Bali Galungan and Kuningan

Meaning of Galungan and Kuningan

Galungan and Kuningan Ceremony is a holiday that every six months based on the Balinese calendar is always celebrated by Hindus in Bali, as for the fall of Galungan on Wednesday, Wuku Dungulan and eleven days after Galungan will celebrate the Kuningan Day which falls on Saturday, brass wuku. A holiday that has the same meaning but a different day to celebrate it. A very holy celebration, where Hindus will pray at family temples and other large temples to ask for blessings from God and its manifestations, as for the meaning of the guling and brass holidays are as follows

• Meaning Galungan: The word Galungan is taken from the Old Javanese word which means to fight or fight and galungan falls on wuku Dungulan which means surrender to defeat, so it can be interpreted as a fight or war and the surrender of human enemies from the temptation of the Bhuttas Tiga namely Bhuta Dungulan, Bhuta Galungan and Bhuta Accurate. Galungan is also mentioned in the excerpt of the marriage of Bharata Yudha by Mpu Sedah which contains "dungulaning machete" which means the day of surrender to the defeat of human enemies. So Galungan can be interpreted as the day of the battle between good (humans) and evil (evil human nature) which is won by good, and this victory day is celebrated with the name Galungan Day.
• Meaning Kuningan: The word Kuningan comes from the word kauning which means achieving spiritual elevation by means of introspection to avoid distress, usually Kuningan is celebrated after celebrating Galungan, and eleven days after Galungan, it will celebrate Kuningan Day which falls on Saturday, Kliwon, Wuku Kuningan. Kuningan Day is a day of perception for Galungan as the victory of dharma against adharam whose worship is aimed at the gods and gods and their manifestations so that they come down to the world to carry out purification and enjoy the offerings offered in this prayer. On this day it is believed that the Gods come down to earth only until noon, so the implementation of the Kuningan Day ceremony and worship is only until noon.

Galungan History

Galungan and Kuningan are very important days for Hindus in Bali, because on Galungan day Hindus celebrate the victory of Dharma against Adharma by praying at family temples and large temples such as Besakih, Lempuyang, Uluwatu, Tanah Lot and others. And on Kuningan day is a very important day too because on this day it is believed that the gods come down to the world and sit in big temples and it is an opportunity for Hindus to worship and make offerings to the gods so that they are blessed and given a harmonious life. The origin of the Galungan and Kuningan holidays is not known for sure, and based on research from inscriptions and lontar as well as community stories circulating. The history that we can tell here is based on the myths circulating in the community about the Galungan holiday and also based on the lontar relics of ancient times which are still stored and preserved.

• Based on Myth: The history of Galungan based on the motto circulating among Hindus says that in ancient times there was an evil king named Mayadenawa, and this king had supernatural powers that were often used to commit crimes during his lifetime. Feeling as the most powerful king, Mayadenawa ordered his people to worship him and forbade worshiping the gods and even forbade going to temples. As a result of the nature of this evil king, a religious leader named Mpu Sangkul Putih meditated to ask for guidance from God, and finally he got instructions to go to Java Dwipa or India to ask for help, and finally he met Lord Indra who controlled the weather. to help Mpu Sangkul Putih to defeat Mayadenawa, and finally Mpu Sangkul Putih returned to Bali and fought a fierce battle with Mayadenawa, with the help of the god of the senses, Mayadenawa was finally defeated, although the various cunning powers used by Mayadenawa against Mpu Sangkul Putih finally remained defeated. This myth has a very deep meaning, where all kinds of evil will surely be defeated by good, and humans are expected to always do good so that life becomes very harmonious.
• Based on Lontar: According to the Lontar Purana Bali Dwipa, if the Galungan holiday was first celebrated in 882 and mention If previously it was said that the Galungan day was held every year by the previous kings, until finally had stopped for years and causing many ruling kings to die at a young age, and at that time Bali was often hit by disasters which makes the Balinese people suffer, until during the reign of King Sri Jayakasunu, the king felt confused about the cause of the previous kings died at a young age and there were frequent disasters, and finally he meditated to seek guidance and get instructions from Dewi Durga who finally told all the bad things that happened in Bali because the Balinese people no longer commemorate Galungan and the goddess Durga gave a hint to King Jayakasunu to revive the tradition of the galungan ceremony which would neutralize Bali from all negative influences that came so that Bali became safe and peaceful. With that advice the King Jayakasunu also ordered his people to return to celebrating Galungan, so that the island of Bali was spared from all disasters and the king lived a long life, so that until now the Galungan holiday is still held.

Galungan First Time Held

As for the origin of the Galungan holiday, it is very difficult to determine exactly when it was first held, which we can trace from ancient relics, namely from the Balinese Dwipa Purana lontar which states that Galungan Day was first celebrated on full moon kapat (Kliwon dungulan buddha) in 882 AD or sakan year 804. In the lontar it is stated that "Punang Aci Galungan Ika Ngawit, Bu, Ka, Dungulan sasih Kacatur, 15th, Isaka 804. Bangun Indria Buwana Ikang Bali Rajya" which means "Celebration of the Galungan feast First of all, it is Wednesday Kliwon, Wuku Dungulan, Sasih Kapat on the 15th in the year 804 Saka. The situation on the island of Bali is like Indra Loka. The lontar can be likened to a holy guide and library kept by Hindus as a guide from ancient knowledge. Without lontar we will not know what happened in ancient times. And now Galungan and Kuningan holidays are held twice a year in the Gregorian calendar. A celebration filled with joy by Hindus to welcome the arrival of the gods into the world by taking a palace in large temples, and the opportunity to welcome the gods by praying.

Philosophy of Galungan and Kuningan Days

Galungan and Kuningan holidays are very important holidays for Hindus in Bali, the philosophy of Galungan Day is to celebrate the victory of Dharma (goodness) against Adharma (Evil). Galungan Day has the meaning to unite spiritual strength in order to get a calm mind and stance which is a symbol of Dharma and it is hoped that good and positive thoughts can win against lust and negative things which are symbolized as Adharma. While the Kuningan Day is to ask for safety, protection and inner and outer guidance to Gods, Bhatara and other manifestations of God who will give blessing to his people to live a life in full harmony. So it is expected for Hindus in Bali to always have positive thoughts in living life, so that everything goes in harmony and happiness will be created by itself. A holiday meaning that is very important in guiding its people to the path of truth and always remembering the power of God Almighty. For people who cannot go home to pray at the family temple or big temple, they can pray at Jagatnatha Temple.