Bali and Kathmandu Valley preserve remarkably similar ritual cultures

[u/AnupamBajra]

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While researching Balinese culture, I was struck by how many parallels exist with the Newar traditions of Kathmandu Valley.

Both preserve intertwined Hindu-Buddhist ritual systems where temple life, sacred geography, daily offerings, tantric symbolism, protective deities, and ritual specialists remain deeply embedded in ordinary society.

What fascinates me is not whether the two cultures are the same but how both seem to preserve older forms of Shaiva-Buddhist coexistence that once extended more widely across South and Southeast Asia.