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Balinese Mythology
Balinese mythology is the traditional mythology of the Balinese people, people of the Indonesian island of Bali, before the majority adoption of Hinduism. Balinese mythology is mainly a kind of animism with some widely known characters and deities. Many themes of Balinese mythology have been adapted and worked into current Balinese Hinduism. Aspects of Balinese mythology *Antaboga *Bedawang Nala *Barong (mythology), Barong *Bhoma - known as the Son of the Earth *Rangda - a wicked witch and practitioner of black magic *Setesuyara *Batara Kala *Semara (god), Semara *Tjak *Takshaka *The Awan *Perfumed Heaven *Galungan *Calon Arang *Celuluk *Leyak (or Leák) *Vasuki - the serpent king that accompanies Shiva Creation myth At the Creation myth, beginning of time, only Antaboga the world snake existed. Antaboga meditated and created the world turtle Bedawang. Two snakes lie on top of the world turtle, as does the Black Stone, which forms the lid of the underworld. The underworld is ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mythology
Myth is a genre of folklore consisting primarily of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society. For scholars, this is very different from the vernacular usage of the term "myth" that refers to a belief that is not true. Instead, the veracity of a myth is not a defining criterion. Myths are often endorsed by religious (when they are closely linked to religion or spirituality) and secular authorities. Many societies group their myths, legends, and history together, considering myths and legends to be factual accounts of their remote past. In particular, creation myths take place in a primordial age when the world had not achieved its later form. Origin myths explain how a society's customs, institutions, and taboos were established and sanctified. National myths are narratives about a nation's past that symbolize the nation's values. There is a complex relationship between recital of myths and the enactment of rituals. Etymology The word "myth" comes from Ancient ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Semara (god)
Smāra (also romanized Semara, , ; ) is a city in the Morocco, Moroccan-controlled part of Western Sahara, with a population of 57,035 recorded in the 2014 Moroccan census. It is served by Smara Airport and Smara bus station. History The largest city in its province, Smara, was founded in the Saguia el-Hamra as an oasis for travellers in 1869. In the center of the city the remains of a stone fortress can be found, the Zawiy Maalainin, which enclosed a mosque. The Maalainin lived there from 1830 until 1912. It was made a capital and religious center in 1902 by shaykh Ma al-'Aynayn, in what was then Spanish Sahara. The location of the city was intended to ensure its becoming a Caravan (travellers), caravan trade hub in the sparsely populated Sahara desert. The enlargement of Smara was carried out by local Sahrawi people, Sahrawis as well as craftsmen sent by the sultan Hassan I of Morocco. In 1902, shaykh Ma al-'Aynayn moved to Smara and declared it his holy capital. Among other thin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Turtle
Turtles are reptiles of the order (biology), order Testudines, characterized by a special turtle shell, shell developed mainly from their ribs. Modern turtles are divided into two major groups, the Pleurodira (side necked turtles) and Cryptodira (hidden necked turtles), which differ in the way the head retracts. There are 360 living and recently extinct species of turtles, including land-dwelling tortoises and freshwater terrapins. They are found on most continents, some islands and, in the case of sea turtles, much of the ocean. Like other Amniote, amniotes (reptiles, birds, and mammals) they breathe air and do not lay eggs underwater, although many species live in or around water. Turtle shells are made mostly of bone; the upper part is the domed Turtle shell#Carapace, carapace, while the underside is the flatter plastron or belly-plate. Its outer surface is covered in scale (anatomy), scales made of keratin, the material of hair, horns, and claws. The carapace bones deve ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Meditate
Meditation is a practice in which an individual uses a technique to train attention and awareness and detach from reflexive, "discursive thinking", achieving a mentally clear and emotionally calm and stable state, while not judging the meditation process itself. Techniques are broadly classified into focused (or concentrative) and open monitoring methods. Focused methods involve attention to specific objects like breath or mantras, while open monitoring includes mindfulness and awareness of mental events. Meditation is practiced in numerous religious traditions, though it is also practised independently from any religious or spiritual influences for its health benefits. The earliest records of meditation ('' dhyana'') are found in the Upanishads, and meditation plays a salient role in the contemplative repertoire of Jainism, Buddhism and Hinduism. Meditation-like techniques are also known in Judaism, Christianity and Islam, in the context of remembrance of and prayer and dev ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Snake
