21 Sept 2015

Megibung Tradition | A Sensational Meals Together

Besides have so much beautiful tourism destinations, Bali also rich with its culture and unique traditions. One of the unique tradition is Megibung. Megibung is one of cultures heritage where everyone eating together in one crock. Everyone can feel free to eat without hesitate in Megibung Tradition. Megibung is full of togetherness, everyone can know and recognize each other also strengthen the friendship between one and another.
Megibung or eating together is consist of 5 until 8 persons in one crock.There is no difference between man or woman and there is no difference of caste or skin color. Everyone sit and eat together, but in the next generation, man and woman have to be separated except they are one family or close friend. This Tradition still firmly entrenched in Karangasem, Bali.

Megibung begins with cook Bali traditional foods together, include rice and the side dish. After done with cooking, people prepare those foods to be eaten. Rice putted in one crock that called “gibungan”, while the side dish is called “karangan”.
Megibung tradition held when there is a religious or custom ceremony in some places, especially in Karangasem area such as Yadnya Ceremony like wedding ceremony, odalan, ngaben, etc. At this activity, usually people who has a ceremony invited friends and family to see the process of the religious ceremony so that the ceremony occurred as expected.
There are some ethics that should be note in Megibung Tradition. Before eat, we have to wash our hand first, do not drop a crumb / leftovers of a mouth, do not take food next to us, if one of people had been satisfied and full, they are forbidden to leave their friends, although this rule is not written but still followed by the participants of Megibung.

19 Sept 2015

Mystical Power of Pis Bolong

http://holidaysandvacation.blogspot.co.id/Pis Bolong or Ancient Chinese Coins (kepeng money) have become money transactions tool in Bali in the past. Pis Bolong means money with hollows. The Shape is round like coin, flat, hollow at its center and Chinese written characters on both sides, mostly made from copper, silver and gold. “Pis Bolong” or kepeng money still has a function in the Balinese Hindu ceremony like Dewa Yadnya (the holy offering for God), Pitra Yadnya (the holy offering for the ancestors), Rsi Yadnya (the holy offering for clergymen) Manusa Yadnya (the holy offering for human) and Butha Yadnya (the holy offering for Ghost). It is also used to make souvenir items for the tourism. This money was came by 
 pis padma ato terataiChinese people in 12th AD.
Beside used for ceremony, some Balinese Hindu society believed Pis Bolong has supernatural or magical powers. If Pis Bolong generally has  two sides of Chinese writing, but the magic Pis Bolong has one side or rerajahan will contain a image  like Arjuna, Bhima, Krishna, Pandavas, Twalen, Sangut, Hanuman, Horse, fishnet, Crescent moon etc.
Pis Bolong containing rerajahan (Balinese sacred drawing or handwriting) generally has the power in accordance with the image contained on one side of the Pis Bolong. It magical powers will arise if the owner of Pis Bolong trusts of it. Some rumors were heard in the community that was widely magic of Pis Bolong is very powerful. Someone who wants to winning the run race usually used Pis Jaran (Horse), because it has power to run faster. If you want to get close with pretty girl usually used Pis Rejuna, it makes you look so handsome. Pis Bolong is very useful in Balinese daily life.
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Pis Rejuna
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Pis Jaran

Bali Sacred Bracelet that you must know...

 


Have you seen the Balinese Hindus people wear bracelets made from yarn? If you have seen the bracelet, you would think what that is and why Balinese Hindus people wear it. Don’t worry you will get all the information about it.

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The bracelet as known Tridatu yarn bracelet which is consist by 3 yarns colored red, black and white. Etymologic Tridatu comes from 2 words, “Tri” mean Three and “Datu” mean King. So, Tridatu is three main of God, those are Brahma God, Wisnu God, Siwa God. Tridatu is not fetish or magical thing but symbolize of three elements. The red element symbolizes creativity and bravely, the black element symbolizes powerful and protected us from bad spirit and white element symbolizes spirituality and goodness.
Tridatu as a symbol to keep remind people that life is not just one color, but many colors. There is birth, life, and death and using tridatu reminds us above all that. Wear the sacred yarn will be able to give sanctity and protection from all iniquity and dissipate bad spirits. This bracelet is purified by holy water and make this bracelet is sacred. This information will make you to know what Tridatu is and useful for you.

