Canang Sari: Why the Balinese Make Daily Offerings and How It Is Done

What canang sari means, why the Balinese offer it every day, what goes inside, how it is made and offered, and how visitors can show respect.

Walk down almost any street in Bali in the morning and you will see them: small square trays of green coconut leaf, filled with bright flowers, a few leaves and a stick of smoking incense. They sit on shop steps, at house gates, in temple shrines and even on motorbikes. This is canang sari, the simplest and most common offering in Balinese Hindu life, and it is made and offered again every single day.

This guide explains what canang sari means, why the Balinese make it, what goes into one, how it is offered and how visitors can show respect.

Hands folding young coconut leaf to make a Balinese offering — Folding young coconut leaf (janur) into a tray. Photo: G N / Pexels

What does canang sari mean?

The name joins two words. Canang is the small tray or basket of palm leaf, and sari is usually translated as essence. Balinese religious scholars also read the word canang through Old Javanese (Kawi): ca means beautiful and nang means purpose, so canang can be understood as “a beautiful purpose”.

The word has older roots too. In refined Balinese, canang is also a word for betel leaf, and detikBali notes that canang originally meant betel presented to an honoured guest as a sign of respect. The Balinese dictionary BASAbali describes canang simply as a common small offering, usually a square or round tray made of young coconut leaf, and canang are counted in tanding, so ten canang are canang dasa tanding.

Why the Balinese make canang sari

Canang sari is an act of yadnya, a sincere offering. It is a daily expression of gratitude to Sang Hyang Widhi Wasa, the one God of Balinese Hinduism, for the peace and wellbeing given to the world. The value of the offering is not in its cost but in the time, care and effort that go into making it.

Academic studies from Bali describe canang as part of Tri Hita Karana, the Balinese idea of harmony between people and God, between people and each other, and between people and nature. Researchers at ISI Denpasar describe the canang as a seat for the divine, a place where the gods of the Trimurti are invited to be present.

Canang sari is also the foundation of larger ceremonies. Indonesian Wikipedia calls it the simplest household offering and the core of offering preparations, and Balinese sources note that even the largest ceremony cannot proceed without canang.

There is one time when canang is not offered: while a family or community is in mourning after a death.

Without porosan, it is neither a canang nor an offering.

What is inside a canang sari

Every part of a canang has a meaning. Sources differ on some of the details, which is natural for a living tradition practised a little differently from village to village, but the main elements are the same across the island.

The tray

The base is a small container folded and pinned from young coconut leaf (janur), traditionally held together with thin bamboo pins and today often with staples. There are three common forms: the square ceper, the round tamas and the larger dulang tray used for formal ceremonies and in offices. The square ceper is the one you will see most often on the street.

Porosan, the heart of the offering

Hidden under the flowers is the most important part: the porosan, a small folded parcel of betel leaf, areca nut and lime. It recalls the old custom of offering betel to honoured guests, and its three ingredients are linked to the three aspects of God, Brahma, Wisnu and Siwa. A saying quoted in Balinese religious texts is clear about its importance: without porosan, it is neither a canang nor an offering.

Flowers and the four directions

The flowers are arranged by colour, and each colour points to a direction and a deity:

White, to the east, for Iswara
Red, to the south, for Brahma
Yellow, to the west, for Mahadewa
Blue or green, to the north, for Wisnu (some sources say black)

The centre brings the directions together. Indonesian Wikipedia places mixed flowers there for the five gods of the directions, while fieldwork in Penglipuran village describes shredded pandan leaf in the middle. Larger canang can represent nine directions instead of five.

The finishing touches

A typical canang sari also holds a few grains of rice, a sampian uras (a round, eight-pointed ornament of palm leaf often read as the wheel of life), plawa leaves, a slice of banana and a piece of sugarcane, a drop of fragrant oil and kembang rampe, finely shredded fragrant pandan leaf. A coin or small note, the sesari, completes it.

How canang sari is made

Making offerings is called metanding or majejahitan. Balinese children, and girls in particular, learn to fold and pin the trays from an early age, and in many households the women of the family make the day’s canang together. The fine cut-leaf patterns are made with a special small knife.

Modern life has changed the routine. Many families with busy working days now buy ready-made canang at the market. Pasar Badung in Denpasar is one of the best-known places to buy them, and a study by Udayana University found that almost all canang sellers there were women. Prices rise before big holy days: on 26 July 2023, just before Galungan, canang sari at Pasar Badung cost IDR 25.000 for 25, up from IDR 20.000 the day before. Demand is so large that in September 2024 the rising price of canang was named one of the main drivers of inflation in Bali.

A Balinese woman in traditional dress placing a daily offering in front of a shop — A daily offering placed in front of a shop. Photo: Ruyat Supriazi / Pexels

How and when it is offered

Canang sari is offered every day, usually in the early morning around 06.00 and again in the evening. More canang are offered on holy days such as Purnama (full moon), Tilem (new moon), Kliwon days, Galungan, Kuningan and Pagerwesi.

You will find canang in temples, in the family shrine of every Balinese home, at house and shop entrances, at the roadside, in offices and on motorbikes and cars. The person offering usually wears a sarong (kamen), places the canang, lights a stick of incense and sprinkles it with holy water (tirta). With a gentle movement of the hand they waft the fragrance and essence of the offering upward, a gesture known as ngayab, while saying a short prayer.

Once it has been offered, the canang has done its work. It is left where it is and swept away the next day to make room for a fresh one. Dogs, birds and ants often find the rice and banana first, and that is part of the cycle too.

Canang sari and segehan: two different offerings

Look closely and you may notice a second kind of small offering placed directly on the ground. This is segehan, a separate daily offering for the bhuta kala, the lower forces, so that they do not cause disturbance. A segehan is usually a piece of banana or coconut leaf with rice, sometimes in five colours, and may include shallot, ginger, water or palm wine. It is placed at shrines, house entrances and crossroads. Canang sari honours God and the gods; segehan keeps the balance with the forces below.

Etiquette for visitors

Watch your step. Canang are placed on pavements, doorsteps and at the roadside. Badung Regency’s official guide for foreign tourists asks visitors not to step on offerings placed on the street or in public areas.
Take extra care while the incense is burning. That is when the offering is still being received, so do not step on it or over it.
If it happens, apologise. Accidents happen on busy streets. Tempo’s advice for visitors is simple: say sorry to the owner, or at least silently.
Respect temples and sacred symbols. Bali’s Governor’s Circular No. 7 of 2025 asks foreign visitors to honour the sanctity of temples and sacred religious symbols and to respect local customs.

Where to see canang sari and learn to make it

Pasar Badung, Denpasar: one of the best-known markets for ready-made canang, with prices rising before holy days.
Any village in the early morning: canang are placed around 06.00, so an early walk through any village shows the daily ritual. In Penglipuran village in Bangli, researchers have documented how families still make their own.
Canang-making classes: some hotels and cultural centres offer short workshops. Belmond Jimbaran Puri, for example, lists a complimentary canang sari making session with a temple visit on Thursdays from 17.00 to 18.00 for its guests. Check with your hotel or guide in Ubud and other cultural areas.

A small offering with a big meaning

Each canang sari takes only a few minutes to make and lasts only a day, yet it carries the whole Balinese way of seeing the world: gratitude, balance between people, nature and the divine, and care put into small daily acts. Once you know what it means, you will never walk past one in the same way again.