I chose this picture to represent Pagerwesi because it signified so many aspects of this beautiful experience. First, Zoey’s outfit was purchased for us by Wayan at the market. In true serendipity, it was in Zoey’s signature purple. She brought sarongs and sashes for Bryan and I from her family and Bryan wore his hat from our previous trip. If I remember correctly, the hole in the top lets the good spirits in. Given the difficulty of finding ceremonial shirts in our size, we wore something from our own closet. Tomorrow, however, I will be visiting a tailor with a new friend from New Zealand so that we may have our ceremony attire made for our “western size” bodies. I look forward to choosing from the striking batik fabrics that are the staple of every fabric store in Singaraja.
Zoey is seen here kneeling with the small banana leaf packet offerings that were prepared for us. We held these between our hands during a specific prayer. The flowers were to be tucked behind our right ear just before we were sprinkled with holy water and pressed rice to our foreheads and nape of our necks.
You see these offerings in many different forms throughout Bali, on the doorsteps of retail stores, at temples big and small, and thankfully on the dashboards of taxis (spelt taksi here) as they squeeze between huge trucks and families of 5 traveling on single motorbikes . (that last part is not an exaggeration) There is an endless array of artistic expressions in these offerings, as well as in the larger multi-layered displays made from fruits and cakes.
My trip to market on the day before Pagerwesi was an eye-opener. The usually calm produce section was mayhem, the floor covered in plastic wrappers that once surrounded ceremonial oranges. Young women descended like flies when a stock boy set down and opened a new box of fruit. They were quick in their selections, but that is not to say hasty, in that they clearly inspected each piece that went into their plastic bags. Then, as is procedure in a Balinese supermarket, they waited in line to weigh their goods on the machine that produced the proper sticker. I was shocked and steered clear of both the fruit section and the crowd around that intimidating sticker machine.
Pictured here is the beautiful offering made by Wayan and the young boys who kept a close watch on our family throughout the ceremony. As it drew to a close, we were offered a seat of honor on a bench and served tea and colorful coconut cakes, nuts and fruit. The family members gathered their basket of special foods to take home which included, cakes, these delightful (and now my favorite Bali food) delicate cookies called matahari, fried chicken pieces, boiled eggs and little bags of a liquid green rice substance that was somewhere in the process of fermentation. We were given a small square box full of such treats to take home and several women stopped by our bench to offer us something from their family’s basket. I could not have expected a warmer welcome and will never forget their genuine smiles.
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