For the Balinese, a rice field is not just a place to work, it is a living soul. It breathes, it listens, it gives. Step into a village at sunrise, and you’ll see more than green terraces. You’ll see people greeting the land with offerings, prayers, and gentle footsteps. Here, the rice field is family. It is a teacher, provider, and a sacred space.
Each grain of rice is believed to carry the blessing of Dewi Sri, the goddess of life and fertility. That is why, before planting a single seed, the farmers speak to the earth. They ask permission. They thank the water that flows down from the mountains.
They care for the rice not as a crop, but as a living being, like raising a child from seed to harvest. This bond is not spoken. It is felt in the silence between two farmers working side by side. In the rhythm of planting by hand, surrounded by laughter, songs, and stories. In the stillness of twilight, offerings are placed by the canal, asking for balance and protection.
