Which bring another anecdote on resemblance, if you don't mind. Some time ago, I had been invited by my good friend, Anak Agung Rai Giri Gunadhi, also known as "Pak Rai," to attend his nephew's wedding, the son of his twin brother, Anak Agung Ngurah Oka Silagunadha, or "Pak Oka." They live at Puri Anyar, Krambitan. It was a great festivity, which started early in the morning, with many guests from Bali and Java (the wife was from Solo), and extended to the middle of the afternoon.
As I was sitting at a table near the kori agung of the Palace, enjoying another arak madu (one of several) with Pak Rai and some friends, watching the guests leave, I suddenly realized I was seeing double! WOW, enough arak for today…All of the sudden, in a large group of leaving guests, I had noticed that two by two, many of them were dressed alike and looked like spitting images of each other. I turn to Pak Rai, who was in the process of pouring another round, to decline his offer, invoking my hallucination.
Pak Rai reminded me that he and his brother belonged to an association made of members who were twins, and these particular guests were just some members of that club. So there was nothing wrong with my eyes and it certainly was another blessing to be celebrated by another arak…
As you know, nothing is ever simple in Bali and the birth of twins in any family can be a bad or a good omen, a catastrophe or a blessing. From the little I know, the aftermath of a twin birth can vary from village to village, and while a twin birth of same sex babies is no big deal, it can be another affair for two babies of opposite sex, manak salah.
But maybe someone more knowledgeable could comment further on twin-birth in Bali?
