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The last ceremony, Pitra yadnya,Ngaben (cremation), is often the biggest, most spectacular, noisy and exciting event. Because of the burdensome cost of even a modest cremation ceremony, the deceased are buried, sometimes for years, and disinterred for a mass cremation with the cost shared among families. Brahmanas (high priests), however, must be cremated immediately.
The body is carried in a tall, incredibly artistic multitiered tower made of bamboo, paper, tinsel, silk, cloth, mirrors, flowers and anything else colourful, on the shoulders of a group of men. The number of tiers of the tower depends on the importance of the deceased. The funeral of a rajah or high priest may require hundreds of men to tote the 11-tiered structure.
Along the way, the group confuses the deceased's spirit so it cannot find its way back home. They shake the tower, run it around in circles, throw water at it and generally make the trip anything but a stately funeral crawl. Meanwhile, the priest halfway up the tower hangs on grimly, doing his best to soak bystanders with holy water. A gamelan sprints behind, providing an exciting musical accompaniment.
At the cremation ground, the body is transferred to a funeral sarcophagus which corresponds to the deceased's caste, a black bull for a Brahmana, white bull for priests, winged lion for a Ksatriya, and elephant-fish etc. for a sudra. Finally, it all goes up in flames and the ashes are taken to the sea to be scattered on the waves. With the material body well and truly destroyed, the soul is free to descend to heaven and wait for the next incarnation.
The much-repeated Balinese names - which are gender neutral - carry a symbolic meaning, indicating social status and birth order. Low caste Balinese name their first child Wayan, Putu or Gede; the second is Made, Kadek or Nengah; the third is Nyoman or Komang; and the fourth is Ketut. The fifth, sixth, seventh and eight children re-use the same set. The large number of Balinese named Anak Agung, a name denoting the child of a royal concubine, attest to the fertility of the Balinese rajahs (princes).
A child goes through 13 celebrations, or manusa yadnya. At 105 days, the baby is welcomed to the family and its feet are allowed to touch the ground for the first time - ground is considered impure, so babies are held until then.
At 210 days (first Balinese year) the baby is spiritually blessed in the ancestral temple and there's a huge feast for the family and community.
A rite of passage to adulthood is the tooth-filing ceremony, when a priest symbolically files a teenager's (around 16 to 18 years) upper front teeth to produce a pleasing line. Crooked fangs are, after all, one of the chief distinguishing marks of evil spirits - just have a look at Rangda mask! No-one may marry unless their teeth have been filed.
The respectable way to marry, known as mepadik, is when the family of the man visits the family of the woman and politely proposes. The Balinese, however, like their fun and often prefer marriage by ngrorod (elopement). Nobody is too surprised when the young man spirits away his bride-to-be. The couple go into hiding and somehow the girl's parents, no matter how assiduously they search, never manage to fine her.
Eventually the couple re-emerge, the marriage is officially recognised and everybody has had a lot of fun and games. Elopement has another advantage; apart from being exciting and mildly heroic, it's cheaper.
Images by:baliluwih.blogspot.com
intending to do some trekking stay in the villages around the shores of Danau Batur, and plan an early start to climb the volcano.
Even day-trippers should bring some sort of wrap in case the mist closes in and
it hits 18°C.
Orientation
The villages around the Gunung Batur crater rim have grown together in a continuous, untidy strip. The main village is Kintamani though the whole area is often referred to by that name. Coming from the south, the first
village is Penelokan, where tour groups stop to gasp at the view, eat a buffet lunch and be hassled by souvenir-sellers. Penelokan is also where you can take a short road down into the crater. From here, a road loosely follows the shore of Danau Batur, linking the villages of Kedisan and Toya Bungkah. You can travel between the Gunung Batur and Danau Bratan areas using
a beautiful mountain lane
This very important Hindu-Buddhist temple was founded in the 17th century. It is dedicated to Dewi Danu, the goddess of the waters, and is actually built on small islands, which means it is completely surrounded by the lake. Both pilgrimages and ceremonies are held here to ensure that there is a supply of water for farmers all over Bali.
The temple is truly beautiful, with classical Hindu thatch-roofed meru (multiroofed shrines) reflected in the water and silhouetted against the often cloudy mountain backdrop - one of the most common photographic images of Bali.
A large banyan tree shades the entrance; walk through manicured gardens and past an impressive Buddhist stupa to reach the lakeside.
For an almost surreal experience, take a quiet paddle across the lake and see Ulun Danu Bratan Temple at sunrise - arrange it with a boatman the night before.
The Perama Ulun danu eating house in the grounds has a pleasant outdoor terrace and the usual Indonesian and Western dishes.
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