Recent Posts

Welcome home Jennie, I bet you wish that you were still in Bali  . I'm looking forward to see the photos when you up-load them.

Although you say it's so little Jen, to them you have changed their world dramatically and given them so much happiness and hope for the future. By your emails to me I can see that your Balinese family are now an extension of your own family.

It's a joy to manage the Helen Flavel Foundation and to read the many wonderful messages and emails telling me about the joy the Sponsorship Fund has brought to the sponsors/supporters and to the Balinese people. Wouldn't it be a perfect world if everyone cared about each other. 

Did you like the new Functions Centre? We are so proud of it and it's getting loads of use. The children love the sports area, they now have somewhere to play netball, soccer and other sports.

I'm so glad to see your post. I knew that this forum wouldn't be busy like the Travel Forums, but hopefully people will think of things they would like to share and leave a post.

Take care Helen

Hi Jennie and welcome back, glad you enjoyed your visit.
To post images have a read of this topic:
http://www.helenflavelfoundation.org/forum/index.php?topic=12.0

We have not long returned home from another wonderful trip to beautiful Bali.
The highlight of our trip was our visit with our family. Each time we visit we are amazed with the changes they are making in their lives. We were so suprised that Dad has been going to classes at the Learning Centre and is learning to speak English. I have been going to the community college trying to learn Bahasa, so we were able to have a bit of a chat!!! I must say though that his English is way better than my Bahasa.
The 2 girls are growing into beautiful young ladies and the younger brother who is now 3 1/2 is very very cheeky and has his big sisters wrapped around his little finger.
It amazes me how this families life has changed from something so simple..and of which we just take for granted.
When I work out how to post some photos I will put some up
Jennie

I’d like to make a final note, one that I think needs to be mentioned. 

The Balinese families that the HFF foundation has assisted in so many various ways over many past years could never think of having an elaborate ceremony like this.  Would they if they could?  You bet they would.  But for so many families in Bali, they are simply not fortunate enough, for whatever reason. 

Maybe that was part of the thinking of my Balinese wife Eri when several years ago she first decided to be among Helen’s first sponsors, and why she continues with that thinking (and sponsorship) to this day? 

I don’t know.  I’ve spent all of the last 13 years trying to dive deeper into the psyche and understanding of the Balinese, and all I’ve accomplished thus far is to scratch the surface.  Of course, much of that time has been spent on trying to de-program my conventional western thinking. 

It wasn’t that long ago that Eri’s own family village was much like what can be seen in northern Bali today…dirt roads, no electricity, fresh water only available in nearby streams and rivers, little schooling, sleeping quarters built of bamboo, and few opportunities beyond sustaining basic daily needs.  Eri remembers this well from her childhood.   

All that is needed is a chance to jump start an opportunity for change for the better.  This comes first from education and an environment that allows and supports education.  To Eri’s credit, she understood this reality, and she also understood that this is what the HFF was then, and still is, all about. 

To Helen’s credit, quite obviously, she understood and continues to understand this as well.  The amazing results thus far are self evident, but there is still soooo much work to be done.

Om Santi, Santi, Santi, Om

Conclusion

The high priest then bestows more blessings on Putu and her mom and dad which consists of seemly endless amounts of holy water.  She closes the ceremony and then it’s time for feasting!  Sorry, there are no photos of the feasting…too busy eating!  Sorry Helen, but I was "off diet" for the day...special dispensation from the high priest! 

Part V

As just mentioned earlier, the role of auntie number 1 in the 3 month ceremony is significant.  During the ceremony, as the actual transition between pre 3 month and post 3 month, or child of the Gods to child of the parents, the baby is also represented by a large papaya wrapped in gold cloth.  That “child” is the pre 3 month child and while auntie number one (Nyoman) is holding Putu while she first touches the ground and selects from her oracle bowl, the mother, (Ayu) is holding the pre 3 month child, the gold wrapped papaya.   

In the first photo of this set, Nyoman on the left has passed Putu to Ayu on the right while Ayu has passed the gold wrapped papaya back to Nyoman and this no longer is of significance as the transition is now complete.

At this point the sarong and sash which Putu can now wear for the first time is secured…although it kept coming undone.  This is necessary as proper adat attire to enter the family temple for the first time where the parents pray and introduce Putu to the family ancestors. 

Following that she is next introduced to the high priest who offers her blessings and cuts her hair for the fist time.

Part IV

Ayu was very pleased, as was our entire family, that so many of her relatives came to enjoy this ceremony. 

