Bali Culture - Mepatung and Ngelawar

In the coolness of the night before the dawn breaks, the Hindus in Bali are simultaneously slaughtering pigs with in their own small group. This activity is called mepatung. A pig of some 100 kg in weight may be purchased by six to eight people. By doing it this way, they can save money as they obtain cheaper pork compared to the retail price at the market or supermarket.

In addition, they will get complete parts like flesh, innards, ribs and so forth. From a distance, the hitting sounds of the chopping board can be heard one after another. People call this activity ngelawar or making lawar,  a delicacy consisting of minced meat, vegetables (young coconut shells, jackfruit, string beans, papaya or others) and seasoned with many Balinese spices.

However, they do not only make lawar on this special day but more than that, they also make some other traditional Balinese delicacies like tum or minced by steaming; twisted satay, komoh (soup), crispy skin cracker and so on. Unique atmospheres such as this can be seen one day before the celebration of Galungan.

On this day, people throughly focus on the preparation of food intended to fill in the oblation (religious ceremony), consumption and served to relatives. Pertaining to the latter, they at all times will continue the heritage traditional of ngejot, namely exchanging some delicacies with their nearby neigbours and family. Apart from 'cross tasting' the food, it is also meant to maintain the social relationship with others. Both men and women are remarkably busy on this day. Women do activities concerning with the oblation, while men, after this 'special kitchen work', set up shrine paraphernalia, penjor of bamboo poles and some others. Right on the Galungan day, all of the family members pay homage to village, clan and family temples.