Tridatu Bracelet: The Meaning of Bali's Red, White and Black Thread

In Brief

A tridatu bracelet is three twisted threads, red, white and black, worn by Balinese Hindus on the right wrist. The colours stand for the Hindu trinity. Red is Brahma the creator, black is Vishnu the preserver, and white is Shiva, who returns things to their source.

The name joins tri, three, with datu, most often explained as element or power.

The thread is blessed, given after prayers at a temple, and left on until it falls away by itself. Visitors can wear one too.

Tridatu at a Glance

• What it is: A blessed bracelet of red, white and black thread
• The name: Tri (three) and datu (element or power)
• Red: Brahma, the creator
• Black: Vishnu, the preserver
• White: Shiva, the dissolver
• Where it comes from: Given after prayers at some temples, blessed beforehand
• Which wrist: The right
• How long: Traditionally until it falls off by itself
• Visitors: Welcome to wear one, though never on the ankle

The Three Colours Stand for the Trimurti

The three threads are a small portable picture of the Trimurti. These are the three faces of Ida Sang Hyang Widhi Wasa, the one God of Balinese Hinduism.

Red is Brahma, who creates, and black is Vishnu, who sustains. White is Shiva, the pelebur, who dissolves what has run its course so the cycle can begin again.

The three-colour tridatu thread before it is tied. Photo: M. Adiputra / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

You Receive a Tridatu After Prayers at a Temple

A tridatu is usually received at the end of prayers at a temple. It comes alongside the holy water and the grains of rice, called bija, that close a Balinese blessing.

Not every temple gives one, and not every ceremony includes it. It is most often handed out at a temple's odalan or pujawali, its anniversary and its regular festival days.

A priest brings holy water from the spring to worshippers at Pura Tirta Empul. Photo: Spencer Weart / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)

How a visitor can receive one

For a visitor, the natural way into a blessing is to join one on purpose. In the north, that usually means a melukat water purification, where a priest guides you through the springs and the prayers.

Ask beforehand whether a tridatu is part of the blessing at the site you choose, since it varies from temple to temple. The wider sequence of offerings, holy water and rice is explained in understanding Balinese ceremonies.

The Threads Also Stand for Birth, Life and Death

Balinese writers attach a second layer of meaning to the three threads. They stand for the tri kona, the three passages each person goes through: utpeti (birth), stiti (life) and pralina (death).

Some teachers link the bracelet to the tri kaya parisudha as well. This is the discipline of pure thought, pure word and pure deed.

The name has a second reading too. Some Balinese explanations give datu as king, so you will also see "three kings" in translations.

The Tridatu Is Worn as Protection

The bracelet is also understood as protection. The thread goes through a ritual before anyone wears it. In Balinese understanding, it then carries the power of the divine to keep harm and dark influences away.

It is also a quiet mark of Balinese identity.

The origin story is set in the Gelgel era

The origin of the custom is told in Bali as a legend. In the Gelgel era, the king sent his commander Ki Patih Jelantik against Ki Dalem Bungkut of Nusa Penida.

After Bungkut's defeat, the powerful figure Ratu Gede Mecaling promised to protect the Hindus who stayed devoted to God and their ancestors. The three-colour thread was given as the sign of that protection.

Some tellings add that the thread was first given at Pura Dalem Ped on Nusa Penida.

How to Wear a Tridatu: Right Wrist, and Leave It On

Four customs go with the thread once it is given.

• Wear it on the right wrist. It goes on the wrist, usually the right one, or around the neck. It is not worn on the left wrist like an ordinary accessory.
• Never on the ankle or foot. That is read as an insult to what the thread stands for, and as disrespect to the faith.
• Leave it on. You do not take a tridatu off on purpose. You wear it day and night and let it wear thin, break or slip off by itself.
• Ask about the fallen thread. What to do with it varies between families. Ask the family you are staying with or the priest who gave it to you.

Visitors Are Welcome to Wear a Tridatu

There is no prohibition on non-Hindus or people from outside Bali wearing one. Many visitors leave the island with a tridatu from a blessing.

Balinese sources ask visitors for the same care in return: the right wrist, never the ankle, and knowing what the thread is. A blessed thread from a temple carries more weight than a copy bought as a souvenir, and it is worth treating that way.

Three-colour bracelets are also sold in souvenir shops, and some people wear them as fashion. A thread given at a temple after prayer is a blessing, and its meaning comes from there.

The general temple customs that go with receiving one are in the Bali temple etiquette guide.

The Tridatu and the Indian Red String Differ in Colour and Wrist

India has a protective thread of its own, called kautuka and known locally as kalava, mauli or rakshasutra. A priest or the eldest family member ties it on the wrist during a ritual.

It is usually red, sometimes with yellow, and Indologists trace such threads back to the Vedic texts.

A red kalava, or mauli, tied on the right wrist in Indian Hindu practice. Photo: Aditya.Asopa / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

The tridatu carries three colours, one for each god of the Trimurti, where the kalava is mostly red and yellow.

The wrist differs too. The Indian thread is traditionally worn on the right wrist by men and the left by women. Balinese custom asks everyone to wear the tridatu on the right.

For how Balinese Hinduism grew apart from Indian Hinduism over a thousand years, see Balinese Hinduism explained.

FAQ

What does a tridatu bracelet mean?

A tridatu is a blessed Balinese Hindu bracelet of red, white and black thread. The colours stand for the Trimurti: red for Brahma the creator, black for Vishnu the preserver and white for Shiva the dissolver. It is worn as a reminder of God and as protection.

Which wrist do you wear a tridatu on?

Wear it on the right wrist. Balinese custom asks that the tridatu is never worn on the left wrist like an ordinary accessory, and never on the ankle.

Can you take off a tridatu bracelet?

The common custom is to leave it on and let it break or fall off by itself, rather than removing it on purpose.

Can tourists wear a tridatu?

Yes. There is no rule against non-Hindus wearing one. Wear it on the right wrist, never on the ankle, and treat a thread given at a temple as the blessing it is.

Where can I get a tridatu in north Bali?

The meaningful way is to receive one after prayers at a temple that gives them, or at a blessing your villa host or a local guide arranges for you. Three-colour bracelets are also sold as souvenirs, but those have not been blessed.

Is a tridatu the same as the Indian red string?

They are related ideas but different threads. The Indian kalava or mauli is mostly red and yellow and traditionally worn on the right wrist by men and the left by women. The Balinese tridatu has three colours for the three gods of the Trimurti and is worn on the right wrist by everyone.

Sources

• Ministry of Religious Affairs, Maluku office, Mengenal Tri Datu: the three colours of the tridatu thread, for the colours, the utpeti, stiti and pralina reading and the thread given after prayer, read September 2026 (in Indonesian)
• Ministry of Religious Affairs, Gianyar office, Bali, Uniknya benang Tri Datu, on the three colours and the thread as protection, read September 2026 (in Indonesian)
• Wikipedia (Indonesian), Tridatu, for the colour-to-deity correspondences, the trikona reading, the odalan and pujawali when it is given, wrist or neck and never the foot, and its early link to Pura Dalem Ped, read September 2026 (in Indonesian)
• Good News From Indonesia, Gelang Tridatu: sejarah, makna warna, aturan pakai, dan filosofinya, for the Gelgel-era origin story and the tri kaya parisudha reading, read September 2026 (in Indonesian)
• Wikipedia, Trimurti, read September 2026 (in English)

Next: bija, the rice on the forehead, melukat water purification, and Panca Yadnya, the five ceremonies the thread belongs to.