Sinta
You were born in the wuku Sinta, week 1 of 30 of the Balinese Pawukon.
Sinta is the first 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 1 of 30
- Title of God in this wuku
- In the Balinese lontar Tutur Gong Besi, God (Bhatara Dalem) bears the title Sanghyang Yamadipati during this wuku.
In the Tutur Gong Besi
- Tree
- kandayakan
- Bird
- gagak (Corvus)
- Kala of the wuku
- The kala of this wuku stays in the north-east: 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
In this copy the lontar’s simile for Sinta breaks off; what survives names the king of those who practise austerities. Those born in it are inclined to self-denial and proud, given to great anger and impatient, and often meet hardship; yet they are kind at heart and speak gently. Their commands are hot at first and cool later. Like their crow, they stay young in every task and understand messages from the gods. They show and tell of their wealth, generous, but not to the bottom of the heart. The danger the lontar names: being left half-dead.
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
Pagerwesi, the “iron fence” against the forces of evil, falls on Wednesday (Buda) of Sinta, the first week of the cycle. The three days before it have their own names: Banyu Penaruh (Sunday), when many people purify themselves in the sea at dawn; Comaribek (Monday); and Sabuh-Emas (Tuesday), for offerings to jewellery and gold.
Source: F. B. Eiseman Jr., Bali: Sekala & Niskala, vol. I: Essays on Religion, Ritual, and Art (Periplus 1990), ch. 17 “Balinese Calendars”
On the Monday no rice may be husked or sold, offerings are made to everything used for rice, and sleeping during the day is forbidden. On Pagerwesi the pedanda priests honour Siwa as Paramesti Guru, and families pray for their ancestors and for descendants.
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 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