Bali: Odalan at Pura Desa Sapat

Photo © Tewfic El-Sawy-All Rights Reserved
Here's the first gallery of my own work whilst I was leading the Bali: Island of Odalan Photo~Expedition™ last month.

It's a linear photo gallery of about 20 large color photographs made during an important anniversary of a Balinese Hindu temple, and it's titled Odalan: Pura Desa Sapat. It's more photo journalistic in style than travel, and there are graphic photographs of animals being sacrificed, which may be disturbing to some.

This was one of the two most intense photo-shoots during the whole photo~expedition...not only because of the time spent photographing, but also because of the unending kaleidoscope of movements, rituals, rites and activities.

Every temple in Bali has a scheduled festival, an odalan, to celebrate the anniversary of temple dedication. The timing of the anniversaries are either based on the lunar calendar or on a 210-day ceremonial cycle. Depending on the importance of the anniversary and on the wealth of its community, animals are occasionally sacrificed.

These anniversary events are important for the communal harmony of the Balinese, where villages will join other villages to pray at their odalan, adding their blessings for the success of the occasion.