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For Galungan, manna from heaven
Business bonus: Ibu Gusti earns added income making offerings for religious celebrations such as Galungan
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Business bonus: Ibu Gusti earns added income making offerings for religious celebrations such as Galungan.
Sharing delicious feasts with family and friends ' such as fast-breaking meals for Ramadhan, roast turkeys during Christmas or moon cakes for Lunar New Year ' is a hallmark of religious celebrations.
For Balinese Hindus, sweet treats are shared with family and also with the gods.
Ahead of Galungan, the religious festival marking the triumph of dharma (virtue) over adharma (vice) that was observed on Wednesday, Balinese Hindus across the island were preparing sate and the specialty minced-chicken dish of lawar ' as well as stocking up on cakes and snacks for divine offerings before sharing the items among the community.
Gianyar city's market was throbbing on Monday, as thousands of shoppers sought jajan, or Balinese sweet cakes, fruits and crispy snacks to crown their offerings.
In the past, many of these goodies were prepared in the home.
However, Muliani, a Gianyar market shopper from Terbesaya, says working full time has led her to buy her offerings readymade.
'I used to make these cakes and offerings myself, when I was not busy working, but this year I am too busy to cook,' says Muliani of bolu kukus cakes made with eggs, flour and Sprite.
At the jajan stall of Ibu Komang, boxes of bolu kukus, which look like brightly colored cup cakes, are unloaded with crispy coconut wraps and a delicious selection of dried sweets.
These are unlike the pandan and palm-sugar jajan on offer most days at her stall.
'These foods are special for Galungan. You can buy them all year, but because they stay fresh for three days, they can be used as offerings to the gods first and then taken home to be shared with family,' says Komang, who said she spends a week ahead of the religious holiday preparing sweets for sale.
Nearby is Ibu Desak Made Putri selling a snack called jajan neta. 'This is made with rice, sugar, coconut and oil and is fried. It's a crunchy snack that those who sell like and also those who buy,' says the youthful 70 year old, explaining the jajan she sells for Galungan is sent as offerings to the Gods and then returned to mankind as manna from heaven.
Laden with bags of fruits and cakes for the Galungan holiday, another shopper, Made, says that some of the treats are particularly enjoyed during Galungan.
'These are called matahari [sun] made from rice flour,' says Made, of a delicate red tinged lace cake that looks like a sunburst. Nestled alongside is a flat rice cake Made says is made of glutinous rice that is dried and dusted with icing sugar.
'I buy the cakes readymade, because I am working full time, but my mom still prepares these treats each Galungan. Mom's cakes are more delicious and crispy that what we can buy here at the market,' says Made.
The trend of purchasing ready-made foods for religious festivals has spilled over into offerings, creating an economic niche for small businesswomen, such as the elderly Ibu Gusti, who says she does not know her age.
Gusti prepares dozens of santun offerings to sell from her footpath stall. Santun is a nest of old coconut, egg and banana in a coconut-leaf basket.
'I can sell about ten santun a day, so Galungan is a lucky time for me,' says Gusti, as a white hen pokes its head out from a plastic bag by her feet. 'Yes, the hen is an offering too,' she adds.
Fruit dealers at the market are turning over double their usual sales, says 26-year-old Wayan from Gianyar.
'People like to have mangoes in their offerings. We sell 50 percent more mangoes during Galungan than other times of the year,' says Wayan, who sells her wares for less than US$1.50 a kilogram.
Flowers petals are also sold kilo by kilo to make essential offerings of Galungan. Another elderly vendor, Wayan Nypon, says that she looks forward to the spike in sales every six months that are her Galungan bonus.
'I've had this stall for 15 years and every Galungan is busy. It is good for business and I can sell a lot more flowers than at other times of the year, but it is still little by little,' says Nypon, ladling dozens of marigold heads into a bag, which like the cakes and fruits offered to the Gods, are also manna for mankind.
