Ancestor veneration in Balinese Hinduism functions as a structural principle that shapes both religious life and social order. Ancestors, often referred to as pitara or leluhur, are understood to remain spiritually present, linked to their descendants as protective spirits who guide, bless, or, if neglected, potentially bring misfortune. Through this relationship, the living, the dead, and future generations are woven into a single continuum, so that honoring one’s forebears becomes a core expression of dharma and familial responsibility. In this way, ancestor worship sustains not only personal piety but also the integrity of lineage and community.

This reverence is expressed most visibly in the architecture and daily rhythm of Balinese households. Traditional family compounds contain ancestral shrines, known as sanggah, sanggah kemulan, or merajan, which serve as focal points for offerings and prayer. Daily offerings such as canang sari, along with more elaborate banten, are presented to the ancestors as acts of gratitude, devotion, and supplication. These practices maintain harmony between the seen and unseen worlds (sekala–niskala), affirming the presence of the ancestors as guardians of the household and mediators with higher divine forces.

Ritual life-cycle ceremonies further deepen this ancestral bond. Major rites—especially cremation rituals such as Ngaben or Pitra Yadnya—are understood as essential for ensuring a proper transition of the deceased into the spiritual realm, where they can more fully assume the role of protective spirits. Over time, and through the completion of the appropriate rites, ancestors may be regarded as deified ancestors, sometimes referred to as Dewa Hyang, whose spiritual authority and protective power extend over the lineage. Other ceremonies, including those dedicated specifically to ancestors, reinforce the sense that the living are continually accountable before their forebears.

Festival cycles and communal observances give this relationship a vivid, cyclical character. During major sacred periods such as Galungan and Kuningan, ancestral spirits are believed to return to visit their descendants, who respond with elaborate offerings, hospitality, and ritual attention. This recurring pattern of welcoming, honoring, and ceremonially sending back the ancestors underscores an ongoing reciprocity between worlds. Ancestor worship thus binds ethics, cosmology, and social identity into a single fabric, where reverence for those who have gone before becomes a primary means of maintaining balance, prosperity, and spiritual coherence in Balinese Hindu life.