is called "Agama Hindu Dharma". 13.3% of the population are Muslims.
7. There are about 20 thousand temples in Bali.
8. Denpasar - the capital and The largest city islands. Kuta is a city of eternal parties. Ubud is the center of Balinese artistic and creative life.
9. The most common transport among the local population is a moped or scooter.
10. The main part of the current Balinese are descendants of people from the Javanese Majapahit empire, which collapsed under the pressure of Islam at the beginning of the 16th century. The indigenous inhabitants of the island are the people called “Bali Aga”, which means “inhabitants of the Bali mountains”, although they themselves do not like this name and prefer to be called “Orang Bali Mula” (“original Balinese”) or “Bali Turunan” (“Balinese descended from heaven").
11. When a girl gets married, she moves into the house of her husband's family. She becomes a member of his family, helping his older relatives, taking care of his family temple, and honoring his ancestors.
12. A man can have up to four wives, however, he can take the second only with the permission of the first, the third, with the permission of both of the first, etc. But the basic rule: he must provide for them all equally.
13. There are only four names in Bali, and they are the same for both boys and girls: Wayan, Made, Nyoman, Ketut, which literally means “first”, “second”, etc. in order of birth.
14. There are 4 freshwater lakes on the island: Batur, Beratan, Buyan, Tamblingan.
15. There are 230 public holidays in Bali a year.
16. Now in Bali 1940
17. On the island there is a ceremony of filing teeth at the age of 16-18 years. This is done in order to pacify the 7 most important vices in Bali - lust, greed, anger, sadness, arrogance, jealousy and drunkenness.
18. The right hand is a sacred part of the body among the Balinese. For example, you can take and give a thing only with your right hand.
19. Volcano Agung (3142 meters) in Bali is considered the most sacred place on the island. All the temples of the island are turned in its direction and all the Balinese sleep with their heads towards this volcano.
20. Balinese celebrate New Year in complete silence (Nieppi). For 24 hours, no one on the island leaves the house. All restaurants, offices, schools and shops are closed.

Special offers for hotels in Kuta

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On the largest archipelago of Malay, in Indonesia, is the picturesque island of Bali. The island is part of the group of small Sundian Islands. The area of ​​Bali is 5780 m2, the population is 3,890,757 people. Bali is one of the most visited tourist resorts. The island has everything for have a nice rest: picturesque landscapes, friendly people, beautiful beaches, ancient culture with beautiful temples, well-developed infrastructure.

As in all countries, Bali has its own traditions, culture and mystery.

Bali is washed by the Pacific and Indian Ocean. The island has a peculiar relief, where there are mountains with volcanoes and lowlands.

There are four types of forest on the island: savanna, deciduous, mountain and evergreen.

The island of Bali is called "Pulau Kahyangan", which means "island of the gods".

The island was opened for recreation by hippies who lived in Kuta for some time. As a result of the "hippie pilgrimage", the Indonesian government decided to develop the resort and trismus. The World Bank and the UN contributed to the successful development, they invested in the tourism development of Bali.

The architecture of the island is unusual, the houses of the indigenous people can be easily confused with small temples. The Balinese are very religious and they decorate their houses with a large number of statues on a religious theme.

Oddly enough, the Indonesian language is one of the most popular in the world, it is spoken by about 200 million people.

In Bali, the spoken language is divided into three levels, depending on the caste, sublime, average, rough. Residents from a certain caste can only use the language to which they belong by status.

On the territory of Bali in the north-eastern part there are two big volcano: Gunung Agung (3142 meters), Gunung Batur (1717 meters)

The island has a length of 80 kilometers.

The temperature on the island can fluctuate. The temperature on the beach exceeds 30 degrees, and near the mountains or the foot of the volcano it reaches 15 degrees.

Indonesia is a populous Muslim country, but on the island, 90% of the inhabitants practice Hinduism. In Bali, such gods as Shiva, Brahma, Vishnu, as well as the supreme god Sang Yang Vidi Vasa are revered.

The locals are very religious, which explains the large number of temples on the island. According to some reports, there are about 11,000 of them. Some temples such as Uluwatu and Tanah Lot are architectural monuments.

Each house has its own small temple, where the inhabitants conduct their religious rites.

The Balinese consider the house to be a living creature, the head is the family temple (the home temple must look at the Agung volcano), the hands are residential buildings, the legs are the barn, the kitchen.

