The Art of the Daily Offering

Walk anywhere in Amed before breakfast and you will see them: small trays of woven palm leaf on doorsteps, shrines, car dashboards and the sand at the water's edge, each with a few flowers and a curl of incense.

What a canang sari holds

Each offering is a tiny square or circle of young coconut leaf, pinned with bamboo and filled with colour. The flowers are placed in a fixed order, white to the east, red to the south, yellow to the west and blue or green to the north, with rice, a pinch of betel and sometimes a sweet in the middle.

Made by hand, every morning

In most homes the offerings are made in the early morning, usually by the women of the family, and placed before the day begins. Our own team makes them at the resort too, for the shrine by the lobby, the kitchen and the start of the path to the sea.

How to walk around them

Offerings on the ground are meant to be there. Step around them where you can, and if one is on the path, don't worry; once it has been given, its purpose is complete. Never step over an offering that is still smoking.

Make one yourself

Ask at reception and Ketut will arrange a morning with the ladies of the village, weaving trays, choosing flowers and placing the offerings together before breakfast. It takes about an hour and is one of the quietest ways to begin a day here.