Tanah
Lot Temple
Located at the southest of Tabanan area, a side-road
branches to the sea, ending on a green hill
which slopes down to the beach and to the remarkable
temple of Tanah Lot, suspended on a huge rock
offshore. Set apart from the land by a stone
basin, the rock has been carved by incoming
tides.
Tanah
Lot, with its solitary black towers and tufts
of foliage spilling over the cliffs, recalls
the delicacy of a Chinese painting. If hearsay
is to be believed, there dwells inside one of
the shirnes inside one of the shrines at Tanah
Lot a huge snake, discreetly left undisturbed
by the Balinese.
Although
a small sanctuary, Tanah Lot is linked to a
series of sea temples on the south coast of
Bali: Pura Sakenan, Pura Ulu Watu, Pura Rambut
Siwi and Pura Petitenget. All these temples
are related to the principal mountain sanctuaries:
Besakih at Gunung Agung, Pura Batur at Batur
and Pura Luhur at Mt. Batukaru. The upland temples
venerate deities associated with mountains and
mountain lakes, while the sea temples include
homage to the guradian spirits of the sea within
their ritual. These main temples are often listed
with the sad-kahyangan the six holy
"national" temples, which exact tribute
from all Balinese.
The
chronicles attribute the temple at Tanah Lot
of the 16-century priest Nirartha. During his
travles along the south coast he saw the rock-island's
beautiful setting and rested there. Some fishermen
saw him and bringing gifts invited him to stay
at their hut. Nirartha refused, saying he preferred
to spend the night on the little island. That
evening he spoke to the fishing folk and advised
them to build a shirne on the rock, for he felt
it to be a holy and fitting place to worship
God. The villagers kept their promise.
The
beaches of Tanah Lot are ideal for relaxing,
especially in the late afternoons when the temple
on the rock dissolves into a striking silhouette
against the evening sky. |
