Passiflora is blessed.
9th October
No house is ready to be inhabited without a prior blessing to ensure the gods are being taken into account. Earlier, the small wooden altar where daily offerings are made was put up in the north-east corner, as close to Mt. Agung as possible. I chose a yellow and magenta one that reminds me lots of the folk art from Mexico. When the ceremony began, Manku, the priest, drew out a mandala shape with cardinal points on a small square of white cloth which now hangs at the entrance of the house. It goes over the front door traditionally, but we have no front door (or walls, come to think of it), so the cloth looks flag-light flapping in the breeze. . Later, Ibu (elder mom of the compound) and her sisters assisted manku (the priest) by blessing the four corners of the compound. Holy water was sprinkled and we all prayed. Manku drank a melon drink and we drank iced tea. The house is clean and Ibu and I are happy.
On Sunday the third of October we celebrated the birth of my new house Passiflora and yours truly's arrival to the half century mark. Fifty people arrived to celebrate my fifty years. Passiflora looked gorgeous if I do say so myself, and it was amazing to experience her first party! It is confirmed. Passiflora my eighty year old refurbished joglo (traditional javanese house) is a party girl!