I took this picture in Nusa Dua beach, Bali (Indonesia). While the Balinese society could no longer being called as traditional society due to tourism and Indonesian central government influence to unify islands as one archipelago nation, Balinese Hinduism is still the center of their life. Balinese has strong connection with their surrounding environment; the good spirits live on the mountains while divine and evil forces are on the sea.

The Balinese in their daily life try to create balance between the good and the evil.  This picture captures a moment when a small group of Balinese prepared some offerings for a small ceremony on the beach. I assume it was aimed to throw ashes of the deceased to the sea in order to purify the souls. The sea is believed having forces to purifying anything that comes from the island. I may be wrong in interpreting the ceremony, but let the picture speaks for itself and I hope Balinese bloggers, A Simple Note and Wisata Bali would correct my interpretation.

This post also to respond The Daily Post Weekly Challenge: Split-Second Story.

The Balinese and the Sea