As we trudged along the endless narrow and harrowing road of twists and bends, we finally arrived at Pura Tanah Lot. Located on a rock jutting out of the ocean, with massive waves battering its base, Pura Tanah Lot is one of the most unique temples you can lay your eyes on. Needless to say, it certainly merits a visit on your Bali trip. Pura Tanah Lot is probably the most popular and photographed temple on the island which located in coastal side of Beraban countryside, Kediri sub district and Tabanan Regency.
Tanah Lot Temple stands for earth (Tanah) and sea (Lot), quite appropriate considering its spectacular setting on top of an impressive rock overlooking the sea. Tanah Lot is claimed to be the work of the 16th-century Dhang Hyang Nirartha ( also known as Dhang Hyang Dwijendra ) During his travels along the south coast he saw the rock-island's beautiful setting and decided to rest there. Some fishermen saw him, and bought him gifts. Nirartha then spent the night on the little island. Later he spoke to the fishermen and told them to build a shrine on the rock, for he felt it to be a holy place to worship the Balinese sea gods.
The main deity of the temple is Dewa Baruna or Bhatara Segara, who is the sea god or sea power and these days, Nirartha is also worshipped here. At the base of the rocky island, venomous sea snakes are believed to guard the temple from evil spirits and intruders. The temple is purportedly protected by a giant snake, which was created from Nirartha's selendang (a type of sash) when he established the island. As far as I know, that is the historical facts of the temple. This is a really beautiful temple perched on an approximately 3 acres piece of jutted rock formation.
The scenic location makes it a beautiful place for photography. The high tide and the beating waves bringing excitement even to the faintest of hearts. You could see why people are jostling for positions to take the best photographs of their lives at this place. For me, it simply shows the majesty of the temple and such natural architecture too. I managed to break away from the usual crowds and left for higher ledges on the other side of the beach. I enjoyed the tranquil of watching the waves, both gentle and savage ones, beating against the temple rock formation sending white pearls of water high and gleaming over the backdrop of the sun. I had my satisfaction of seeing the rock formation and the lovely sea. It brings so much calmness to me rather than getting irritated with the jostling and pushy China tourists. ( a real nuisance no matter where they are in the world! ) Guess, you can’t blame them as everyone just wanted to have a good photograph to show off back home, right? The good part is that they did not do any embarrassing stunts like peeing in the sea or at the rock formation probably scared stiff after being warned that their birdies or black hole of Calcutta could be swollen or even their birdies could suddenly fall off dead! Hahahahahahaaaaaaaaa………hmmmmmmnnnnnn….who knows, right?
Anyway, the first thing I noticed while at Pura Tanah Lot was the abundance of canang sari. Canang sari is one of the daily offerings made by Balinese Hindus to thank the Sang Hyang Widhi Wasa in praise and prayer. Canang sari will be seen in the Balinese temples (pura), on small shrines in houses, and on the ground or as a part of a larger offering.
The phrase canang sari is derived from the Balinese words sari (essence) and canang (a small palm-leaf basket as the tray). Canang itself consists of two syllables from the Kawi language: ca (beautiful) and nang (purpose). Canang sari has some parts; there are peporosan, ceper, raka-raka, and sampian urasari. Peporosan or the core material is made from betel leaf, lime, gambier,prestige, tobacco and betelnuts. Material of peporosan symbolizes the Trimurti, the three major Hindu Gods. Shiva is symbolized by lime, Vishnu is symbolized by betel nut, and Brahma is symbolized by gambier. Canang sari are covered by ceper (a tray made from palm leaf) as a symbol of Ardha Candra. Raka-raka is topped with sampian urasari, which are in turn overlaid by flowers placed in a specific direction.
Each direction symbolizes a Hindu God (deva): White-colored flowers that point to the east as a symbol of Iswara, Red-colored flowers that point to the south as a symbol of Brahma , Yellow-colored flowers that point to the west as a symbol of Mahadeva, Blue or green colored flowers that point to the north as a symbol of Vishnu. A canang sari is completed by placing on top of the canang an amount of kepeng (the coin money) or paper money, which is said to make up the essence (the "sari") of the offering.
And there you have it, ladies and gentleman , the many abundance of canang sari found in places of worship, homes, food outlets and even at every road junction. They do smell nice and they looked so colourful just like the lives of the Balinese people. I realized too that the people in Bali especially those in Ubud are truly artisans and artistic in many ways. Their works are seen by the countless shops of artistic craftsmanship of either stonery, glass work, wood carving ( I really love their wood carvings ) or even etchings. These are some of the most talented people in the world, I would say.
No comments:
Post a Comment