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Because they follow a fixed calendar, an odalan is always taking place at a temple somewhere. Even if you’re only in Bali for two or three days you have an excellent chance of attending one. Many odalan take place on the night of a full moon, purnama. The Denpasar Tourist Office have a Calendarof Events pamphlet which lists all the times and places for the major odalan in southern Bali for the current year.

The lavishness of the odalari depends on the importance of the temple and the wealth of the sponsoring banjar. Some temple birthdays are small and inconspicuous, others are gigantic and last a week. During the preparations of a large public temple like the Pura Kehen in BangIl, village men and women clean, decorate, build altars and awnings, erect flagpoles, and fashion ornate offerings of woven palm leaf, fruit, rice, cookies, and flowers.

Draped in fine sarung, sashes, and head- dresses, hibiscus and frangipani blossoms woven into their hair, women balance lofty pyramids of beautiful and delicate offerings on their heads in long, colorful parades. All afternoon the splendid towers arrive at the temple gates, some accompanied by marching bands. Inside, the men sit around the compound proudly wearing kris.

White-robed priests sprinkle holy water over each family’s offerings, the blessing punctuated by the chiming of tiny silver bells—an invitation to the deities to descend. For several hours the gods feast on the essence of eachoffering. Afterward, the Balinese take home the material remains. In this both way the gods are the Balinese are blessed with prosperity.