Every Bali term in the guides, in plain English — so you never have to feel lost. On the guides these words are underlined; tap one for a quick definition without leaving the page.
- Acintya
- 'The Unthinkable' — the supreme formless absolute of Balinese Hinduism, represented only by an empty throne. Acintya, is a theological and symbolic concept in Indonesian Hinduism that expresses the ineffable nature a supreme divine principle in Indonesian Hindu theology. Acintya is conceptual and iconographic representation of the ultimate reality that lies beyond thought, form, and direct worship. Read more on Wikipedia ↗
- Agama Hindu Dharma
- The formal name of Balinese Hinduism — a distinct island religion braiding Shaivite Hindu, Buddhist and indigenous strands, state-recognised in the 1960s. Balinese Hinduism is a distinct form of Hinduism practised primarily on the island of Bali, Indonesia. It developed through a long process of religious syncretism, combining indigenous Balinese beliefs with Hindu traditions that spread through the Indonesian archipelago from the early centuries CE. Rather than representing a direct continuation of Indian Hinduism, Balinese Hinduism constitutes a locally evolved religious system shaped by ritual practice, communal organisation, and sacred geography. Read more on Wikipedia ↗
- arak
- Balinese rice/palm liquor. Legitimate arak is a local staple, but illegally methanol-adulterated batches have poisoned tourists — only drink it from reputable bars, never unlabelled bottles. Arrack is a distilled alcoholic drink typically produced in India, Sri Lanka, and Southeast Asia, made from the fermented sap of coconut flowers or sugarcane, and also with grain or fruit depending upon the country of origin. It is sometimes spelled arak, or simply referred to as 'rack or 'rak. In many parts of India, arrack is colloquially known as "desi daru". Read more on Wikipedia ↗
- babi guling
- Balinese spit-roast suckling pig, rubbed with the base genep spice paste — the island's most famous feast dish, served with crackling, blood sausage and rice. Babi panggang refers to various Indonesian grilled pork dishes, 'babi' meaning pig or pork, and 'panggang' meaning grilled or roasted in the Indonesian language. Read more on Wikipedia ↗
- banjar
- The tight-knit neighbourhood association every Balinese belongs to — a community council that runs ceremonies, mutual aid and local life, and holds real social authority.
- baris
- A traditional Balinese warrior dance, originally a temple offering, showing a young soldier's courage and shifting emotions through sharp, martial movements. Baris dance is a family of traditional war dances in Bali, Indonesia, accompanied by gamelan, in which dancers depict the feelings of a young warrior prior to battle, glorify the manhood of the triumphant Balinese warrior, and display the sublimity of his commanding presence. Baris derives its name from the word bebarisan, which literally means "line" or "file formation", referring to the soldiers who served the ancient rajas of Bali. Read more on Wikipedia ↗
- Barong
- The benevolent lion-like guardian creature of Balinese myth. In the Barong dance he battles the witch Rangda — an eternal, unresolved duel of order and chaos. Barong is a panther-like creature and character in the Balinese culture of Bali, Indonesia. He is the king of the spirits, leader of the hosts of good, and enemy of Rangda, the demon queen and mother of all spirit guarders in the mythological traditions of Bali. The battle between Barong and Rangda is featured in the Barong dance to represent the eternal battle between good and evil. Read more on Wikipedia ↗
- base genep
- The 'complete spice' paste at the heart of Balinese cooking — a pounded blend of shallots, garlic, chilli, turmeric, ginger, galangal, candlenut and more.
- betutu
- Duck or chicken (bebek/ayam betutu) rubbed in spice paste, wrapped in leaves and slow-cooked for hours until falling apart — a Balinese ceremonial specialty. Betutu is a Balinese dish of steamed or roasted chicken or duck in rich bumbu betutu. This highly seasoned and spiced dish is a popular dish in Bali and Lombok, Indonesia. An even spicier version is available using extra-spicy sauce made from uncooked (raw) onion slices mixed with red chili peppers and coconut oil. Read more on Wikipedia ↗
- Bhoma
- The grotesque carved face set above a Balinese temple gate. Not a demon — a protective earth-spirit that filters out ill intent and admits pure intentions.
