Next: 13 to 23 Jan 2027
Galungan
Every Balinese street lined with penjor, tall curved bamboo poles hung with pale yellow palm-leaf ornaments.
The colours of Galungan
Galungan comes every 210 days in the Balinese calendar and celebrates the victory of dharma, right order, over disorder. The spirits of ancestors are believed to visit for ten days, until Kuningan. Outside each house stands a penjor: a bamboo pole eight or ten metres tall, bent over at the top by its own weight, decorated with plaited young coconut leaves of pale yellow-green, rice, fruit and cloth. Shrines are wrapped in white and yellow cloth, the colours of purity and of the gods. People go to the temple in their best: men in white shirts and headcloths, women in lace kebaya blouses with a bright sash. The name Kuningan is related to kuning, yellow, and yellow rice is offered on that day.
#E9DC8AJanur yellowYoung coconut leaf plaited for the penjor.#F2C200Shrine yellowCloth round shrines; yellow rice at Kuningan.#FDFDF8Temple whiteDress for the temple and cloth for the gods.#7A9A3ABamboo greenThe pole of the penjor.Values are fair approximations, not official shades.
Read about the colours
Written by the Rang desk with AI assistance. Background: "Galungan" on Wikipedia. Customs differ from family to family and place to place. If this is your tradition and we have it wrong, tell us.