The island of Bali has customs that are upheld in society. Everyone has to respect and obey each of them, including the tourists and other residents. Well, for those of you who are planning a vacation or living in Bali, it is important to know what customs must be respected. One of them is the prohibition of drying your clothes over the head.
What’s the Reason for It?
This stems from Hindu teaching in Bali which, is only allowed to dry clothes up to a maximum height of the human’s chest and shouldn’t exceed your chin as the head is sacred. The clothes that we have worn are considered to be dirty, thus should not be dried above the head.
In this matter, it should be done appropriately. Starting from the clothes we wear as a top then followed by the bottom. Putting clotheslines should also not be arbitrary. One of them is to avoid putting it in the middle of the yard or in front of the house entrance. The correct way is it should be placed at the corner and away from eyesight.
It Will Cost You Your Physical Health
Pedanda Ida Bajing, a Hindu Priestess, explained that drying your clothes above the head is believed to make a person often experience headaches. Because the clothes that have been worn are dirty objects while the head is a sacred body part. Pedanda Ida Bajing said that in every yard or area of the house, there must be a Pelinggih Penugun Karang, a Bali guardian who protects the household, with approximate height the same as humans.
“If we dry clothes above our heads, it would be unethical to exceed the height of Pelinggih Penugun Karang, who is our guardian,” concluded Ida Pedanda Bajing. That is why we are prohibited to dry clothes over the top of the head in Bali. So for those of you who are planning to go to Bali, you should follow the customs accordingly because this is also an ethic in Balinese Hindu society.
