Why Do Balinese Make Offerings?

Abstract

This article attempts to answer the question as to why Balinese make offerings. Eschewing an explanation in terms of a unitary religious or cultural belief, it explores the practices surrounding the preparation and dedication of banten (the Balinese term most commonly glossed in English as 'offerings'), and how these practices embody conflicting articulations of agency, community and the common good. Analysis is directed to highlighting this complexity, while at the same time trying to avoid some of the difficulties and misleading reifications that come with the language of 'syncretism', 'hybridity', 'great and little traditions', and the like.