Galungan is a Balinese holiday
celebrating the victory of dharma over adharma. It marks the beginning of the
most important recurring religious ceremonies. The spirits of deceased relatives
who have died and been cremated return to visit their former homes, and the
current inhabitants have a responsibility to be hospitable through prayers and
offerings. The most obvious sign of the celebrations are the penjor - bamboo
poles weighed down by offerings suspended at the end. On the top of penjor,
people place a flag white and yellow. On this flag, there is the design of
trinity Shiva-Vishnu-Brahma, the AUM (see
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Om).
The white, purity, and yellow, prosperity, are the dominant colors in Bali
during these days. The last day of the celebration is Kuningan, when spirits
return. The date is calculated according to the 210-day Balinese calendar. For
2012, Galungan was the August 29th and Kuningan the September 8th.
Dominique Cureau, 16 September 2012
zachary harden
![[Galungan flag]](../images/i/id_biga.jpg)
image located by
Dominique Cureau, 16 September 2012![[Kagyu flag]](../images/i/id_kagyu.jpg)
image by
Gabriel Smit, 5 May 2016