- canang sari
- The small daily offering you'll see everywhere in Bali: a woven palm-leaf tray of flowers, rice and incense, placed each morning as a gesture of gratitude. Canang sari is one of the daily offerings made by Balinese to thank the nine guardian deities - Dewata Nawa Sanga - in praise and prayer. Canang sari will be seen in the Balinese temples (pura), on small shrines in houses, and on the ground or as a part of a larger offering. Read more on Wikipedia ↗
- candi bentar
- A 'split gate' — a stone temple gateway cleanly divided into two mirror-image halves, marking the threshold into sacred ground. Candi bentar, or split gateway, is a classical Javanese and Balinese gateway entrance commonly found at the entrance of religious compounds, palaces, or cemeteries in Indonesia. It is a candi-like structure split perfectly in two to create a passage in the center for people to walk through. In contrast to the very ornate shape and decoration of the main faces, the sides of the passage are left completely plain. The passage is usually elevated with a flight of stairs to reach it. A candi bentar is commonly found in Java, Bali, and Lombok. Read more on Wikipedia ↗
- cuntaka
- Ritual impurity in Balinese Hinduism — triggered equally by blood, birth and death. It's why menstruating women, the recently bereaved, and people with open wounds stay out of temple inner areas.
- Dang Hyang Nirartha
- A hugely influential travelling priest of the 1530s, credited by tradition with shaping Balinese Hinduism and founding several of its sea temples. Dang Hyang Nirartha, also known by various names such as Ida Pedanda Sakti Wawu Rauh, Mpu Nirartha, and Dang Hyang Dwijendra, was known as Prince Sangupati in Lombok and Tuan Guru Semeru in Sumbawa. He was a Hindu priest of the Shaiva sect who was born in Java during the final period of the Majapahit Kingdom and spent most of his life, until his death, in Bali. In Bali, he was appointed as Bagawanta or royal priest in the Gelgel Kingdom. In the manuscript Paniti Gama Tirta Pawitra, he is also depicted as Sang Atungga Dharma or a wandering sage who spread the teachings of dharma. Read more on Wikipedia ↗
- Dewi Danu
- The goddess of the crater lakes and irrigation water, worshipped at the lake temple Ulun Danu Beratan — the divine source that feeds the subak system.
- Dewi Sri
- The Balinese-Javanese rice goddess of fertility and prosperity — honoured with small shrines and offerings in the paddies at every stage of the growing cycle. Dewi Sri or Shridevi is the Javanese, Sundanese, and Balinese Hindu Goddess of rice and fertility, still widely worshiped on the islands of Java, Bali and Lombok, Indonesia. She is often associated or equated with the Hindu goddess Lakshmi, the shakti (consort) of Vishnu. Read more on Wikipedia ↗
- Galungan
- The Balinese festival marking the victory of dharma (order) over adharma (chaos), when ancestral spirits return; the island fills with tall, curved penjor poles. Galungan is a Balinese Hindu holiday celebrating the victory of dharma over adharma. 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. Read more on Wikipedia ↗
- gamelan
- The percussion orchestra of Bali and Java — bronze gongs, metallophones and drums, tuned in interlocking pairs so two players share one melody. Gamelan is the traditional ensemble music of the Javanese, Sundanese, and Balinese peoples of Indonesia, made up predominantly of percussive instruments. The most common instruments used are metallophones and a set of hand-drums called kendang, which keep the beat. The kemanak, a banana-shaped idiophone, and the gangsa, another metallophone, are also commonly used gamelan instruments on Bali. Other notable instruments include xylophones, bamboo flutes, a bowed string instrument called a rebab, and a zither-like instrument called a siter, used in Javanese gamelan. Read more on Wikipedia ↗
- gorgonian
- A sea fan — a large, tree-like soft coral that grows in fans and whips on current-swept reef walls. The big ones are a highlight of Bali's best dive sites. Alcyonacea, in English soft corals or alcyonacians, is a former order of Octocorallia. Since a 2022 revision of Octocorallia, the content of Alcyonacea has been included in the order Malacalcyonacea and, to a lesser extent, in the order Scleralcyonacea, these two new orders now making up the order Octocorallia. Read more on Wikipedia ↗
- Jalak Bali
- The Bali starling (Leucopsar rothschildi) — a striking white bird with a blue eye-mask, the island's only endemic bird and one of the world's rarest, clinging on in West Bali National Park. The Bali myna, also known as Rothschild's mynah, Bali starling, or Bali mynah, locally known as jalak Bali, is a medium-sized, stocky myna native to northeast Bali in Indonesia. It is almost wholly white with a long, drooping crest, and black tips on the wings and tail. The bird has blue bare skin around the eyes, greyish legs and a brown and yellow bill. Both sexes are similar. It is critically endangered and in 2020, fewer than 50 adults were assumed to exist in the wild. Read more on Wikipedia ↗
- jukung
- A slender traditional Balinese outrigger canoe, often brightly painted, used for fishing and, on the east and north coasts, for taking snorkellers and dolphin-watchers out at dawn. A jukung or kano, also known as cadik is a small wooden Indonesian outrigger canoe. It is a traditional fishing boat, but newer uses include "Jukung Dives", using the boat as a vehicle for small groups of SCUBA divers. Read more on Wikipedia ↗
- kaja / kelod
- Bali's sacred axis: kaja points toward the mountains (pure, divine) and kelod toward the sea (powerful, dangerous). It orients temples and villages alike.
