Balinese rituals are ruled by a complex calendar system, a combination of the Indian Saka calendar and the Wuku calendar. The Saka year rules the agricultural cycle and is divided into lunar months and fitted into the solar calendar by the addition of an extra month, every thirtieth month. The full moon and the dark moon are the most important ritual moments of this calendar. The first day of the Saka year however, usually in March is the day of Silence and of profound importance throughout Bali.
The Wuku year consists of a cycle of 210 days divided into thirty wuku weeks, each of which corresponds to a specific activity. There is a week of weapons and one of animals for example. There are then other types of weeks varying from one to ten days, each having a name and number, being auspicious or inauspicious. The most important days in this system are Galungan and Kuningan, when all the ancestors come down to visit.
Temples in Bali are simple walled open yards from which people can communicate directly with their gods and ancestors. Gods and ancestors normally "visit" their human worshipers or descendants during temple festivals (adolan). They reside in miniature houses set in the temple, the pelinggih shrines and alight effigies of gold, coins or offerings.
During the length of their stay, the gods and their companions are symbolically bathed, fed, put to bed and entertained with dances and other shows. Meanwhile members of the temple come and go over three or more days, with offerings and to get their share of holy water sprinkled over them and the offerings during the collective prayers.
There are few societies in the world where religion plays a role such as it does in Bali. The incredible beauty and colour that accompanies the rituals and offerings, which seem to be ever occurring, is proof that Bali is continually harmonising the world of Man with the cosmic world of the Gods.