Deviant rituals still occur in Balinese Hindu community<\/p>\n
By Putu Wirata<\/p>\n
DENPASAR, Bali (JP): The Balinese Hindu community, which is
\nstrongly fused with religious and traditional ceremonies, has
\ndeviant rituals that still occur on the island.<\/p>\n
Thousands of Balinese people gathered at Puri Gianyar to hold
\nthe cremation of the late King of the Gianyar aristocracy, Ida
\nAnak Agung Gde Agung recently. But at the same time a middle-aged
\nman, Nengah Gading, held a very unusual ritual called ngaben
\nidup-idup, a cremation for the living in the village of Juukmanis
\nin Karangasem, east Bali.<\/p>\n
He conducted the ceremony to honor the souls of his sixteen-
\nyear-old son Nengah Sutama and his brother Mangku Duduk, 60. Such
\nceremonies have been carried out 11 times by the group in the
\nlast three years.<\/p>\n
Nengah Gading acknowledged that he belongs to the Tri Murti
\ngroup, which, he claims, has numerous fanatic followers.<\/p>\n
Gde Artama, a resident of the village who witnessed the
\nceremony, said the event started at 10 p.m. when two live bodies
\nwere cleansed and wrapped with white fabric. The bodies were then
\ntaken by a bamboo carriage to a nearby cemetery.<\/p>\n
Prior to the event, dozens of faithful Tri Murti devotees
\nprepared various offerings and held prayers and meditation
\nsessions similar to those performed in the ngaben ceremony.<\/p>\n
Upon arrival at the cemetery, they unwrapped the fabric. The
\nhair and nails of the \"corpses\" were cut and formed into two
\ndolls. The dolls were thrown in the river to symbolize leaving
\nsouls.<\/p>\n
The scene in the cemetery was as frightening as an act out of
\na Calonarang story. Nengah Gading and his followers hysterically
\nshouted Leak (the evil spirit in the cemetery) and challenged it
\nto fight.<\/p>\n
Gading explained he received pawisik (an order) from the
\nsupernatural world to hold the ritual in order to save the world
\nfrom disaster.<\/p>\n
The odd ritual has sparked controversy among community
\nmembers, especially Hindu religious leaders from Parisada Hindu
\nDharma (the Hindu Council) in Karangasem. They consider the
\nritual against pure Hindu teachings.<\/p>\n
Based on several ancient Lontar manuscripts, the ngaben
\n(cremation) ritual was held to respect the Pitra Yadnya (soul) of
\nthe dead.<\/p>\n
Most Juukmanis villagers were still confused and doubted the
\nvalidity of such a ritual in Hindu practice. However, the
\npeople cannot do anything to prevent Gading and the Tri Murti
\ndevotees from holding such a ceremony.<\/p>\n
This might be one of the reasons why the ritual has been going
\non without any interruption from community members. After being
\nexposed by the media and having created polemic among religious
\nleaders, the villagers have taken stern actions against Mangku
\nDuduk and Nengah Gading, both pemangku (assistants) who help
\norganize various religious ceremonies at the village pura (Hindu
\ntemple). The two men were released from their jobs.<\/p>\n
The implementation of ngaben idup-idup and other religious or
\nunusual rituals have confused both religious leaders and the
\ncommunity.<\/p>\n
In Bali, religious and traditional ceremonies are tightly
\nlinked together. In almost every region of the province, ritual
\nand traditional celebrations vary in accordance with the Sima and
\nDresta concepts which are in line with the philosophy desa-kala-
\npatra, which means traditions must be adjusted to place, time and
\nsituation.<\/p>\n
Gde Tunas and other people in Juukmanis are of the opinion
\nthat Gading's ngaben ritual is on the contrary to the sima. \"But
\nif the community does not object to this activity, I personally
\ndon't mind,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Ketut Wiana, an executive on the Hindu Council, argued if the
\ncremation ceremony is intended for the living, it is against
\nHindu teachings.<\/p>\n
\"But if I read all the reports from the media, it appeared
\nthat ngaben idup-idup was a kind of melukat (purification
\nceremony),\" said Wiana, the author of Ngaben, a book on the
\nBalinese cremation ceremony.<\/p>\n
The controversy was sparked because of misleading concepts of
\nthe Hindu ceremonial term. Ngaben is usually referred to the
\nceremony for the dead.<\/p>\n
Wiana also hoped that religious and community leaders would
\nnot punish people as sternly as the case of Nengah Gading and
\nMangku Duduk.<\/p>\n
\"We have to provide them with guidance and hold a dialog on
\nhow to practice religion in an appropriate way in line with Hindu
\nteachings,\" Wiana said.<\/p>\n
He acknowledged that the Hindu Council's research and
\ndevelopment agency had not anticipated the escalating problems
\nfaced by Hindu followers.<\/p>\n
\"Financial and bureaucratic procedures have prevented the
\ncouncil from studying the ongoing issues in the lives of Hindu
\nfollowers,\" Wiana explained.<\/p>\n
It is reasonable to assume that the Hindu Council was never
\nable to solve most of the controversial problems because it has
\nnever studied or evaluated them.<\/p>\n
Aside from the case of ngaben idup-idup, there are many more
\ndisputed issues which occur among the Hindu community in Bali.<\/p>\n
When asked whether the agency had documented all the issues,
\nWiana said lightly, \"It might have been reported and recorded by
\nthe local Hindu Council.\"<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/deviant-rituals-still-occur-in-balinese-hindu-community-1447893297",
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