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Old 4th July 2023, 11:23 PM   #47
A. G. Maisey
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Join Date: May 2006
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In the high level of Basa Bali, the word "Balu" can be used to refer to Dhurga, however, the phrase "Balu Mekabun" means a "widow who has been left with one or more daughters".

Further usages of "balu" are:-

balu bunter/ balu putung = a widow or widower without children

balu makarang = a widow left with one or more sons

balu mwani = a widower

balu remban = a widow or widower left with many children

a secondary meaning for "balu" is to bet on a cockfight, this was actually the context in which I first heard this word used.

"balu" is a contraction of "balung"

I know a number of Hindu people who have Dewi Dhurga as their household deity, Dhurga is actually a protective deity, but as with many deities, Dhurga also has a terrible aspect. In all creation the good and the bad, dark & light, protection from & exposure to evil are merely opposite sides of the same coin.

The key to a safe and harmonious existence is to keep those good & bad things in balance.

Regrettably, many people from outside cultures that are foreign to their own choose to select from those cultures only the things that they wish to see, hear, believe or understand.
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