This week’s “Guest Nomad” is Annette Baesel. Annette pens two blogs: The Traveling Baesels and Notes to Myself: Ramblings of a Curious Mind. She is addicted to traveling, good conversation, and the written word. She loves to see the world and its people through a camera lens. Annette also has an eclectic and avid interest in music especially rock, country, and Celtic. She adores (and is adored by) her husband of 24 years, and her two dogs and three cats.
The Kokokans of a Balinese Village
The beautiful Kokokan bird in flight
Every evening in the small Balinese village of Petulu, the Kokokans come. The Kokokans (the Balinese word for white egrets) roost and nest in large trees towards the north end of the village. Every evening, starting shortly after 5 p.m., white angel like egrets glide into the tree tops for the night. They come singly, in pairs, and in small squadrons; wave after wave of white birds flying in over the village rooftops into the dark green trees, until the trees are no longer dark green, but feather white.
We recently spent a month in Bali and twice visited Petulu. On our first visit, we drove the short distance from Ubud only to find the main road into the village closed because of a cremation ceremony being held in Petulu. So our driver drove around and through rice fields to the other end of town where we got out and skirted around road barriers to walk the mile or so into Petulu. The village was unusually quiet as everyone was at the ceremony a fair distance away, so it was pretty much us and the village dogs to stand and watch as the birds flew in.
Let me say at this point that I knew from reading the guidebooks that there are a lot of birds that roost in these trees. I was expecting a lot of birds. But I had no idea just how many birds “a lot of birds” is. It was spectacular. There are probably 8000 to 10000 egrets of 3 different species (and 3 different sizes: small, medium, and large) who regularly roost in Petulu. And these normally quiet almost stealth birds become quite the gregarious noise makers when jockeying for the best spot to spend the night.
Petulu is a small village of stone carvers, artists, and dancers as well as rice farmers. On our second visit, we had the pleasure of watching the village going through its regular early evening routine with people coming and going on scooters; women carrying firewood on their heads home from the fields; men sitting in tight circles showing off their prized fighting cocks;and, women placing small flower offerings at their doorsteps, at the foot of statues, and even on scooter handle bars. And most delightfully we shared the evening with the village children who laughed and flirted with the outsiders who came to stand and marvel at the trees of white birds.
According to local history, the Kokokans first started coming in large numbers to Petulu around 1966. The reasons for this are unclear, but many elders of the village believe that the birds are reincarnations of the thousands of Balinese who died in the tragic civil unrest in 1966 or perhaps of the many who died in the volcanic eruptions of Gunung Agung in 1963. Regardless of the reasons the Kokokans have adopted Petulu, villagers view the birds as a good omen, a blessing, a responsibility, and they treasure and respect the birds and their trees. A small donation is requested (but not required) as you enter the village.
Petulu is just a short distance from Ubud and is easily reached by taxi/hired driver for a reasonable price. If you get there early take a short walk out the north end of the village and enjoy the views across the rice fields or stop and look at the work created by a number of carvers in the village.
