Introducing Canang Sari as Women’s Artwork

DENPASAR, NusaBali.com – Arts emerge in the everyday life of people on the island of Bali, not to mention Balinese women.

Generally, people know Balinese women express their works of art through dances but traditionally, it flourishes on a daily basis like making canang sari for daily offerings.

Canang sari is a symbol of heartfelt devotion and gratefulness. The offering is made of yellowish coconut leaves and a number of colorful flower petals symbolizing God’s manifestations that secure each cardinal direction.

The art of making this offering is in its complexity in cutting the yellow coconut leaves. It looks simple in nature yet requires breathtaking hand and knife movements to cut the leaves.

Besides, the position of each flower petal color should be in its cardinal direction. The dark color on the top, white on the right side, reddish petals below the dark petals, and yellowish ones on the left side.

After the four colors fill each side of the cardinal direction, thinly-cut pandan leaves are put on to cover the middle of the square canang sari.

This kind of artwork is introduced to foreigners as women’s work of art by The 101 Bali Oasis Sanur during their event of Art and Music Festival started last October, this year. The event focuses on ‘Women and Their Artwork’ and highlights any female art form.

“We want to introduce Bali to the world in the form of art and culture,” the hotel Marketing Communication Executive, Arini Dewi told NusaBali.com on Tuesday (1/11/2022).

Arini said the hotel wants to expose their noble guests to activities done by Balinese women, which is majejahitan. And making canang sari is a part of that majejahitan activity.

Other than majejahitan activity, the hotel also provides fruit carving and Balinese dance lessons with Ni Luh Putu Eka Pratiwi, a dancer who started her career at age seven.

“With her (Putu) talent and experience in dancing, we want our guests to enjoy every minute of the lesson,” Arini said.

The event is now still running until November 15, 2022. Arini explained that she expected more in-house guests as well as outsiders to join the hotel program.

“We will bring ample spaces to enjoy the experience with us,” she said, calling for more people could join the Balinese art and culture introduction program at Jalan Danau Tamblingan 136A in Sanur, Bali. *rat