9 Sept 2015

Starfruit, an Exotic fruit..

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Starfruit is also known as carambola. Starfruit is native to Indonesia, India and Sri Lanka. The fruit in cross section is a five-pointed star, hence its name. The skin is green to yellowish, slightly waxy and edible. The juicy flesh is yellow, transparent with a single black edible seed. The flavour of the fruit is fresh and slightly sweet and comparable to a mix of papaya, orange and grapefruit all at once. The riper starfruit is yellow and can have some brown edges. The taste is much sweeter.


Starfruit do not need to be peeled or seeded before eating. Simply wash the fruit, cut crosswise to get the star shape, and eat.

Starfruit can be eaten out-of-hand because the fruit is entirely edible. The fruit is also commonly used in salads, cakes, jams, jellies, cocktails or to garnish food dishes.

Starfruit is ripe when they are firm and have a yellow skin. It will also have some brown ridges at the edges. The fruit can be kept at room temperature for a few days.
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The carambola is a tropical and subtropical fruit. It can be grown at up to 4,000 feet (1,200 m) in elevation. It prefers full sun exposure, but requires enough humidity and a total of 70 inches or more of rainfall a year. It does not have a soil type preference, but it requires good drainage
Carambola trees are planted at least 20 feet (6.1 m) from each other and typically are fertilized three times a year. The tree grows rapidly and typically produces fruit at four or five years of age. The large amount of rain during spring actually reduces the amount of fruit, but, in ideal conditions, carambola can produce from 200 to 400 pounds (91 to 181 kg) of fruit a year.

8 Sept 2015

Why is Kopi Luwak so special and the most expensive coffee?

Kopi luwak is the world’s most expensive coffee. The main factor of it’s high price is the uncommon method of producing such a coffee. It has been produced from the coffee beans which have been digested by a certain Indonesian cat-like animal called then palm civet or also civet cat. This is the reason kopi luwak is also called cat poop coffee or civet cat coffee. The feces of this cat will be collected, finished and sold as kopi luwak. On this website you will find all relevant information about the production process, the cat, certified kopi luwak producers, the kopi luwak coffee itself and it’s unique properties and taste. The short supply, in comparison with the high demand, the different taste and the uncommon production methods define the value of kopi luwak – the most expensive coffee in the world.


The most important reason of the coffee’s speciality is the production process. Have a look at the pictures below to see how the most expensive coffee is produced: from beans fallen from a coffee tree to a cup of Kopi Luwak coffee. If you want more details about each step, just click on “more..” in each section.
 

The coffee tree, Coffea, is a flowering evergreen plant native to tropical Africa and Asia. In the 17th century it was also imported to Latin-America

In fact, coffee beans are seeds and not beans. They contain caffeine as a plant defense against animals. However, this is no protection against the palm civet cat 

During the digestion process the coffee cherries and the pulp are removed but the coffee beans are not digested. During this process some kind of unique fermentation occurs which is responsible for giving the civet coffee its special flavor

Palm civets, also known as civet cats, are small mammals which belong to the Viverridae family. Normally they prefer to eat just the ripest coffee cherries. In Indonesia these animals are known as luwaks 

After about 24 hours the coffee beans are defecated by the civet cat. In Southeast Asia these feces are considered golden. They are collected from farmers and processed into coffee

In the next steps the coffee beans are washed, dried, pounded to remove the skin, sorted and finally roasted   

Kopi Luwak coffee can be brewed like any other coffee. Avoid using sugar, milk or cream in your kopi luwak, because with these ingredients you will not be able to taste its unique flavor