0 Frangipani, the ubiquitous flower of Bali

Gone are the eerie trails of frangipani flowers that — on Java island — are mostly found in cemeteries. In Bali, you’ll find them everywhere. They adorn Balinese women’s hair and stone statues, are part of Hindu Balinese religious offerings, and are found in public parks, along the streets and in the gardens of Balinese homes. These sweet-scented flowers are known locally as bunga kamboja (jepun Bali flowers) and brings religious, economic and health advantages. “In the past, the sandat and cempaka flowers were more popular for offerings. But in the past decades, the kamboja flowers have become more popular as they are the easiest to grow,” said Balinese culture and religious expert Ketut Wiana. 

He cited that the use of flowers and plants in Hindu Balinese offerings had been stipulated in the ancient lontar (palm leaf manuscript) “Yadnya Prakerti”. “The use of flowers in offerings symbolize the tranquility of a ceremony,” Wiana said. He added that the presence of vegetation in religious offerings was also to encourage the Balinese to preserve nature. “Frangipani is an essential and sacred part of my religious offerings,” said Balinese housewife Kadek Eni, who just like other faithful Hindu Balinese, viewed her plants as sacred during the tumpek pengatag — also known as tumpek uduh — ritual, held every 210 days of the Balinese calendar to honor Sanghyang Sangkara, the god of vegetation. 

“I prefer not to purchase flowers from market vendors, because I doubt the way they were harvested. Sometimes, I saw them selling flowers that had already fallen to the ground. When these flowers fall to the ground, they are no longer appropriate as offerings. That’s why I prefer to use the frangipani I directly picked from my own trees,” said Eni, who plants five types of frangipani with different colors at her place. At traditional markets across the island, frangipani as well as other offerings are usually sold at Rp 1,000 (1 US cents) for eight to 10 pieces of flowers. Almost all Balinese have at least a frangipani tree at home. Most collect and sell their dried fallen flowers. 

“All the neighbors along my street have their own frangipani and earn additional income from drying the flowers. I do too. It would be a waste if we just threw them away,” said Eni, who stocked a kilogram of dried frangipani every three months. Blogger I Wayan Subagiartha wrote on his blog (subagiartha.wordpress.com) that the economic value of frangipani flowers had encouraged some behavioral changes among Balinese people. “Some Balinese don’t mind waking up early in the morning and staying up late to search for falling frangipani flowers,” he wrote. Dried frangipani is an ingredient for making incense, perfume and cosmetic and spa ingredients, which has reportedly been exported to China. As demands increase so does the monetary value of dried frangipani, worth between Rp 80,000 and Rp 115,000 per kilogram.

source : bali daily