The second shot is of Putu’s oracle bowl.  In the third shot Putu touches the ground with her feet close to the oracle bowl for the first time, and then she makes her selection from the bowl.  Personally I find the oracle bowl part of the ceremony to be the most fun part.  Based on what the child selects from the bowl, their destiny in this life is somewhat determined.  For example, selecting the egg will mean she will be a good farmer, selecting the pen or pencil will mean good in business, selecting the paint brush means good as an artist, selecting the gold and silver means wealth, etc.  Putu went right for the gold, all of it in fact! 

Of interest here as well is the fact that it is her number one auntie, Nyoman, wife of the first son of the compound, (in this case Eri’s older brother Wayan) that holds the baby.  This is not without its own significance, as in time she will be the matriarch of the compound as Wayan becomes the head of it.  Moreover, by having her hold the baby during the selection process it eliminates any undue influence of the selection on the part of the baby’s mother or father. 

Part III

The high priest has arrived and takes her position on the Bale Dangin.  She opens the ceremony with prayer and ancient Sanskrit invocations.  The entire compound area is purified and Putu’s 3 month ceremony begins with three walks around the area on the ground where she will first touch the ground and select from her oracle bowl. 

Part II

As with all Balinese ceremonies there is a great deal of advance preparation.  Also as  with all Balinese ceremonies, the community chips in with assistance.  This community responsibility, centered around ceremony, is the heart of Balinese village life. 

These first photos were taken prior to the arrival of the high priest and the start of the ceremony. 

Part of the activities in advance of the ceremony is that all the normal daily offerings are made in the compound.  Eri’s family compound is somewhat unique in that one of the eight public temples in our village, the Pura Pucak is actually in the very back of her family compound.  The daily offerings here are made by one of our village priests which is what is going on in the last photo of this set. 

Part 1

Two days ago we celebrated the 3 month ceremony for Putu, the newborn daughter and first born of Eri’s youngest brother Ketut and his wife Ayu.  As with all cycle of life ceremonies, or ceremonies for humans, (Manusa Yadnya), the 3 month ceremony is held in the Bale Dangin of the family compound. 

Cycle of life ceremonies don’t occur everyday, rather they are all once in a lifetime events for each Balinese.  With that in mind, there is often some confusion as to what specifically needs to be done, but under the direction of our high priest and a local priest, things went rather smoothly.  Additionally, it should be noted that all ceremonies, be they in compound or at temple can vary considerably depending where in Bali these ceremonies are being held.  For ease of discussion we can call this the Ubud version of a 3 month ceremony. 

As three month ceremonies go, this one was rather elaborate and involved.  As Ayu’s caste is Wesya, a caste higher than Ketut’s Sudra caste, (and a prominent Ubud family), Ketut’s family made every effort to please Ayu’s family which wasn’t initially thrilled about the marriage at the start.  As a funny aside to that, back in Ketut’s courting days of Ayu, he was once caught in Ayu’s family compound very early one morning.  It wasn’t long after that her family compound had taller walls! 

Another reason for “pulling all the stops” with Putu’s 3 month ceremony has to do with the great importance of this particular ceremony in the life of a Balinese.

Prior to the 3 month ceremony, a Balinese newborn is considered to belong to the Gods.  The baby is not allowed to touch the ground, nor is the baby allowed to enter any of the compound or public temples of the village.  The baby is pretty much confined to the compound and the daily care of the immediate family unless absolutely necessary, a doctor’s visit for example.  In many ways the 3 month ceremony is in fact the actual birth of the baby in so far as its humanity is concerned. 

An anthropologist might surmise that this 3 month designation has more to do with  infant mortality than the divine nature of things.  They might point to the Balinese cremation rite called Ngelungah which for a pre 3 month old infant is not at all a normal cremation ritual as conducted for a post 3 month aged (post 3 month ceremony) person.  For the Balinese there is no need for a full cremation ceremony of the “pre-born” infant which would otherwise be absolutely necessary for reincarnation.   

Most western visitors and expatriates in Bali have never been to a 3 month ceremony.  This is because the baby is still considered highly susceptible to evil influences and black magic.  It is also for this reason that the “little brother” or “little sister” of the newborn, that being the placenta, is buried within the family compound were it receives daily offerings from then on.  As a result of this great concern and the susceptibility of the pre 3 month old baby, only family and very close friends of the family are normally invited to 3 month ceremonies. 

With that in mind I have a lot of photos to share for those who might find this particular ceremony of interest.  It is most joyful ceremony, filled with laughter, glee and a feast of food.