Woman delivers bowl of offerings on her head for Saraswati Festival
About this photograph
- Creator
- Margery H. Freeman
- Date created
- 1986
- Location
- Ubud, Bali, Indonesia
- License
- This photograph copyright ©2007. Terms of use
Related media
Learn more
- Search LEARN NC for Bali, deities, Goddess of Learning, Hinduism, Indonesia, offerings, religion, rituals, Saraswati, and Ubud.
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- See our collection of articles on visual literacy for ideas on using photographs meaningfully in the classroom.
A young woman in formal Balinese dress delivers a bowl of offerings carried on her head for Saraswati Day. The woman approaches a shrine area, seen at left, passing by many other similar bowls of offerings that have been left on a platform seen at right. Large gold and white ceremonial umbrellas are erected in the background. The offerings include colorful fruits, flowers, and palm leaves that have been plaited into various festive shapes.
One day per year is dedicated to Saraswati, the Goddess of Learning and the consort to the god of creation, Brahma. On the day of Saraswati, no letters or written words should be crossed out or destroyed. Balinese take the day to give thanks to their teachers and their books.
