'Animal sacrifice reflects inner consciousness, peace'<\/p>\n
I Wayan Juniartha and Ayuning Hati, The Jakarta Post, Denpasar, Bali<\/p>\n
Animal sacrifice is almost inseparable from traditional
\nBalinese Hindu ritual. The practice owes its origin to the deep
\ninfluence of the Bhairawa and Tantrayana teachings over the
\nSivaistic Balinese Hindus.<\/p>\n
All the paraphernalia involved in the ritual is comparable to
\nthat used by the followers of Kalais, one of the Hindu sects that
\nresembles the Bhairawa or leftist Tantrayana in India. The
\ndifference lies in the presentation.<\/p>\n
"In Bali, the entire caru offerings, especially meats and rice
\nas well as alcoholic drinks, are not eaten and are left as
\nofferings. In the Bhairawa sect, these offerings must be tasted
\nand eaten by the followers," culture scholar Mas Ruscitadewi
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Chief editor of the influential Hindu magazine Sarad, Ketut
\nSumartha, said: "The Bhairawa and Tantrayana put great emphasis
\non the importance of rasa (taste) in preparing the offerings. The
\nword caru, which in Bali generally refers to animal sacrifice, in
\nfact, literally means tasteful."<\/p>\n
Sumartha said a sacrifice needs to be tasteful as it is given
\nas a meal to the Bhuta, who is interpreted as an evil spirit or
\ndemon.<\/p>\n
"That's why the most common way of sacrificing animals is by
\nkilling them, and later cooking the meats into various
\ntraditional delicacies that are later placed alongside other
\nofferings comprising fruits, leaves and flowers. The meals are
\ncooked with strong spices and served accompanied by traditional
\nalcoholic liquor, arak, tuak, and brem, which are appropriate for
\nthe evil spirits," Sumarta told.<\/p>\n
Other ways of sacrificing animals are drowning them alive in
\nthe sea, a ritual known as Pakelem, and slitting their throats
\nand dripping their blood onto the ground, or Penyambleh.<\/p>\n
In the Pemarisudha Karipubhaya ceremony, some 79 animals were
\nsacrificed. They included one deer, one small antelope, one
\ncivet, three bulls, three cows, seven goats, two turtles, five
\nswans, two black dogs, seven pigs, 23 chickens and 20 ducks of
\nvarious colors. Seven of them were designated as Pakelem, eleven
\nas Penyambleh, and the rest were cooked as various traditional
\nmeals of lawar and satay.<\/p>\n
Contemporary interpretation places Bhuta Kala as various types
\nof forces or elements of nature, known in Bali as Panca Maha
\nBhuta, which comprise apah (liquid\/water), bayu (wind), teja
\n(heat\/fire), pertiwi (solid element, soil) and akasa (space).<\/p>\n
Balinese Tri Hita Karana teaching requires that the harmonious
\nbalance and relationship between man and the gods (Parahyangan),
\nbetween men (Pawongan), and between man and the nature
\n(Palemahan) must be continuously maintained or otherwise bad
\nthings shall happen, which could take the form of a natural
\ndisaster, outbreak of disease or bloodshed as happened when a
\nbomb exploded in the tourist resort of Kuta.<\/p>\n
This interpretation shifts the responsibility over the
\noccurrence of bad things from the devilish works of menacing evil
\nspirits to man's inability to comply with the Tri Hita Karana
\nteachings. Consequently, sacrifice has new meanings.<\/p>\n
"It's not only a meal or an appeasement for evil spirits, but,
\nmore importantly, it is the way through which man maintains or
\nrestores the balance and harmony of Tri Hita Karana. Through caru
\nman pays his debts to nature, thus pacifying the forces of
\nnature," Sumarta said.<\/p>\n
It is no wonder that the highest level of sacrifice is called
\nTawur, which literally means payment. In the Pemarisudha
\nKaripubhaya ceremony, the Tawur Agung (great sacrifice) ritual
\nwas held at the blast site, while the rest of the ritual was
\nconducted at the Segara temple, next to the famous Kuta beach.<\/p>\n
Yet, Sumarta believes that Hindu followers must move toward a
\nmore spiritual meaning of sacrifice by realizing that the
\nultimate sacrifice is Mecaru di Deweke, or sacrificing oneself.<\/p>\n
"Through sacrificing animals, our wise ancestors have tried to
\nsend us an important message that we must try to eradicate our
\nanimal instincts and behavior within ourselves.Mecaru di Deweke
\nmeans killing our ego, greed, hatred, and all those inhumane
\ncharacteristics that have clouded our inner consciousness," he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Failing to do so, Hindu believers eventually will find
\nthemselves in a very ironic situation in which sacrifice disturbs
\nthe harmony and balance between man and nature instead of
\nmaintaining them.<\/p>\n
"By regularly and continuously sacrificing animals, including
\nrare ones, we will soon reach a stage where the caru rituals pose
\na danger to the sustainability of our ecosystem, and thus disrupt
\nthe balance and harmony of Tri Hita Karana," he said.<\/p>\n
Sumarta is looking ahead to a time when Hindu followers
\nconduct a caru by conserving nature, releasing rare animals into
\nthe wilderness or planting trees.<\/p>",
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