In Reply to: Ceremony posted by sandybear on Friday, 5. September 2008 at 14:17 Bali Time:
...right, so the Pedanda will come (or will it be a Pemangku; would you know the difference either way?), he (can also be a she) will chant a whole series of texts in Sanskrit or Kawi, which one he uses doesn't matter at all, you won't be able follow one word of it, and then you will be asked to perform a series of ritual acts (sipping water 3 times, putting rice on your forehead, throat, etc.) and then....what? Happy? Committed? Happily committed? What was it that you actually did? Do you have any idea what a lot of Balinese people actually think about these things?? About 10-12 years ago there were attempts to formally forbid these kinds of shenanigans. There are lots of people on this Forum who can expertly advise you over the most romantic villas, most marvelous restaurants, etc. etc. If you want to to celebrate such a special event, perhaps it's better to stick to something that has REAL meaning for YOU. Just a suggestion. Sorry if I rained on your parade.