- Kuningan
- The day, ten days after Galungan, when the visiting ancestral spirits return to heaven — marked with yellow-rice offerings. Kuningan is a town (kelurahan) and an administrative district (kecamatan) located in eastern West Java, Indonesia, between Cirebon and Tasikmalaya, about 200 km east of Jakarta. It is the administrative center of Kuningan Regency. The district is located east of Mount Cereme/Ciremai, the highest mountain in West Java. The eastern part of the district is a valley. The district's landmark is a statue of a horse, called Kuda Kuningan and its motto is Kuningan Aman (Safe) Sehat (Healthy) Rindang (Leafy) Indah (Beautiful), abbreviated as Kuningan ASRI. Read more on Wikipedia ↗
- lawar
- A Balinese mix of finely chopped vegetables, grated coconut, minced meat and rich spices; the ceremonial 'red lawar' is traditionally bound with a little fresh blood. Lawar is a town and a nagar panchayat in Meerut district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. Read more on Wikipedia ↗
- legong
- A refined classical Balinese dance of intricate finger, foot and eye movements, traditionally performed by young girls; one of the most beautiful stage dances to see in Ubud. Legong is a form of Balinese dance. It is a refined dance form characterized by intricate finger movements, complicated footwork, and expressive gestures and facial expressions. Read more on Wikipedia ↗
- Mahayana
- The 'Great Vehicle' — the branch of Buddhism widespread across East and Southeast Asia. Mahāyāna is the largest branch of Buddhism, followed by Theravada. It is a broad group of Buddhist traditions, texts, philosophies, and practices that developed in various regions and Buddhist communities of ancient India. Mahāyāna Buddhism accepts the main scriptures and teachings of early Buddhism but also recognizes various scriptures that are not accepted by Theravāda Buddhism as canonical. Mahāyāna scriptures like the Lotus Sutra and the Vajra-cutter Sutra emphasize the ideal of the bodhisattva, spiritual heroes who vow to attain buddhahood for the sake of saving all living beings. Read more on Wikipedia ↗
- Majapahit
- The 13th–16th-century Javanese empire whose Hindu-Buddhist culture spread across the archipelago and deeply shaped Bali. Majapahit, also known as Wilwatikta, was a Javanese Hindu-Buddhist thalassocratic empire in Southeast Asia based on the island of Java. At its greatest extent, following significant military expansions, the territory of the empire and its tributary states covered almost the entire Nusantara archipelago, spanning both Asia and Oceania. After a civil war that weakened control over the vassal states, the empire slowly declined before collapsing in 1527 due to an invasion by the Sultanate of Demak. The fall of Majapahit saw the rise of Islamic kingdoms in Java. Read more on Wikipedia ↗
- melukat
- A Balinese purification ritual performed at holy springs; visitors can often take part respectfully with guidance.
- meru
- A tiered, black-thatched pagoda shrine. The number of roofs is always odd and encodes rank — eleven for the supreme gods, three for a deified ancestor.
