Bali is known as the land of a thousand puras or temples. The reality is there are up to 20,000, since every family also has their own private temple. The Karya Agung temple celebration is a significant event at the 30 year point, in which they ask the gods to come down and join them. The group hosting this 30th year celebration at the Pura Puseh Temple at Tulikup Kelod has been preparing for this event the past 3 months. The above images show people entering the temple (bottom left) as well as scenes from the entryway to the temple.

After entering the temple, people bless themselves with holy water (center). There are temple ceremonies held almost every day somewhere in Bali. Although Bali has been inundated with tourists (prior to COVID, but only starting to return now), the ancient temples have remained pure. You can still see the colorful offerings to the gods and the daily worship, and the Balinese spiritual devotion to their religion. Bali has a population of 4.2 million people out of an Indonesian population of 275 million people. 80% of the Indonesians who identify as Hindus live in Bali.

Bringing offerings to the gods is a tradition and are delivered in many forms. You can see offerings from cooked food to live animals being brought in, many on top of their heads.

Other offerings include floral decorations, roasted pig, candy, various sweets and fruit.

Because the 30-year event is very special, a number of heritage items were displayed including a collection of antique barongs (upper left and lower right). There are many prayers throughout the day.