Supernatural power guard new statue

Supernatural power guard new statue

By Tri Vivi Suryani

JIMBARAN, Bali (JP): A giant Garuda Wisnu Kencana statue
and cultural park on top of Ungasan Hill in Jimbaran will soon
become a new landmark and tourist destination in Bali.

The site, along with its 400-ton statue that symbolizes
the god of Vishnu as the guard of the nature and life, is now
under construction and is intended to become a cultural melting
pot where local and international arts will be widely promoted
and preserved. Under the plan, the site will have, among other
things, a 700-seat amphitheater.

Apart from the statue and its cultural park, the site and its
surrounding area are also known for their supernatural folklore.

On the east side of the statue, there is a small well
containing holy water, locally called thirtha.

The well, known as Cubing, was found long before the statue
was built.

The emergence of this bottomless well surprised people,
considering that Jimbaran was a barren and rocky hill. The area
has been famous as one of the driest places in Bali.

The local people believed that the well was a gift from God
and therefore it could only be used for religious purposes such
as ngaben (a cremation ritual).

Mangku Wayan Bokor, pemangku (low priest) in Ungasan, said
that water from the well had long been used to cure various
illnesses. Many times, he said, people poured the water on to
their head or body to ward off an evil influence.

The Balinese still believe in tangible and intangible worlds.
People, according to them, may get physically and spiritually
sick because somebody has "sent" them invisible spirits to
disturb them physically and mentally.

Mangku described his own "experiences" with the well.

Recently, when the well was flooded, the 50-year-old priest
was unable to make daily offerings and later that night, he had a
nightmare with numerous wongs samars (demons) visible in his
dream.

In another experience, the priest saw shadows of a group of
female dancers who elegantly swayed their bodies under the
moonlight. Mangku said that these "women" spiritually inhabited
and guarded the place.

And one day, he also saw the statue disappear.

At that time the weather was so bright with no cloud or mists
that usually blanket Ungasan hill. Suddenly, he could not see the
statue at all.

"Believe it or not, it had become invisible ... It was like a
dream but it was really true," he claimed.

Local residents also found several old Chinese coins known as
pis inside the well. However, despite the absence of security
guards, nobody has dared to take the coins.

Mangku said that all the stories were closely related to an
ancient legend about the journey of Dhang Hyang Niratha, who is
believed to be the ancestor of the island's Brahmana high priest
families.

The priest came from Java and started making a long and
difficult journey over Bali, helping the needy and curing sick
people on his way. Upon his arrival at Ungasan Hill, the priest
took a break. When he put his stick in the ground, suddenly water
came out of the rock.

True or not, the story will certainly attract more tourists.