- moksha
- In the Indian religions, liberation (spiritual release) from the cycle of death and rebirth. Moksha, also called vimoksha, vimukti, and mukti, is a term in Jainism, Buddhism, Hinduism, and Sikhism for various forms of emancipation, liberation, nirvana, or release. In its soteriological and eschatological senses, it refers to freedom from saṃsāra, the cycle of death and rebirth. In its epistemological and psychological senses, moksha requires self-realization, self-actualization, and self-knowledge. Read more on Wikipedia ↗
- nasi campur
- 'Mixed rice' — a plate of rice ringed with small helpings of whatever's good that day (meats, vegetables, sambal, a boiled egg). The everyday Balinese meal, and the cheapest honest lunch you'll find. Nasi campur, also known as nasi rames or sega campur in Java, refers to an Indonesian and Malay dish of a scoop of nasi putih accompanied by small portions of several other dishes, including meats, vegetables, peanuts, eggs, and fried-shrimp krupuk. Read more on Wikipedia ↗
- ngaben
- The Balinese Hindu cremation ceremony that frees the soul from the body — often a huge, joyful, expensive communal event with towering cremation towers. Ngaben, also known as Pitra Yadnya, Pelebon or cremation ceremony, is the Hindu funeral ritual of Bali, Indonesia. A Ngaben is performed to release the soul of a dead person so that it can enter the upper realm where it can wait for it to be reborn or become liberated from the cycles of rebirths. The Balinese Hindu theology holds that there is a competition between evil residents of the lower realm to capture this soul, and a proper cremation enhances the chance that it may reach the upper realm. Read more on Wikipedia ↗
- Nyepi
- Bali's Day of Silence and new year, when the whole island stops — no travel, lights, work or noise, and even the airport closes. Nyepi, also known as Day of Silence, is a Balinese holiday held every Isakawarsa according to the Balinese calendar, and it can be traced as far back as 78 A.D. Read more on Wikipedia ↗
- odalan
- A temple's 'birthday' anniversary festival, held every 210-day Balinese year, when a quiet temple bursts into days of offerings, music and dance.
- ogoh-ogoh
- Giant, grotesque papier-mâché monster effigies built by each community and paraded (then often burned) on the eve of Nyepi to drive off evil spirits. Ogoh-ogoh is a sculpture art form in Balinese culture that is typically paraded during Pangrupukan, a Hindu Balinese tradition held to welcome Nyepi. This tradition is part of the Tawur Kesanga procession, a Hindu Balinese ritual aimed at neutralizing negative forces in the surrounding environment and "appeasing" beings from the lower realms before the turn of the Saka Year. During the Pangrupukan parade, ogoh-ogoh symbolizes the evils of human nature or negativity in the universe. Therefore, after the parade ends, ogoh-ogoh is eventually burned as a representation of eliminating those negative traits. Read more on Wikipedia ↗
- padmasana
- A tall stone 'lotus throne' left deliberately empty — the seat of the supreme, formless reality, which has no image.
- pawang
- A local handler at Uluwatu who coaxes stolen items back from the macaques — usually by trading them a piece of fruit.
- penjor
- A tall, gracefully arching bamboo pole hung with palm-leaf decorations and offerings, raised outside homes for Galungan to honour the gods and the mountain.
- pura
- A Balinese Hindu temple — an open-air walled complex of shrines and split gates, not a roofed building. Bali has tens of thousands, from tiny village temples to the great directional sanctuaries. A Balinese temple, known as a pura, is a place of worship for adherents of Balinese Hinduism in Indonesia. Puras are designed according to principles of Balinese sacred architecture, incorporating prescribed spatial orientation, ritual functions, and ceremonial regulations. They serve as focal points for communal worship rather than congregational prayer, with participation organised through families, villages, and ritual associations. Read more on Wikipedia ↗
- pura segara
- A 'sea temple' — one of the Balinese sanctuaries that guard the island's coastline against the powerful forces of the ocean.
- Ramayana
- An ancient Sanskrit epic of Prince Rama's quest to rescue his wife Sita from the demon king Ravana — the story the Kecak stages. The Ramayana, also known as the Valmiki Ramayana, as traditionally attributed to Valmiki, is a Hindu smriti epic poem from ancient India. It is one of the two important epics of Hinduism known as the Itihasas, the other being the Mahabharata, narratives of past events, interspersed with teachings on the goals of human life. It is one of the largest ancient epics in world literature and consists of nearly 24,000 shlokas (verses), divided into seven kāṇḍa (chapters). Each shloka is a couplet. Read more on Wikipedia ↗
- Rangda
- The fanged witch-queen of Balinese myth, embodiment of chaos and the demonic — the eternal adversary of the Barong. Rangda is the demon queen of the Leyaks in Bali, according to traditional Balinese mythology. Terrifying to behold, the child-eating Rangda leads an army of evil witches against the leader of the forces of good — Barong. The battle between Barong and Rangda is featured in a Barong dance which represents the eternal battle between good and evil. Read more on Wikipedia ↗
- Sad Kahyangan
- Bali's set of great 'directional' sanctuary temples that guard the island. Which temples make the list varies from source to source.
