Full Moon Ceremony

Monday, January 5th.

It is Monday, a work day and Art has arranged to meet with Tabra and Dekti to discuss e-commerce and Etsy.  We drop off another load of dirty laundry at the laundromat before going to Tabra’s work shop compound.  When we arrive, Tabra shows John two finalized arrangements of gemstone pendants with, jaguars, fish and sun faces and quotes John a very reasonable price. He is thrilled and  wants both of them and they discuss the details of the pendants; where tiny silver bead dots will go, the placement of an emerald, a ruby set as the jaguar’s third eye, the size of the bail and where the piece will hinge.  It is fun to watch the two of them design.

The business end of being an artist. 

Art and Dekti

We move from the design room to where Dekti runs the office and John brings in three chairs for our business meeting.  Art talks with Dekti and Tabra about the strategies of Etsy and e-commerce and I interject occasionally.  At noon we walked down the village road to Vespa for lunch.  John, Art and I have bowls of steamed vegetables; extremely healthy but not very exciting. After lunch, Art goes his own way and John and I tag along on business errands with Tabra and Dekti.  Their first stop is the tailor where Tabra expects to pick up fabric belts but they are unexpectedly closed.  We drive to Kutuk’s, Tabra’s caster for the past many years. We sit on the terrace inside their family compound and Tabra inspects a bag of her finished castings and bone carved jaguar faces.

We drive to a second casting compound where Tabra picks up a number of unfinished castings; moon faces, cuff bracelets and bead components.  The manager of the shop offers John and me a tour and we enthusiastically accept.  5 or 6 young women sit in one small room, shooting waxes and freeing them from their rubber molds.  In the second room, several other workers create the trees with the green waxes in preparation for investment and casting.  Behind these two rooms is an open air casting area and we are cautioned that the kiln is firing. We step carefully around the kiln and smile at a young man with his mask pulled down and his goggles on top of his head.  John and I return to the courtyard and wait for Tabra to finish her business.  A twitter of female voices and laughter floats from the open doorway where the young women continue to work and we presume that they are talking about the handsome young American man who just visited their workshop.

Our final stop is at a roadside hardware shop. Tabra is looking for display hooks and embellishments for her shop. The bronze hardware is cast in Java and I pick up a card. There are some interesting designs  and Tabra buys a series of 4” bronze cast shadow puppets for decorations and a number of simple hooks.

We have agreed to meet Art back at our bungalow at 4:30 P.M. to have time to dress for the full moon ceremony at the Penestanan Temple.  Dekti drives us home, battling rush hour traffic along the narrow roads of Ubud and drops John off at the village intersection to meet Art.  I go with Tabra to her home and she changes into a sarong and lends me one for the ceremony.  Sashes or belts are a requirement and she ties one around my waist using one of her new and innovative bronze belt closers. We walk to her work compound and find Art and John waiting and looking very handsome in their borrowed sarongs.

The Barong, Art and John

John and Marty

We go to Vespa again, for drinks and appetizers and to wait for the full moon temple ceremony to begin.  The Vespa Cafe is at the main intersection of Penestanan - Kaja and the villagers begin to gather. 

Women in Lace Kabayas

John, Marty, Tabra, Art

The women are dressed in beautiful kabayas, form fitting lace tunics, many quite seductive with lace cut outs and nude netting that reveals the skin. Many of the women carry baskets on their heads, food to offer at the temple ceremony. Most of the men are dressed in white sarongs, white shirts and white head-dresses (hats) with turned up corners. The entire village has turned out and the procession parades down the street, the odd Gamelon music reverberating in the air. 

Penestana Full Moon Procession 

Dekti walks in the procession,  lovely in her kabaya, her posture rod straight and her head supporting a basket offering for the temple.

Penestana Full Moon Procession

Penestana Village Boys

Marty and Village Girls

Penestana Full Moon Gathering

Dedi walks with a group of men, alongside his Barong Beast.  We follow the procession down the village street to the temple, mesmerized by the beauty of the villagers, the fading afternoon light and the music. There are only a handful of foreigners present and we are dressed appropriately and respectifully. We take many photos asking permission of the village girls and boys who smile and giggle with delight.  We are experiencing the real Bali.

Full Moon Temple Ceremony