Patterns of plant use in religious offerings in Bali (Indonesia)

ABSTRACT Balinese Hinduism has incorporated local animistic traditions and offerings, which play a key role in the religious ceremonies called “five holy ceremonies” or Panca yadnya. Since plants constitute fundamental elements of these offerings, we aimed to contribute to their knowledge. We analyzed plants used during ceremonies by interviewing key informants in four ancient villages of Bali (Bali aga). We identified exclusive and common species associated with different kinds of ceremonies and assessed whether there was any pattern in the selection of plants for the various offerings. W...