Today is Merchants’ Day is Bali. In fact it’s Merchants’ Day every 210 days. Merchants are mainly women, hence the queue of women with their offerings jostling to get into the small Melanting temple in Ubud market today.
The 3-day week determines the markets in Bali. The market shifts from one village to another on a 3-day cycle, so that there is a market in every village once every three days. Ubud forms part of a rotation with the markets at Payangan and Tegallalang. But in fact it’s very busy every day in Ubud.
Markets date back a long way in Bali. The first reference to markets and market weeks is in the 9th century. Some of these old inscriptions refer to markets that are still on schedule today. Markets start very early in the morning. They are usually situated outside the royal palace or a noble’s house. In Ubud, the royal palace is just across the road.