As in many religions, beliefs and cultures, the Balinese believe in three realms: hell (bhur loka), earth (bhuwah loka) and heaven (swah loka). And, as in the Christian world, for example, there are particular times of the day when the natural (sekala) and the supernatural (niskala) realms are thought to overlap. We would loosely refer to such a time as the haunting hour, around midnight.
Midday in Balinese is called tengai tepet and is one time of the day to be aware of. Even today in modern times, many Balinese will not sleep at midday or even embark on a journey, for fear of misfortune or being possessed by any demon that may be ‘lurking in the mist’.
The more well-known and talked about ‘haunting hour’ is referred to as sandi kala / sandi kaon (secret time) which occurs at dusk, the actual time of which will vary according to the seasons. Demons (bhuta kala) are thought to be present in great numbers at this time, and it is consequently a golden opportunity to put out some offerings to them. The offerings will be made up of regular box offerings (canang sari) and an incense stick, but are accompanied by colourful segehan rice parcels and liberal splashes of rice wine called arak brem (demons have a penchant for hard liquor, of course) This is why you will see devout Balinese placing offerings on the ground (low down, for the underworld), particularly at the entrance of their houses, to appease the troublesome imps. Some will recite a little prayer just to make sure that these little guys are kept in check.
It is also not recommended that you sleep during sandi kala for fear of possession -unless of course you are sick, rendering this rule is impractical. Interestingly enough some Balinese maintain that whistling can attract demons, particularly witches which have transformed themselves into leyak (menacing fireballs or other manifestations of evil). So do avoid any happy tunes in the late afternoon. You might be inadvertently doing more harm that good – especially if you’re tone deaf!
