If you are in Bali, do wake up early and have a little walk around. You will find a common sightings, where (mostly) ladies put offerings on the street. The activity is actually started as a set of breakfast preparation. As the mother (naturally in Balinese culture, a mother has the task of preparing breakfast) finished preparing breakfast for everybody, part of the breakfast, will be offered to the spirits around the house as peace offering, well-wishing, safekeeping in life and good luck in business. The offerings are ideally started before the breakfast given to the whole family to be consumed together by the spiritual and material world. Usually they will start with the Padma (where the Sang Hyang Widhi [Lord God] placed in the house). The next offering then goes to the Tugu Karang (The protector of the house). The prayer goes for the health and well-being for all family members.
The offerings go on to the water source, the fire source, the energy source (electricity), the protector of business (Ratu Niang), the business table, the name, and finally to the street side over the main entrance. The latter is meant to appease the spirits (good and bad) that pass along the road to bring prosperity instead of suffering, to bring happiness instead of sadness, and to bring out pain in exchange of joy to the house.
Far deeper into the traditional villages, where agriculture (and not tourism) is still the main occupation of the most people around, the Balinese people will also give offerings on the afternoon after their way back to from the rice field and vegetable garden. The first offering goes to the side street at the main entrance. After that, usually they skip everything in the middle and go directly to the protector of the house and Sang Hyang Widhi at the Padma. This afternoon activity usually called Mebanten Sandikala. The offering means to ask the bad spirits that follows the farmer home from the field to just stay outside the door and let the farmer and the family have their peaceful rest at night.
There are two types of regular Banten, since I would not write about the occasional Banten, the canang kecil (small offering) and the canang besar (big offering). The big canang goes to the Padma (for sure), the protector of the house, and everywhere else the family member thinks need to be elevated more. The smaller ones goes to the sources, and the street sides.
If somehow you are interested in joining the morning prayers, you may ask the family members or the people around. They often will be very happy to pray along with you, as long as you really pray along with them.
Good pray, peaceful stay, #NamaStay
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