A grand farewell

For two months, the people of Ubud had come by the thousands to help the royal family prepare the palebon (grand cremation) of its princess Tjokorda Istri Muter. During the same time, the royal family also spent much energy and funds to finance the elaborate rite.

An imposing nine-tiered bade (wooden tower), 25 meters tall and bedecked with glittering ornaments, a giant dragon effigy of Naga Banda and massive offerings including at least 10,000 coconuts and 600 chickens told of the hard work.

At the climax of the cremation ceremonies on Saturday evening, the remains of the princess, who died in June at the age of 94, the bade and the Naga Banda were torched until they turned to ashes. Some observers might conclude that what they had witnessed was simply the display of the Ubud people's loyalty toward their royal family, and the latter's obsession with grand ceremonies.

However, in Bali, every rite is a symbol and every mantra a gate to a larger cosmos of meaning. The true meaning of every cremation lies in the Balinese Hindu's awareness of the ephemeral nature of existence.

When the high priest released the sacred arrow to kill the Naga Banda, when the first torch was set upon the corpse, every Balinese Hindu was reminded once again that lust, desires, achievements, life and that gilded bade were all transient. And, that only atma (the primal soul) could survive the flame of impermanency.

-- I Wayan Juniartha

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