Bali Jatra, a Tradition That Still Talks to Us From Across Time

Picking up the newspaper last week, one would have noticed two seemingly disparate pieces of news.

One, about the Bali Jatra celebrations in the state of Odisha with hundreds having gathered at the banks of Mahanadi.

And two, heavy downpour in the southern state of Tamil Nadu disrupting lives particularly in the deltaic regions of Thanjavur and Nagapattinam. But in a way the simultaneity of both these events have roots that go back more than 2,000 years. They are both tied to seasonality of monsoon winds at this time of the year. The ancient seafarers of Utkala or Kalinga were familiar with these winds caressing the eastern coastline of India, a phenomenon we call the retreating monsoons bringing rain to Tamil Nadu along its path. Festivals like the Bali Jatra only serve as reminders of a rich heritage and history of transoceanic regionalism.

On the full moon day (Kartika Purnima) of October-November, people in Odisha float thousands of votive boats made of coloured paper or banana stem in the lakes, ponds, rivers and the sea with oil lamps in them to light up the streams. This much cherished festival is a rather unique celebration of their ancient sea-faring traditions that go back across two millennia. It coincides with the onset of the northeasterly winds that was harnessed by the mariners to set sail across the Bay of Bengal towards our south east Asian neighbours – Bali, Sumatra, Java, Cambodia and also present day Sri Lanka. Hence the name Bali Jatra or ‘voyage to Bali island’. 

The ritual of women offering prayers for the boat, or Boitha Bandana, for the safe journey of the sailors, or sadhabas, is reminiscent of the transoceanic spirits of ancient traders and the risks of the uncertain at a time when the only certainty were these winds. From the months of October and November as the North East Monsoons pick up steam, sailors would set sail from the ancient ports of Manikpatna or Palur along the Chilka lake, from Kalingapatnam (in Odisha) or Tamralipta (Bengal), or Tanjavur and Nagapattinam (Tamil Nadu) for distant lands. Temple art in Bhubaneswar, in fact, depicts woman steering a boat with oars signifying that these voyages were not entirely a male domain, a study finds.

In terms of the sheer expanse and network of this trade, these boithas, in fact, had also been part of a much longer transcontinental trade route that connected the Greek and Romans with the South East Asian islands. Marine archeologist Sila Tripati recounts that the sails of these boithas largely took two alternative coast-hugging routes. Either along the peninsular coast towards Sri Lanka and then across the Nicobar islands through the strait of Malacca towards Sumatra, Java, Burma, Borneo and Bali. Or along the Bengal and Burmese coastline across Andaman Sea and finally approaching the straits.     

They carried with them horses, beads, cotton, glasses in exchange for aromatics, spices and what not. What they also carried with them was culture. Creating a rich repertoire of both Buddhist and Hindu influence across South East Asia that amalgamated with local traditions, beliefs and practices. Ancient Odisha itself was a land where cultural elements of multiple streams in India synthesised. Something that was both aided and exported by strong trading traditions. 

The rich tapestry of acculturation is evident in expressions like “Ya Shiva, Ya Buddha” in local Balinese culture meaning he who is Shiva is also Buddha. In fact, historian Patit Paban Mishra says that in the Shiva-Buddha tradition in Bali, Shiva was regarded as “the elder brother with age-old privileges and Buddha as the younger one with ascetic qualities”. The confluence of these flavours was at times quite literal. The consecrated water brought by a Saivite priest was for instance mixed with that of a Buddhist in rituals. And while the practice of a Buddhist priest was called Yoga, that of a Shaivite was called Bhakti. 

And yes, we also did export caste. But thankfully, probably due to the strong Buddhist, Shaivite, Tantric elements and more importantly strong indigenous practices rooted in their community, untouchability was not prevalent and intermarriage was not uncommon in Bali.  

The spread of Buddhism across south east Asia was facilitated by the monks who travelled along the sadhabas and the patronage of Odia kings. The fact that Buddhist tantrism has traces in Bali and the fact that we hear of both Shiva and Buddha being referred as Jagannatha in Bali again goes onto show the strength of the North Easterly winds and the adventurous mariners from Odisha they carried along.    

And once again, the return journey was aided by the annual reversal of monsoon winds which start to take the southwesterly direction from the month of May onwards. Eerily similar to the Bali Jatra, the Balinese observe the Masakapam Kepesih ceremony to mark the return. They float small boats having burning candles with the belief that the child is being sent back home to Kalinga. The seasonal return journey of the sea farers from Kalinga followed the currents of Malacca Strait into the mainstream of the west-flowing equatorial current through the 10° channel between the Andaman and Nicobar islands to reach the shores of present day Sri Lanka. And then hugging the eastern coast all the way back home with the South West monsoon winds in the boitha’s sails. The end of this seasonal return voyage is marked in September by the Khudurukuni festival in Odisha by the unmarried girls who waited for their brothers “to return with wealth and gifts from Southeast Asia”. 

If we too sail back to the present times, then we must observe that it is rather unfortunate that such rich history of maritime trade, cultural influences, political campaigns and regional exchanges have been left to wilt in present times. Despite India’s avowed Look and Act East Policy framework or the rhetoric of being the “vishwaguru (teacher of the world)” in recent years, in terms of foreign policy, we seem to have failed to find any meaningful role or presence in the South-East Asia over the years. As the monsoon winds start becoming increasingly unpredictable with climate crisis and rising sea levels, there is a need, far greater than before, to have such regional cohesion and multilateralism. 

Anirban Bhattacharya is a researcher, political commentator and historian. He writes on socio-economic issues, democratic rights and inequality.