Canang sari

What it is

The offering sits in a shallow tray folded from young coconut or palm leaf. At the base is a small bundle of betel leaf, lime and areca nut, which stands for the three main forms of god. On top lie flowers arranged by colour and direction: white to the east, red to the south, yellow to the west, and blue or green to the north. A pinch of shredded pandan leaf goes in the middle. A stick of incense is lit beside it, and holy water is sprinkled with a flower.

What it means

Each colour honours a deity who guards one direction, so the tray is a small map of the Balinese cosmos. Sari means essence. The gods are said to take the essence of the offering, carried up by the incense smoke. What remains is only leaves and petals. The time and care spent making it are part of the gift. Offerings placed high, on shrines, are for gods and ancestors. Others are placed on the ground to keep the lower spirits content.

How it is made

Women of the household usually make the offerings, often in batches for several days, cutting and pinning the leaf trays with slivers of bamboo. Markets also sell them ready made, and flowers are sold loose by colour. Frangipani gives white, and marigold gives yellow and orange. Red comes from balsam, hibiscus or rose. Blue hydrangea, grown in the cool hills, fills the northern quarter. After morning prayers the trays are set out at the house shrine, the kitchen, the gate and the place of work.

How to take part

1. Watch where you walk. Offerings sit on pavements and thresholds.
2. Join a class in Ubud to learn how to fold the tray and place the flowers.
3. If your host offers to show you the morning round of the family shrines, follow quietly and wear a sash.

Good manners

• Do not step on or over a fresh offering, especially one with incense still burning.
• Once the incense has burnt out the offering has done its work. Stepping on an old one by accident is forgiven.
• Do not move or pick up an offering to take a photograph.

The flowers

PlumeriaFragrant tropical tree with waxy, five-petaled flowers in many coloursAztec marigoldThe golden-yellow flower of Mexican altars and Day of the Dead offeringsBigleaf HydrangeaA Japanese shrub with large pink or blue flower heads that change colour with soilYlang-ylangA tropical tree with highly fragrant yellow flowers used for perfume and decoration

Also part of it, and being written: Canang sari, Impatiens balsamina, Pandanus amaryllifolius.

Sources and further reading

• Canang sari on Wikipedia