Kuningan
You were born in the wuku Kuningan, week 12 of 30 of the Balinese Pawukon.
Kuningan is the twelfth 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 12 of 30
- Title of God in this wuku
- In the Balinese lontar Tutur Gong Besi, God (Bhatara Dalem) bears the title Sanghyang Indra during this wuku.
In the Tutur Gong Besi
- Tree
- wijaya kusuma (Epiphyllum)
- Bird
- urang-urangan (Alcedinidae)
- Kala of the wuku
- The kala of this wuku stays in the west: do not travel towards it.
Source: Tutur Gong Besi, lontar, transliteration (alih aksara), Pusat Dokumentasi Dinas Kebudayaan Provinsi Bali, “Nihan paukonan”; R. A. Putri, V. I. Ekowati & G. N. Dwiadmojo, “Avian diversity and ethnoornithology in Pawukon”, Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine 22 (2026), art. 43, Table 1
They talk a lot, but when asked to explain they do not know what to say. Knowledgeable, well-spoken and proud; like their wijaya kusuma, fair to see but dwelling in a lonely place, with good thoughts; proud, but their work is good and they are devout. Like their kingfisher, they finish every task quickly; diligent and clever. The danger: an amok attack.
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
The week opens with Ulihan, on Sunday and Monday, when the spirits of the ancestors return to heaven; on Wednesday Wisnu is worshipped, and Friday is a day of purification through meditation.
Source: R. Goris, “Holidays and Holy Days”, in J. L. Swellengrebel (ed.), Bali: Studies in Life, Thought, and Ritual (W. van Hoeve 1960)
Kuningan, on Saturday of this wuku, closes the Galungan Days with offerings at home and at the graves, made with yellow rice (nasi kuning). It is also a Tumpek, the third 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”
Notable days in this wuku
- Saturday: Tumpek · Kajeng Kliwon
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