A Visit to a Balinese Healer

A Visit to a Balinese Healer or Balian~ Photos and Video

A recommended experience on all of our tours and a staple of our Wellness Tours is a visit to a local Balinese healer or Balian (sometimes referred to as a dukun). There are many types and styles of Bali Usada or healing in Bali and it takes some time to find the right method and practitioner.  There are essentially four types of traditional healers in Bali. Very briefly, a Pica or Paica works with objects, The Balian Usada studies the Lontars (ancient sacred texts), The Ketakson who serves as a medium or link between the living and the deceased, and the last group is a combination of some or all of the above.

Some healers use hands on techniques like massage or applied kinesiology to move energy, remove blockages, realign meridians and such. While others employ a less invasive approach to energy work similar to Reiki. And others use offerings, tinctures, holy water, astrology, herbal medicines called Jamu, and other traditional homemade remedies. In most cases it is a mixture of several approaches.

A Balinese Healer uses her breath to dissipate to illness

I won't comment here on the efficacy of the treatments or the healers themselves, but I will say that I have witnessed some surprising outcomes over the years. Certainly some healers are more gifted than others, so your milage may vary, but it is always an interesting and worthwhile experience. I have seen some people experience near miraculous results, and some receive no tangible proceeds. It has, however, resulted closer to the former rather than latter.

Using Holy Water, a Balinese Balian blesses our tour participants for a safe and rewarding journey

On a recent Balifornian Culture Tour, two participants wanted to seek the help of a Balinese healer. We didn't have much lead time so our "go-to" healers were not available, but we were able to find one with a good reputation that was willing to see them. She is primarily a Ketakson so she acts as a channel to the other world. Occasionally, when a person dies an offering or ceremony is missing or incomplete. A Ketakson can help in these matters and provide the family with the missing piece to allow the dead to travel safely to the next world. 

Shafts of light illuminate the healing area where The Balian provides closure for a grieving family

We arrived at her compound and waited in the courtyard with a couple dozen others. She was with a family in the open air "treatment area". There was a grieving family around her listening intently as she channeled a recently deceased loved one. I am a bit more skeptical of the telekinesis style of healing versus a more hands on approach, but she was able to sense details clairvoyantly that surprised us and hit home with the family.

A Tour Participant peers into the courtyard where a healing session is taking place

Here is a very brief video of the prayer used in the healing session.

When it was time for our tour participants to receive counsel, they took turns sitting in front of the healer while she recited prayers and blessed them with holy water and flowers. Their palms were read as we translated the healers messages. We were told the reading was accurate and the suggestions were valid.

Others look on as The Healer works with other community members

I have not mentioned the healers name or village as occasionally a healer will gain fame and appointments for the villagers may become more scarce as well as expensive.  If this healer or a practitioner of other forms of traditional Balinese healing is of interest to you, please just contact us.

This is a far from exhaustive recap of the visit and certainly only touches the surface when it comes to Balinese Healing. For more information please contact us directly and we can arrange more specific sessions for you during your visit.

Related Blog Posts...

The Sacred Rituals of Besakih ~ And the Gods came down to Bali… A photo/video essay.

Bali Photo of the Day ~ Hindu Priest Blesses Holy Daggers

Ngaben ~ The Traditional Balinese Cremation Ceremony

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Bali Photo of the Day ~ Ritual Stabbing at Traditional Dance

Hello Balifornians!

Today we feature a powerful shot of a mass ritual self stabbing during a traditional dance. They don't really hurt themselves as this is more of a demonstration, but there are sacred events in Bali and Indonesia during the year where serious pain (and sometimes lasting damage) is done during holy festivals.

Balinese Traditional Dance and Rituals

This Traditional Dance from Bali features a ritual self mutilation

The men are stabbing themselves with a mock up of a holy kris or spiritual dagger.  You can see a Mankgu or Hindu Priest blessing the daggers (Kris) here.

Want to submit your photo for the Bali Tour Photo of the Day?  Simply send your photograph in JPEG format and a description to photos@balifornian.com  Files must be under 500 kb.

Happy travels and please sign up for our newsletter here.

Bali's Mother Temple – Pura Besakih shines again

Balifornian Tours and Travel Blog brings many of its tours to Pura Basakih.  If you would like a life changing visit to the increadible temple, please contact us today about our art and wellness tours.

Steps Underway to Clean Up the Image of Bali's Mother Temple – Pura Besakih.

Bali's Mother Temple of Pura Besakih sits high on the slopes of Bali's Mount Agung. On a mountain viewed by the Balinese as the "belly-button" of the universe,Besakih is indisputably Bali's most sacred temples, dating its history back to the 14th century.

In fact a complex of twenty-two temples set on parallel mountain ridges, the distinctive tiered meru roofs of the tens of lesser temples lead the eyes to the main structure or Pura Penataran Agungwhich, in turn, immediately draws the mind and the eyes to the nearby sacred caldera of Mt. Agung.

While Besakih remains a major tourist and spiritual destination on the island of Bali, a Karangasem Regency religious leader recently expressed to Bisnis Bali his view that all parties involved with the sacred temple, both religious devotees and tourist visitors, need to achieve a shared view of the site and the important role it plays in the island's cultural and religious life. I Wayan Arthadipa, the Chairman of the Majelis Madya Desa Pakraman (MMDP) for Karangasem, said that Besakih's sacred status in Balinese society tends to mute the many deficiencies surrounding the daily life of Bali's Mother Temple. Branding it as unwise to remain silent while the image and reputation of the Temple suffers, he urged local leaders and those charged with safeguarding the Temple to have the courage to take the steps necessary to restore Besakih's spiritual and moral standing. Driving home his point, he said that guides leading people through the complex must always respect the sacred nature of the Temple, obey all rules already in place and not defraud or coerce those visiting the site.

He also said that the conditions prevailing inside the Temple are no less important, pointing to criticisms that are often heard from devotees regarding questionable fees demanded for mandatory offerings. Arthadipa called for transparency in how the funds flowing in from various source toBesakih are handled. "Besakih has be managed well, be organized, and handled in a neat and professional manner," he said. To do this, he added, the regency of Karangasem and the provincial government must both be involved in order to oversee the complex issues that involve Bali main religious site.

In response, the coordinator of the management and supervision ofBesakih (KPPKSB), Drs. I Wayan Ardika, told the press that he accepts the legal instructions issued by the Regent of Karangasem and he will no longer tolerate those committing acts that bring discredit to the image ofBesakih. Coordinating the revamp of the Temples image, Ardika has issued warnings to guides, traders, parking attendants and the local people living near Besakih to follow all the rules. As regards efforts to enforce rules of behavior inside the Temple and calling for more transparency in how funds are managed, Ardika is seeking the support of young Hindu intellectuals in rebuilding Besakih's tarnished image.

On an encouraging note, Ardika noted that the number of visitors at the Temple is on the increase after declining for a period.

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