Bali's Temples

In every village in Bali, there are several temples and at least one small one in each home. One can therefore safely say that there are more temples than homes in Bali. Most of these temples are shrines and might not be regarded as actual temples, but the number of walled compounds are believed to reach to a total of 10,000. The word for temple in Bali is pura, which in Sanskrit means 'space surrounded by a wall'. Simple shrines or thrones are found everywhere and at all sorts of unusual places.

Although many temples are quiet and uninhabited, they are transformed into colorful, active and ornately decorated places of worship when there is a festival. Offerings would be made, while performances of traditional dances and gamelan, cockfighting and gambling liven up the atmosphere.

All temples derive their orientation from the mountains and the sea. Kaja, which is the direction toward the mountains, is the most significant direction. The direction toward the sea is kelod. Sunrise, or kangin.

Bali is known as the Island of the Gods.  There are thousands of temples in Bali but none are precisely alike. The Balinese temples (pura) are an exposed areas encircled by walls. This is