Things You Didn’t Know About Bali: 14 Awesome Facts in Bali

What did come to your mind if you heard “Bali”? Is it the island of God, a beautiful place for vacation, or any other else? We have collected things you didn’t know about Bali for those interested in Bali. It can be fun facts about Bali that you should know. Let’s check them out!

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14 Things You Didn’t Know About Bali

Bali is such a magical island that attracts many tourists worldwide. After the pandemic, people choose to work from anywhere and it becomes a trend in the Post-Covid era. Furthermore, they decide to live in Bali to see the beautiful scenery. So here are 14 things you didn’t know about Bali.

1. Bali Has Other Small Islands

source: Aneka Tempat Wisata

Bali is one of the provinces in Indonesia, and the thing didn’t know is that it has small islands in Bali Province. There are 32 islands in Bali Province, but only nine are uninhabited.

These nine places are Bali Island, Nusa Lembongan Island, Nusa Penida Island, Serangan Island, Menjangan Island, Nusa Ceningan Island, Peninsula Island, Nusa Dharma Island, and Pudut Island at Tanjung Benoa.

Menjangan Island is not uninhabited, but there is a sacred temple there, so people keep visiting Pulau Menjangan for prayer. Conversely, Pulau Pudut is uninhabited, but, people move to the center of Bali Island because of coastal abrasion.

2. Name in Order of Born

source:Freepik

If you stay in Bali long, you might see Made, Wayan, Nyoman, and Ketut. Balinese name their child in birth order, such as:

First born: Wayan, Putu, Gede
Second born: Made, Kadek
Third born: Nyoman, Komang
Fourth born: Ketut

In converse, the name after the fourth child will return to the name of the first child. For example, the fifth child is named Wayan, the sixth is named Kadek, and so on. This is also due to the Balinese culture, where a complete and ideal family should have four children.

3. Caste System

source: Inews

Things you didn’t know about Bali is the caste system. Just like in India, Bali also has a caste system. The existence of this caste system was original to divide society into groups according to work, namely:

Brahmana (Brahmin): Religious leaders or priests. Usually, their names start with Ida Bagus or Ida Ayu.
Ksatria (Knights): Kings, warlords, and members of the war. Some of these titles include Anak Agung, Cokorda, Gusti, and Ngurah.
Waisya: Usually work as traders or blacksmiths, such as Ngakan, Dewa, Desak, Kompyang, and Pande.
Sudra, also known as Jaba, is an ordinary person who usually uses a system of four names according to birth order. However, it is also possible that the castes above use a system of four names combined with their caste titles.

But nowadays, this caste system is only used as a culture. In practice, many people take jobs not by their caste, especially in this era of an increasingly heterogeneous society.

4. Original Balinese Tribes

source: Good News from Indonesia

Did you know the daily Balinese you may often see are not the actual Balinese, but they are the Javanese Majapahit Tribe? Yes! That’s the fact you should know about Bali.

This migration of the inhabitants of the Javanese Majapahit Tribes to Bali was the ambition of Patih Gajah Mada, who wanted to unite the “Nusantara”, so he sent these people to live in Bali with the first King in Bali, Sri Kresna Nararya Kepakisan.

While the original Balinese are the Bali Aga tribe, they now live in mountainous areas. At first, the Bali Aga people had no religion. They worshiped an ancestor known as Hyang.

Javanese Majapahit Tribe already knows two religions, Shiva and Buddhism. However, even though they are familiar with religion, the Majapahit tribe still adheres to animistic beliefs known as Kejawen.

Then this religious concept developed into the Balinese Hindu religion today, a combination of Indian Hindu and animist beliefs held by the people of the Javanese Majapahit Tribe.

Until now, the Bali Aga tribes still exist. However, they tend to be introverted and live in the mountains. Some of the famous Bali Aga villages are Trunyan, Tenganan Pagringsingan, Sukawana, Selulung, Bayung Gede, Manikliu, Sembiran, Julah, Cempaga, Sidatapa, Pedawa, and Tigawasa.

