Bali prepares special ritual to ward off evil

Bali prepares special ritual to ward off evil

Rita A. Widiadana, The Jakarta Post, Kuta, Bali

On the night of Oct. 21, during the full moon, the Balinese will
hold a special ritual to purify the island following the bomb
attacks in Legian.

The bombings last Saturday night claimed the lives of over 180
people, many of them foreign tourists.

At the initiative of the Balinese provincial administration,
the site of the bombing at the Sari Club will be turned into a
memorial for those killed in the tragedy. The names of the
victims will be inscribed on the memorial, and no commercial
structures will be allowed to be built on the site.

For the mainly Hindu Balinese, the bombings were a
representation of the evil spirits that destroy the cosmological
balance of their spiritual life.

They believe in a harmonious relationship between humans and
nature, and between humans and the Creator. According to this
belief, disasters and tragedies occur because evil spirits have
tipped this balance.

Bali Governor I Dewa Made Beratha, trying to suppress his
grief, said: "Our peaceful Bali was destroyed by devilish
creatures. The incident has spilled bad influences and misfortune
over the entire land of Bali."

The Balinese will hold a traditional ritual called mecaru, or
the purification of Bali's soil, home to lower creatures
according to Hindu teachings.

"The site should be spiritually cleansed according to the
Hindu way," the governor said.

Balinese High Priest Ida Pedanda Gede Made Gunung, who is also
chairman of the Indonesian Hindu Council, suggested that all
local residents hold smaller rituals at their homes.

He said Kuta and all of Bali should be purified through a
special ceremony called Caru Balik Sumpah. "Balik Sumpah"
literally means fulfilling one's promises -- how the Balinese
keep their promise to take care of their island and to maintain
harmonious relations between humans and nature, and humans and
the Creator.

The High Priest called on locals to control their emotions, to
remain calm and to avoid any provocative actions that might bring
more chaos to the island.

In Bali, the position of mankind is between good and evil or,
more precisely, in a state of coexistence with them.

Every ceremony in Bali is held to exorcise evil forces, to
drive them off into the 11 directions of space.

In everyday life, the Balinese people present offerings,
which, philosophically, are a kind of self-sacrifice to the
Creator.

An offering is something tangible, presented to the Creator in
physical form or as prayer. Offerings are given to the Creator to
eliminate negative forces.

Balinese people have held a number of such mass purification
ceremonies over the past four decades.

The mass purification ceremony called Eka Dasa Rudra is Bali's
most elaborate, held only on extremely rare occasions, the last
time being in l979. The ceremony, which takes months, intends to
pacify "evil", represented as Rudra, the stormy side of Siwa.

In l963, an Eka Dasa Rudra was held when the Gunung Agung
volcano erupted, showering the island with ash and lava, and
unleashing earthquakes. The explosion left thousands dead, and
hundreds of thousands homeless.

The l963 ceremony involved elaborate preparations of
offerings, sacrificial animals, prayers and performances -- all
culminating in a huge ceremony in which some 200,000 people
participated.

At Besakih, the holiest temple in Bali, the traditional
customary village of Besakih plans to hold a special ceremony
next Sunday to ask for divine forgiveness and blessing.

The ceremony will also seek direction and blessings for those
working to help the victims of the bombings, and those hunting
for the people involved in the attacks.