In Reply to: If it's the religion of the Balinese - - posted by Filo on Monday, 17. March 2008 at 23:54 Bali Time:
Balinese religion Filo. Many strongly held beliefs can so easily be dismissed as mere superstitions without an understanding of the framework on which they stand. Many practices have their meaning lost in the past but they are not meaningless. My own land in Kerambitan has a large stone which is regarded as sacred and has offerings put on every full moon - no one can tell me why and the old people say it was done when they were children and so it still is. There is a place nearby where holy water is collected for religious use and there is a strong belief in the village that no pregnant woman may walk the path to that spring because she will lose her baby. When my daughters visited the people were very solicitous and made sure they knew in case they came to harm there. Who knows the origin of that?
I think Western society has many similar things with origins lost in the past - why no row 13 in Qantas or any other planes, no floor 13 in hotels?