A Balinese cremation is a community funereal event that that is one of several ritaul stages performed to prepare and release a loved one to their afterlife.
We have been fortunate to witness and attend various cremation ceremonies and have learned a little more about them, and Balinese culture, as a result. There are many resources that describe the process and cultural significance well, so I'll just offer a little context for the photos and videos we took.
The most spectacular and well-known stage is the actual cremation of the body. This ritual is called the Ngaben. Before this however, the body is prepared and ritually cleansed by the family and priests. And since the cremation ceremony itself is an expensive endeavor more most people, the body may be buried temporarily, even for years unitl the family - and quite often with other families preparing for ngaben - can pool resources and organize a large group ceremony.
We attended just such a group ceremony in Tampaksiring, Bali in August. Teresa's estimate is that there were around forty patulanggan (sarcophegi) prepared with their deceaseed or available their remains, for cremation. These are shown below as red or black bulls, depending on the clan of the deceased. For more prosperous families, these can be enormous and elaborate.
For more recently deceased - and not requiring burial - the body is brought in procession from their home in a tower on a bamboo platform carried by younger men of the village. For the procession here, we were already at the cremation site. However, when we were here back in '87 we stumbled upon a cremation processsion leaving their home. Those carrying the platform turn and spin and make every attempt to confuse the spirit of the deceased to help free them from their home. It seems the large group of young men carrying the platform are fortified with palm wine and sprayed with water to cool off by thos they pass. They are accompanied by a parade ensemble of cymbals and drums. It's intense, as you might imagine. In the video below, they are at the end of that process - in their arrival to the cemetary, the cremation place.
Prepared patulanggan for cremation.
Here they prepare the platform with sod to prevent it from burning.
This was a large event. We estimated 40 deceased and over 600 attending.
Videos of the cremation.
Record or not?
After the cremation, the deceased ashes are ritually taken to the sea or a nearby river (which flows to the sea). This must happen by subdown.
There are then followup temple ceremonies to aid the deceased on their path to their afterlife and higher spiritual realm. These rituals occur at various intervals from the cremation, often at specific important temples. I'll share some pictures and videos from these "Mukur" ceremonies in subsequent posts.
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