Mysticism among the Pedandas of Bali
June Mcdaniel
Religions November 5, 2020 DOI: 10.3390/rel11110585 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Ethnography Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Shiva pedandas (brahmin high priests) on Bali, Indonesia |
| Topics | Buddhism Mysticism |
| Keywords | Trance Westernization Hinduism Modernization theory Indonesian Possession linguistics Islamization Ethnography Religious studies Spiritualism Aesthetics Ancient history Anthropology Theology Law Archaeology |
| Citations | 3 |
| Key findings | Brahmin high priests on Bali maintain ancient Hindu traditions through mystical states that produce holy water, a practice vital to community rituals and threatened by Westernization, Islamization, and modernization. |
Abstract
On the island of Bali in Indonesia, the traditional Hindu religious leaders are the pedandas, or brahmin high priests. Their religious status is largely based on their mystical states, during which they create the highest and most valuable form of holy water, which is needed for all religious rituals on the island. It is one of the rare examples in world religions where mysticism is not only integrated into the daily life of the community but is vital to it. These are the religious authorities who maintain the ancient forms of Indonesian Hinduism, standing against the encroachment of Westernization, Islamization and modernization. Little ethnographic research has been done on them—there are no books about their lives and experiences in any Western languages, and only a few biographies in Indonesian. In this paper, we examine the lives of some Shiva pedandas, discussing their mystical experiences, and the ways that their states fit in with other sorts of mystical experiences in Bali. These other sorts of experiences include those of Buddhist priests, local healers or balians, and the debatably mystical experiences of possession trance.
Comparable studies
Other qualitative studies on mysticism, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Qualitative and Quantitative Features of Music Reported to Support Peak Mystical Experiences during Psychedelic Therapy Sessions Individuals with extensive experience administering psilocybin or psilocybin-containing... | 2017 | Survey and qualitative/quantitative analysis | n = 10 |
| Common Core Thesis and Qualitative and Quantitative Analysis of Mysticism in Chinese Buddhist Monks and Nuns Chinese Pure Land and Chan Buddhist monks and nuns | 2011 | Mixed-methods study | n = 139 |
| Do Drugs Have Religious Import? A 40-Year Retrospective | 2004 | Interview | |
| Narratives of the mystical among users of psychedelics Psychedelic drug users | 2021 | Qualitative study | n = 50 |
| Auras in mysticism and synaesthesia: a comparison. Synaesthetes who experience colors in response to human faces and figures | 2012 | Qualitative study | n = 4 |