Kelawu
You were born in the wuku Kelawu, week 28 of 30 of the Balinese Pawukon.
Kelawu is the twenty-eighth of the thirty seven-day weeks (wuku) of the Pawukon, the 210-day cycle that sets most religious ceremonies in Bali. Balinese people mark their oton, the Pawukon anniversary of their birth, every 210 days on the same day of the cycle.
Source: F. B. Eiseman Jr., Bali: Sekala & Niskala, vol. I: Essays on Religion, Ritual, and Art (Periplus 1990), ch. 17 “Balinese Calendars”, ch. 9 “Rites of Passage”; E. M. Reingold & N. Dershowitz, Calendrical Calculations, Ultimate ed. (Cambridge University Press 2018), ch. 12
- Position in the Pawukon
- Week 28 of 30
- Title of God in this wuku
- In the Balinese lontar Tutur Gong Besi, God (Bhatara Dalem) bears the title Bhatara Sedhana during this wuku. The Javanese list recorded by Raffles (1817) gives Sewandana instead.
Source: Tutur Gong Besi, ed. Dinas Kebudayaan Provinsi Bali (2002), quoted in K. Subagiasta, “Nilai-Nilai Agama Hindu dalam Tutur Gong Besi”, Warta Hindu Dharma no. 474 (PHDI, July 2006); T. S. Raffles, The History of Java, vol. I (London 1817), ch. VIII
In the Tutur Gong Besi
- Tree
- The lontar names no tree for this wuku.
- Bird
- nori atat
- Kala of the wuku
- The kala of this wuku stays in the north: do not travel towards it.
Like dew dripping in a stall: poor in youth, rich in the end. Steady of spirit and firm of heart, with great desires — many of them, none good — and a greedy heart; they love praise and show their goods, generous, but not to the bottom of the heart. Like their parrot, they spend freely. The danger: snakebite.
Our translation from: Tutur Gong Besi, lontar, transliteration (alih aksara), Pusat Dokumentasi Dinas Kebudayaan Provinsi Bali, “Nyan awatekan anut ring uku”, “Nihan paukonan”
Holy days in this wuku
On Wednesday (Wage) of Kelawu, Wisnu-Sedana, god of prosperity and of success in business, is worshipped, and no business may be done. On Saturday (Paing) Sri, goddess of agriculture, is honoured, and rice may not be threshed or sold.
Source: R. Goris, “Holidays and Holy Days”, in J. L. Swellengrebel (ed.), Bali: Studies in Life, Thought, and Ritual (W. van Hoeve 1960)
Notable days in this wuku
- Wednesday: Buda Cemeng
These are the days when two of the Pawukon’s weeks meet: Kajeng Kliwon every 15 days, the other five every 35. They call for special offerings and prayers — some are held to be good days, some bad — and temple festivals and rites of passage are often set on them. On Kajeng Kliwon evil spirits are believed to be about.
Source: F. B. Eiseman Jr., Bali: Sekala & Niskala, vol. I: Essays on Religion, Ritual, and Art (Periplus 1990), ch. 17 “Balinese Calendars”; R. Goris, “Holidays and Holy Days”, in J. L. Swellengrebel (ed.), Bali: Studies in Life, Thought, and Ritual (W. van Hoeve 1960); E. M. Reingold & N. Dershowitz, Calendrical Calculations, Ultimate ed. (Cambridge University Press 2018), ch. 12