![\"IMG_6964\"](\"https:\/\/gallivantinggrandma.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/IMG_6964.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nOn the way to the purification ceremony, we stopped at a weaving factory where rows of women were hand weaving beautiful cloth.<\/p>\n
Wealthy Indonesians purchase\u00a0cloth from this company. \u00a0The weavers acknowledged us with smiles but didn’t miss a stitch.<\/p>\n Further within the factory there was another open-air building where several men were operating mechanical weaving machines. In another section, several people were\u00a0spinning thread onto large spools.<\/p>\n Bali is often referred to as the island of “holy water” because of the countless number of sacred springs. As one of the five essential elements, water represents the flow of energy (chi) connected with emotion and intuition.<\/p>\n We drove to the purification temple and climbed down the steep steps to the river bank. Balinese water blessings are called Melukat<\/em>\u00a0and people believe the purification ceremony cleanses\u00a0our bodies physically, emotionally, and spiritually.<\/p>\n Jumena gave us water sarongs to wear and we stored our clothes in lockers. We stepped into the shallow river and took our places in front of the temple priest. We\u00a0were given\u00a0incense and a small palm tray of offering flowers. \u00a0We followed the sequence of \u00a0prayers with appropriate flowers and the priest gave us\u00a0holy water to receive, all the while he chanted mantras in ancient Sanskrit.<\/p>\n Then we were invited to stand under the holy water fountains. \u00a0I regret not having more photos, but I decided to participate in the purification ceremony rather than record it with my camera.<\/p>\n We changed into dry sarongs and went into the temple compound to receive more blessings from the priest. We sat on the ground while he chanted and blessed us.<\/p>\n Later, the priest joined us outside the temple and, with Jumena translating, we asked questions and thanked him for allowing us to visit the temple.<\/p>\n Within another section of the compound, women were gathered\u00a0and created offerings:<\/p>\n After our purification, the\u00a0group was relatively quiet as we passed \u00a0rice fields on our way back to Jimbaran.<\/p>\n Jumena must be familiar with every inch of Bali because he continued to find interesting places to stop along the road. The bus rolled slowly through a village and Jumena said the town was famous for manufacturing gamelans<\/em>. How could we pass up this sign?!<\/p>\n We had been hearing gamelans\u00a0<\/em>everywhere! These are the percussion instruments which create\u00a0the essentials of Indonesian traditional music and were developed during\u00a0the 13th century. \u00a0The ensemble usually includes several different sizes and varieties of metallophones, hand drums, gongs, bells, and larger drums.<\/p>\n In a small back room, a man in his 70s was hand-scraping layers of metal from a bronze bars. He held the bar steady with his left foot as he scraped the surface. After a few minutes, he tapped the bar to test the tone and compared it to sound of another bar on the ground.<\/p>\n He told Jumena he had been doing this sort of work since he was six years old. He set the finished\u00a0bars on the ground next to him in tonal order.<\/p>\n A complete ensemble\u00a0of gamelan instruments:<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n