Devout Balinese fight terror with ritual and prayers<\/p>\n
Abdul Khalik, The Jakarta Post, Denpasar<\/p>\n
While many of their Balinese brethren were busy condemning
\nterrorists or feeling paranoid about Muslims, other Balinese,
\nwhose island has been attacked twice by suicide bombers, held
\nmass prayers in an attempt to change the terrorists' violent
\nmind-sets.<\/p>\n
\"We are gathered here to pray for all human beings, not just
\nfor Bali. We are sad indeed that Bali was attacked but we see
\nthat as an accident, or God's will. We pray so that the
\nterrorists may be changed to become full of love for others,\"
\nSurya, 40, a Tabanan native, told The Jakarta Post.<\/p>\n
With his hands enclosing a flower and a joss stick in front of
\nhis face, Surya, closed his eyes, saying his prayers devoutly
\namong a crowd of tens of thousands of Balinese at Canggu Beach in
\nTabanan, Bali, last Wednesday, when they conducted a Kejabe Kuta
\n-- an event at which the Balinese people pray to God to spare
\nthem from all disasters and bad luck.<\/p>\n
The voices of hundreds of Balinese women chanting prayers
\ntogether and the sound of the waves crashing onto the beach
\ncreated a unique atmosphere -- some said that many holy spirits
\nwere present during the event.<\/p>\n
Since early morning, representatives of barong (community
\nunit) after barong had arrived at the beach, and by 10 a.m.,
\nseveral hundred meters of the beach were fully occupied by them.<\/p>\n
As the sun begin to shine brightly over the coast, some 17
\nbarong from six regencies on the island had gathered to
\nparticipate in a ritual whereby a group of Hindu priests take
\nwater from the sea and use it to cleanse away all the bad luck,
\ndisasters and threats that have affected their island.<\/p>\n
Each barong, comprising around 800 families, brought with them
\ntheir own logos, food and traditional ornaments, including
\nvarious kinds of masks, traditional umbrellas, weapons, and
\nvarious kinds of fruit.<\/p>\n
At 11 a.m., the masked priests, heavily guarded by a group of
\npeople, arrived and directly went out a few meters into the
\nwater, where they said prayers before fetching some seawater.<\/p>\n
Many participants move forward to try to get water directly
\nfrom the priests.<\/p>\n
By around 11.20 a.m., the priests starting performing melasti,
\nin which they distribute the seawater to other priests or
\ndirectly sprinkle it on the participants to ward off the threat
\nof misfortune and disaster.<\/p>\n
\"The water is seen by the Balinese as a mixture of all the
\nelements in the universe. The srinkling of the water is not only
\naimed at banishing misfortune from Bali, but also serves as a
\nsymbol that the world and universe has been cleansed of violence
\nand human greed,\" Wayan Budarmadja, one of the event organizers
\nand a noted Balinese figures, told the Post.<\/p>\n
The participants continued reciting their prayers loudly as
\nthey were sprinkled by the priests.<\/p>\n
By around 12:15 p.m., the melasti was over, and several men
\ntook the food plus the ornaments to the sea to symbolize their
\nsacrifices to God and the sea.<\/p>\n
\"The ritual is not a common event as we hold it only every
\nthree years. Some 116 pura (Hindu temple) congregations from all
\nover Bali came here to pray. We want to show the world that Bali
\nis still very much alive, despite the recent bomb attacks,\" Wayan
\nBudarmadja, the event coordinator, told the Post.<\/p>\n
Bali has been rocked by two major bomb attacks, including the
\n2002 bombings, which killed 202 people, and the Oct. 1 blasts
\nthat killed 23 people, including the three suicide bombers, and
\ninjured more that 130.<\/p>\n
As all participants started to leave the beach, each barong
\nbegan simultaneously playing dynamic music with different
\ntraditional instruments as if to tell the whole world that a
\npeaceful beginning had once again arrived in Bali.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/devout-balinese-fight-terror-with-ritual-and-prayers-1447893297",
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