Thousands expected to commemorate Bali bombing
Thousands expected to commemorate Bali bombing
I Wayan Juniartha and Fitri Wulandari, The Jakarta Post, Denpasar, Bali
After a month of mourning, thousands of people across the world
will gather in Kuta, Bali on Nov. 15 for a purification ceremony,
which it is hoped will mark Bali's emergence from ashes.
Bali Deputy Governor I Gusti Bagus Alit Putra said the Hindu
ritual Pemarisudha Karipubhaya was aimed at restoring
international confidence in the resort island, which was
shattered by a terror attack on Oct. 12.
"The ritual is not only aimed at cleansing the blast site from
evil spirits, but also the ashes resulting from atrocities
committed by terrorists," Alit said.
The ceremony will be centered around the site of the blast,
which killed at least 190 people, mostly foreign tourists,
injured 325 others and leveled or caused damage to 450 buildings.
A similar ritual will take place in Labuh Gentuh and Pakelem next
to Kuta beach at the Segara Temple, some two kilometers from the
blast site.
"Through the ritual we will beg for God's mercy for our
mistakes. We will also ask for God's grace so all the victims'
souls will be blessed with purity, peacefulness and a smooth
passage to the afterworld," the head of the traditional village
of Desa Adat Kuta, Made Wendra, said on Wednesday.
Families of the people who died in the blast are invited to
the event. The Bali administration in cooperation with the Garuda
Indonesia Airlines and Bali Tourism Board have prepared free
flights and free accommodation for them.
The whole ceremony will be presided over by 10 Hindu high
priests from Pedanda, which will be led by Ida Pedanda Gede Putra
Bajing from the Brahmin house of Tegal Jingga in Sumerta village,
Wendra said.
The ceremony is believed to be the first of its kind ever
conducted in Bali.
"Pemarisudha Karipubhaya is only held when an area suffers a
massive, violent death caused by an enemy attack. I believe we
have never conducted this ceremony before," Brahmin scholar Ida
Bagus Wijaya Kusuma said.
The Hindu priests will also send people to various sacred
temples and sites in Bali, Java and Lombok to fetch holy water to
be used during the ceremony. The places include Mt. Semeru, Mt.
Bromo, Mt. Raung, and Mt. Arjuna in Java and Mt. Rinjani on the
neighboring island of Lombok.
An estimated Rp 600 million (US$64,500) will be spent to hold
the ceremony, with financial aid coming from, among others, Guruh
Soekarnoputra (President Sukarno's son), Minister of Social
Affairs and the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce.
President Megawati Soekarnoputri is also expected to attend
the ceremony.