Struggling to cope with last month's barbaric bombings in Bali and hoping to release the souls of the dead, thousands of Balinese Hindus, joined by Cabinet ministers, ambassadors and victims' relatives, performed an elaborate "purification" ceremony on Friday. The occasion was solemn and lively with onlookers climbing atop charred vehicles, cracked cement slabs and piles of rubble to watch men chant prayers, children dance and women prepare offerings of food, flowers and sacrificed animals, such as cows, goats, pigs and geese.

A. Thousands of Balinese Hindus (left) repeat Tirta Sandya prayers to release the souls of the dead from the Legian bomb site, Kuta. Children (above) perform the Rejang Dewa dance during the Tawur Agung ceremony. A foreign woman (right) prays solemnly during the rituals.

B. Balinese aboard a motorized boat (above) release a sacrificial buffalo into the ocean during the cleansing ceremony. Guests and victims' relatives (right) join in prayers. Participants (below) gather on the beach to witness the drowning of sacrificial animals as part of the ritual.