Snakes are elongated limbless reptiles of the suborder Serpentes (). Cladistically squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping scales much like other members of the group. Many species of snakes have skulls with several more joints than their lizard ancestors and relatives, enabling them to swallow prey much larger than their heads ( cranial kinesis). To accommodate their narrow bodies, snakes' paired organs (such as kidneys) appear one in front of the other instead of side by side, and most only have one functional lung. Some species retain a pelvic girdle with a pair of vestigial claws on either side of the cloaca. Lizards have independently evolved elongate bodies without limbs or with greatly reduced limbs at least twenty-five times via convergent evolution, leading to many lineages of legless lizards. These resemble snakes, but several common groups of legless lizards have eyelids and external ears, which snakes lack, althoug ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Creation Myth
A creation myth or cosmogonic myth is a type of cosmogony, a symbolic narrative of how the world began and how people first came to inhabit it., "Creation myths are symbolic stories describing how the universe and its inhabitants came to be. Creation myths develop through oral traditions and therefore typically have multiple versions." While in popular usage the term ''myth'' often refers to false or fanciful stories, members of cultures often ascribe varying degrees of truth to their creation myths. In the society in which it is told, a creation myth is usually regarded as conveying profound truthsmetaphorically, symbolically, historically, or literally. They are commonly, although not always, considered cosmogonical mythsthat is, they describe the ordering of the cosmos from a state of chaos or amorphousness. Creation myths often share several features. They often are considered sacred accounts and can be found in nearly all known religious traditions. They are all storie ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vasuki
Vasuki () is the king of the nagas in Hinduism. He is described as having a gem called '' Nagamani'' (serpent's ornament) on his head. Shesha, another king of the nagas and the bed on which Vishnu rests, is his elder brother, and Manasa, another naga, is his sister. In Hindu iconography, he is generally depicted coiling around the neck of Shiva, who is believed to have blessed and worn him as an ornament. He is known in Chinese and Japanese mythology as being one of the "eight Great Dragon Kings" (八大龍王 pinyin: Bādà lóngwáng; Japanese: Hachidai Ryūō), amongst Nanda (Nāgarāja), Upananda, Sāgara (Shakara), Takshaka, Balavan, Anavatapta, and Utpala. Legend Vasuki is one of the sons of the sage Kashyapa and Kadru. He is accorded a significant role in the legend of Samudra Manthana. He is described to have allowed both the devas and the asuras to bind him to Mount Mandara, so that they could use him as their churning rope to extract the amrita from the Oc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Leyak
The ''Léyak'' ( Balinese: ᬮᬾᬬᬓ᭄) balinese In the folklore of Bali is a mythological figure in the form of a flying head with entrails (heart, lung, liver, etc.) still attached. ''Leyak'' are said to fly trying to find a pregnant woman in order to suck her baby's blood or a newborn child. There are three legendary ''Leyak'', two females and one male. Description ''Leyak'' are humans who are practicing black magic and have cannibalistic behavior. Their mistress is the "queen of ''Leyak''", a widow-witch named ''Rangda'', who plays a prominent role in public rituals. Her mask is kept in the village death temple and during her temple festivals, she is paraded. Besides Leyaks, demons are said to be the followers of ''Rangda''. Leyak are said to haunt graveyards, feed on corpses, have power to change themselves into animals, such as pigs, and fly. In normal ''Leyak'' form, they are said to have an unusually long tongue and large fangs. In daylight they appear as an ord ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Calon Arang
Calon Arang is a character in Javanese and Balinese folklore dating from the 12th century. Tradition calls her a witch, a master of black magic. It is unknown who composed the story, but a manuscript of the Calon Arang text (written in the Latin alphabet) is kept in the Royal Netherlands Institute of Southeast Asian and Caribbean Studies. Story In the village of Girah in the Kediri Kingdom long ago, in what is now Indonesia, lived a very cruel widow named Calon Arang, a witch and a black magician. She had a beautiful daughter named Ratna Manggali. But because of her ruthless nature, the people of Girah are afraid of Calon Arang, and so, Ratna Manggali had no suitors. Knowing this, Calon Arang became furious, holding all of the people in the village responsible. She decided to place a curse on Girah, and performed a dark ceremony in the cemetery by offering the sacrifice of a young girl to the Goddess Durga. Durga came down and granted the request of Calon Arang and the curse came ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Galungan
Galungan is a Balinese holiday celebrating the victory of ''dharma'' over ''adharma''.Eiseman (1989) p353 It marks the time when the ancestral spirits visit the Earth. The last day of the celebration is Kuningan, when they return. The date is calculated according to the 210-day Balinese Pawukon calendar. Significance Galungan marks the beginning of the most important recurring religious ceremonies. The spirits of deceased relatives who have died and been cremated return to visit their homelands, and the current inhabitants have a responsibility to be hospitable through prayers and offerings. The most obvious sign of the celebrations are the '' penjor'' - bamboo poles with offerings suspended at the end. These are installed by the side of roads. A number of days around the Kuningan day have special names, and are marked by the organization of particular activities.Eiseman (1989) p183 Dates Galungan begins on the Wednesday (Buda), the 11th week of the 210-day pawukon calendar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