Bali is a holiday island, 230 days a year fall on festive processions, colorful events, interesting customs. The inhabitants living on the island have different nationalities and religions, so both Islamic, Hindu and Christian holidays are celebrated here.

One of the strangest traditions on the island is the tooth filing ceremony. The meaning of the tradition is to shorten the fangs, so that a person is deprived of being like demonic entities and pacifying the six main sins in Bali: greed, lust, anger, jealousy, drunkenness, arrogance.

Most of the inhabitants are not Muslim, but they are still allowed polygamy. A man can marry four women, while for the second, third and fourth wife, the first gives permission. At present, there is polygamy in Bali. But mostly it is common among the Balinese of the upper castes.

On the island in different parts you can find statues dressed in black and white skirts and hats, so locals believe in magical abilities and the ability to come to life at night.

Childlessness and impotence are grounds for divorce.

The Balinese love children, especially boys, they continue the family, take care of elderly parents, inherit the land. Girls go to the husband's family and do not have the right to inherit something from their family.

The most famous drink is the elite Kopi Luwak coffee. Method of preparation: raw materials are collected from the excrement of an animal of the civet species that eats ripe coffee beans.

On the streets and the coast you can find many multi-colored umbrellas, they are called "tedung", which means "protection" and each color has its own meaning, the indigenous people believe that umbrellas have a protective function. There are four sacred colors in Bali: red, green, white, yellow.

Bali is surfing and diving, religious, ecological and beach tourism. Bali is one of the most popular tourist destinations all over the world, but despite this, a lot of the life of the local population is not known to the general public. Interesting Facts about Bali will help you discover and learn something new and even useful. Bali is part of the Islamic State of Indonesia. Bali on the world map is located here.

Bali is Island of the Godswith a very diverse landscape: hills and mountains, beautiful coasts and sandy beaches, lush rice terraces and bare volcanic slopes. Surfing and diving, unique cuisine, a large number of cultural, historical and archaeological sites - Bali has a lot to offer. tourism market, and the market likes this proposal very much. Bali boasts a large number of places of interest from a tourist point of view. A variety of excursions are waiting for you: sightseeing and thematic, exciting walks, yacht tours, and even cooking courses. Current prices for excursions to Bali, as well as a list of private Russian-speaking guides, can be found on the website of the special project for tourists Experts.Tourister.Ru - experts.tourister.ru.

• It is believed that the very first settlers in Bali emigrated from China in 2500 BC.
• It is noteworthy that in Indonesia, more than 88% of the population professes Islam, while on the island of Bali, which is part of this state, 83.5% of the population professes a special kind of Hinduism. That is why pork dishes can only be tasted in Bali, in Indonesia, pork is not eaten, since this food is prohibited in Islam.
• Subak is an irrigation system rice fields in Bali, was developed over 1000 years ago. Considered an objectUNESCO World Heritage Site.
• Bali is just one of over 17,000 islands that make up Indonesia.
• One of the most expensive coffees, Kopi Luwak, is produced in Bali.
• The Balinese believe that a newborn baby is the reincarnation of one of the family ancestors, and therefore the child should not touch the ground until 3 months old.
• A child, regardless of gender, is usually given one of these four names: Wayan, Made, Nyoman, or Ketut. This can be translated as: born first, born second, and so on. If you have more than four children, you simply start over with Wayan. Descriptive nicknames help avoid confusion. This rule is true for the lowest caste. Yes, there are 4 castes in Bali, similar to those in India.
  
• Bali was the host of the competition Miss World 2013 . This was the first time that an International Beauty Contest was held in Indonesia.
• The climate on the island is tropical, and is divided into two seasons.The dry season lasts from April to October and the rainy season from October to April. best time the dry season is considered to be visited, it is also more crowded. For inspiration and peace, many go during the rainy season, when the tourist flow is negligible.
• The Balinese menu consists of white rice, pork, spicy vegetables and exotic fruits.
• One of the most sacred temples in Bali - Pura Ulu Watu, p located high in the rocks on the southwestern tip of the island.
  
• Seminyak is the center of luxury living in Bali. Hereyou will find boutiques, restaurants, cafes and fashion shows.
• Ubud is the artistic heart of Bali, the center of spiritual life.The streets are filled with galleries where artists of different generations do their work. Here is an indescribable viewto the rice terraces. Thisgreen landscape is often chosen as best place for yoga and meditation.