5. Abundance of Religious Ceremonies in Bali

source: Freepik

Balinese Hinduism recognizes many religious ceremonies. This sacred ceremony has three levels: small, medium, and significant spiritual traditions. Small-level religious traditions are the ones that the Balinese usually do every day.

Medium-level ceremonies are usually held at specific times, from once every 15 days, once every six months, or once a year, like Nyepi.

The large-level ceremony is usually held once in a few years, such as once every four years, once every ten years, or once in a hundred years. There are also religious ceremonies at certain times, such as the Ngaben ceremony, which is held when someone dies.

6. Balinese Birthday

source: Pinterest

There is one more thing that is unique in Bali, Balinese birthdays. If, in general, people carry out a birthday every year, meanwhile, the Balinese carry out a birthday once every 210 days, or it is known as the Otonan Ceremony.

This is because the Balinese Hindu calendar conforms to the Balinese calendar and determines people’s birthdays based on Wuku. Therefore, in one Christian year, the Balinese will celebrate two birthdays.

7. Balinese Carry Out Ceremonies Since They Were in The Womb

source: Indo Bali News

The Balinese deeply hold the concept of birth, life, and death. Therefore, at every stage of Balinese life, a ceremony will always be held to ask for salvation. The ceremonies are:

Pagedong-Gedongan: a tradition for the baby in the womb
Majang Colong: a ritual for babies who are 42 days old
Nyambutin: a ceremony for a half-year-old baby, according to the Balinese calendar, or three months old.
Otonan: Balinese birthday, when the baby is held at the Otonan ceremony, the baby is one year old according to the Balinese calendar.
Rajasawala: the ceremony for a child to become a teenager
Mepandes: also known as cutting teeth, the goal is to reduce the appetite of children who are getting older
Pawiwahan: marriage ceremony for Balinese people
Ngaben: ceremony for someone who has died.

8. Balinese Celebrate New Year in Silence

source:Liputan 6

Things you might not know about Bali is Nyepi. It is not an ordinary holiday, but a New Year for Balinese people. In contrast to other cultures that celebrate the New Year with joy, the Balinese celebrate the New Year in silence.

Every Nyepi, Balinese Hindus are expected to be able to focus on carrying out worship and reflecting on mistakes over the past year through Tapa, Brata, Samadhi, or limiting lust, fasting and doing meditation.

During Nyepi, they are not allowed to do four things, including:

Start a fire
Work or turn on lights
Travel
Party with colleagues or families

Another thing that is unique about Nyepi is the existence of an Ogoh-Ogoh, or a giant statue made to attract evil spirits and burn them together with the Ogoh-Ogoh so as not to disturb humans during Nyepi worship.

9. Each Village and District has Its Own Rules

source: her story

Even though they are both Balinese Hindus, each district and village has its own rules. These rules also start from various ceremonies, forms of offerings to God, traditions of social life, and so on.

All of these rules are based on a belief known as Desa, Kala, or Patra, which means the place where and when the ceremony is held, and the conditions under which the ceremony is carried out.

Balinese Hinduism is very flexible, allowing everyone to adjust to the conditions in their respective regions.

10. The Balinese Respect Natural Balance

source: Kintamani.id

The next one of the next things you didn’t know about Bali is the Balinese love of nature. This is even contained in the Hindu belief known as Tri Hita Karana. This teaching invites Balinese Hindus to maintain the relationship between nature, humans, and God.

In fact, once every 210 days, the Balinese will hold a separate ceremony to ask for safety for nature, which is called Tumpek Kandang and Tumpek Uduh. Tumpek Kandang is a ceremony for animals, while Tumpek Uduh is for plants.

Usually, places contain lots of animals and plants, especially protected animals and plants. For example, the Sangeh Monkey Forest, West Bali National Park, and various other sites will be held ceremonies to ask for the safety of the animals and plants that live there.

