Bali makes preparations for cleansing ceremony
I Wayan Juniartha and Damar Harsanto, The Jakarta Post, Kuta, Bali
Residents of Kuta on Wednesday performed a preliminary ritual of Mapepada to purify some 79 animals who will be sacrificed during the purification ceremony, locally known as Pemarisudha Karipubhaya, scheduled for Nov. 15, 2002.
At least 1,000 people attended the ritual, which was held in front of the Segara temple near the famous Kuta beach.
All the animals were paraded around the offerings, which were placed on the ground and, later, sprinkled with holy water as a for purification.
The ritual attracted the attention of foreign and domestic tourists visiting the beach, was presided over by Hindu high- priest Ida Pedanda Narendra of the Brahmin house of Griya Telabah.
"Basically, the ceremony is aimed at cleansing any impurity of the animals to make them ready to be offered to gods and the Bhutas (nature's powers) during the purification ceremony," the head of the customary village Desa Adat of Kuta, Made Wendra told.
A number of government officials, diplomats and foreign guests were scheduled to attend the ceremony.
The sacrificial beasts to be killed comprise a deer, a small antelope, a civet cat, three bulls, three cows, seven goats, two turtles, five swans, two black dogs, seven pigs, 23 chickens and 20 ducks of various colors.
During the ceremony, the animals' meat, skin and heads will be an important part of the offerings in the Tawur Agung ritual, which will be held at the bomb site while other animals will be drowned alive in the waters off of Kuta beach during the Labuh Gentuh ritual in the Segara temple.
Animal sacrifice play an important part in the Balinese Hindu's numerous rituals of Yajna. The Hindu followers believe that through such sacrifice they will be able to appease the gods and Bhutas, and simultaneously restore the balance between the physical realm of Sekala and the spiritual realm of Niskala.
"With the completion of the Mapepada rituals we have entered the final stage of the preparation for the Pemarisudha Karipubhaya," Wendra said.
In another development, the Australian government showed its appreciation on Wednesday to 150 local volunteers from the Indonesian Red Cross (PMI) who helped dozens of victims following the deadly Oct. 12 tragedy that killed almost 200 people, mostly Australian, and injured more 320 others.
"On behalf of the Australian government and people, especially families who lost their members, we praise heroic measures conducted even by ordinary people to cope with the carnage which is out of imagination," said the Australian consul general in Bali, Ross Tysoe.
He added that the volunteers were true heroes and heroines.
Tysoe also revealed that the Australian government would provide free psychological consultation to volunteers who suffered traumatic experiences over the last month.
"There have been requests for psychological treatment for the volunteers in the aftermath of the bombings," said Tysoe.
Around 600 local people have reportedly been involved in humanitarian efforts with the victims. Many of them had to cope with charred body parts found at the blast site.
Gde Darmawan, a third year high school student, said that he joined the humanitarian forces to work with the victims on the last few Sundays.
"I could not participate on school days as I had tests," Darmawan said, proudly saying that he was among the youngest of the volunteers.
Another volunteer, Ngurah Wedaswara, a student from Udayana University's School of Tourism revealed that the sense of horror he felt at the blast site was overcome by his emotional hatred of the bombers.