- Sang Hyang Widhi
- The single supreme God of modern Balinese Hinduism, foregrounded in the 20th century to meet Indonesia's requirement that recognised religions be monotheistic. Sang Hyang Widhi Wasa is the supreme divine principle in Balinese Hinduism and in Indonesian Hindu theology more broadly. The name is translated as “The Divine Order” or “The One Supreme God.” Sang Hyang Widhi Wasa is not a personal god, but an absolute, ineffable source from which all divine manifestations arise. Read more on Wikipedia ↗
- sanghyang
- Sacred Balinese trance rituals in which performers become vessels for spirits. The Kecak's hypnotic chorus grew out of the 'voice gamelan' that accompanied them. Sanghyang is a traditional sacred Balinese dance originated from the Indonesian island of Bali. It is based on the premise that an unseen force enters the body of an entranced performer. The force, identified as hyang, is an important type of spiritual entity in ancient Indonesian mythology. Read more on Wikipedia ↗
- sate lilit
- Balinese satay of minced, spiced meat or fish moulded onto a lemongrass or bamboo skewer and grilled — 'lilit' means to wrap around. Sate lilit is a satay variant in Indonesia, originating from Balinese cuisine. This satay is made from minced pork, fish, chicken, beef, or even turtle meat, which is then mixed with grated coconut, thick coconut milk, lemon juice, shallots, and pepper. The spiced minced meat is wound around bamboo, sugar cane or lemongrass sticks, it is then grilled on charcoal. Unlike skewers of other satay recipes which is made narrow and sharp, the bamboo skewer of sate lilit is flat and wide. This wider surface allowed the minced meat to stick and settle. Read more on Wikipedia ↗
- sekala / niskala
- The Balinese pairing of the seen world (sekala) and the unseen world (niskala); daily ritual keeps the two in balance.
- Shaivite
- Belonging to Shaivism — the strand of Hinduism centred on the god Shiva, and the dominant Hindu current in Bali. Shaivism is an umbrella-term for a number of Hindu religious traditions, which worship Shiva as the supreme being. The followers of Shaivism are called Shaivas or Shaivites, numbering about 385 million people, across South Asia predominantly in India, Sri Lanka, and Nepal. Read more on Wikipedia ↗
- subak
- Bali's thousand-year-old democratic irrigation cooperatives — farmer associations, tied to water temples, that share river water fairly across the rice terraces. UNESCO-listed as a living expression of Tri Hita Karana. Subak is the water management (irrigation) system for the paddy fields on Bali island, Indonesia. It was developed in the 9th century. For the Balinese, irrigation is not simply providing water for the plant's roots, but water is used to construct a complex, pulsed artificial ecosystem that is at the same time autonomous and interdependent. The system consists of terraced rice fields and water temples covering nearly 20,000 hectares. The temples are the main focus of this cooperative water management, known as subak. Read more on Wikipedia ↗
- Tantric Buddhist
- An esoteric form of Mahayana Buddhism working through ritual, mantra and symbolism — one of the older layers woven into Balinese religion. Vajrayāna, otherwise known as Mantrayāna, Guhyamantrayāna, Tantrayāna, Indo-Tibetan Buddhism, Tantric Buddhism, and Esoteric Buddhism, is a vehicle of the Mahāyāna Buddhist tradition that emphasizes esoteric practices and rituals aimed at rapid spiritual awakening. Emerging between the 5th and 7th centuries CE in medieval India, Vajrayāna Buddhism incorporates a range of techniques, including the use of mantras, dhāraṇīs, mudrās, mandalās, and the visualization of deities and Buddhas. Read more on Wikipedia ↗
- Tri Hita Karana
- A Balinese philosophy of harmony between people, the divine and nature. The values are old; this neat three-part formulation was coined in the late 1960s. Tri Hita Karana is a central philosophy as part of Balinese Hinduism the dominant religion practiced on the island of Bali, Indonesia. The literal translation is roughly the "three causes of well-being" or "three reasons for prosperity." Read more on Wikipedia ↗
- warung
- A small family-run Balinese eatery or shop — the cheapest, most authentic place to eat, where a plate of nasi campur costs a fraction of the tourist restaurants. A warung is a type of small family-owned business — small retail, eatery, or café — in Indonesia. A warung is an essential part of daily life in Indonesia. Over time, the term warung has shifted somewhat — especially among foreign visitors, expatriates, and people abroad — to refer more specifically to a modest Indonesian eatery or a place that sells Indonesian retail items. But for the majority of Indonesians, it still refers to a small, neighborhood convenience shop, often a front room or booth in a family's home. Read more on Wikipedia ↗
- yadnya
- Ritual sacrifice or offering — the system of daily and ceremonial acts at the heart of Balinese religious life.
Definitions are ours; where a term links out, the background is from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).