11. Must-Eat Food

source:IDN Times

Bali has many delicious foods such as Betutu. But, did you know that the must-eat food in Bali is Babi Guling (Suckling Pig) and Lawar?

Babi Guling is made from young pigs which stomach is filled with various spices and cassava leaves. Then, the pork is burned by rotating it until it is cooked evenly. This food is trendy because the texture is crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside.

On the other hand, Lawar is a mixture of chopped vegetables mixed with spices and coconut. In addition, it can be made of common ingredients, such as long beans.

However, there are also Lawar made from other materials, such as the underside of a banana stem, the unripe part of the coconut shell, or certain types of bananas that are still unripe.

These ingredients are then roughly chopped and mixed with Balinese spices. There is also a somewhat extreme kind of this dish, Lawar Barak (Red Lawar), which is combined with pig blood.

These two foods are also sold freely in Bali, which is very different from other regions in Indonesia, considering Indonesia has a Muslim majority. You will easily find suckling pigs and Lawar in every corner of the island. But even so, Bali also provides lots of halal culinary delights, so Bali is very friendly for all tourists.

12. Active Volcanos

source:Phinemo

Bali has two active volcanoes, Mount Batur and Mount Agung. Mount Batur is located in the Kintamani District of Banley Province. The mountain last erupted in 2000. However, a major eruption occurred in 1804.

Mount Agung is currently the highest mountain in Bali at 3,142 meters above sea level. This mountain is located in the Rendang District of the Karangasem Regency.

The Balinese purify each of these two mountains in their temples. The Besakih Temple is located on the slopes of Mount Agung and the Ulun Danu Batur Temple is located on the slopes of Mount Batur.

This also applies to the belief concept of Balinese Hindus that water from mountains will purify water powerfully, where water has always been part of Hindu rituals. Water flows from the mountains to the sea. Therefore, mountains and seas are sacred places.

13. Bali Has Many Commodities

source:Freepik

Bali is a province in Indonesia that is highly dependent on tourism. No wonder, 80% of Bali’s income comes from tourism. During the last pandemic, Bali was the province with the most declining economy. It’s a common thing that people didn’t know about Bali.

Whereas on this island, there are lots of other commodities that we can develop, such as a coffee commodity. Almost all areas in Bali have robust coffee plants. Meanwhile, Arabica coffee grows a lot in the Kintamani area.

Apart from that, there are also cocoa commodities in the Tabanan and Jembrana regions. The quality of Bali cocoa is very different from cocoa commodities in other areas of Indonesia or the world.

There is also a rice commodity with a unique concept that only exists in Bali, namely Subak in Bali. Even more extraordinary, many Subaks in Bali can utilize sloping land to become rice terraces and produce rice.

Unfortunately, these commodities are only able to serve domestic demand. For large quantities of export demand, the people of Bali are still unable to fulfill it because of limited land and a lack of attention from the government and society.

14. Tourists Have Not to Explore Many Places Yet

source:Greeners

There are many places in Bali that tourists have not explored. Usually, more tourists are in Denpasar, Badung, and Gianyar. Some also go on holiday to Nusa Penida, Nusa Lembongan, and Nusa Ceningan even though many other tourist attractions are no less interesting.

For example, Candidasa is in Karangasem Regency. Lovina Beach is also in Buleleng Regency and is home to hundreds of dolphins. There is also Menjangan Island which has underwater natural beauty with unique black sand.

You can also explore the Jalak Bali, a typical Balinese endemic animal in Jembrana Regency. Of course, many other tourist attractions have not been explored because they are far from the city center.

Let’s Check The Other Awesome Things in Bali

That’s what you didn’t know about Bali that we have collected. We are sure there are still plenty of awesome things you didn’t know about Bali. Come to visit Bali to find out any other fun facts about Bali!

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