Converting to Bali Hinduism

I recently read an article on an expat and his Indonesian spouse who became Bali Hindus. No small feat nor inexpensive matter. House preparations to make the offerings began 3 weeks before the ceremony and involved everyone in the household, including the housemaids (usual in Bali to have maids in houses). Work on making the offerings was a dawn to dusk process. His wife had to be immaculately dressed every day in sarung kebaya to greet visitors.

Ceremonies are required for every transitional event in the life of a Balinese, offerings are made, holy texts chanted and cockfighting takes place (blood spilled for the Gods). But the most serious is the multi-staged ceremony marking conversion to Bali Hinduism (Suddhi Wadani).

The whole local community ( banjar) are invited and you expected to feed and entertain them for a full 24 hours. Pigs are sacrificed for such purpose, a small one for soup ( babi guling) and a huge 100kg pig to feed the guests. Also purchased were 200kg of rice, 20kg of sugar, 30 kg of chicken anda lot of cigarettes.

5 priests (mangku) officiate plus a variety of local and district officials. An oath is sworn and certificates signed. Rituals which combined life changing transitions missed in the past ( birth, first birthday, tooth filing) take place with the whole banjar to bear witness. You are given new Balinese names written on banana leaf.

One interesting change is that he and his wife can no longer send the maid to stand in for community service obligations, but must attend themselves. Otherwise members of the banjar might think they have not fully adopted their new religion. They are now allowed entrance into the sacred innermost precincts of temples from which outsiders are barred.

Bali Hinduism is not so much a religion as a way of life.