Bali makes preparations for cleansing ceremony

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.