Ever thought of attending a funeral as part of your holiday itinerary? Time to reconsider. I joined the colourful celebratory parade at a Balinese Ngaben (cremation ceremony) and I was really surprised.
Volcanoes, markets, beach bars, temples, dance shows, great satay – all must-dos in Bali. But if you’re there during the summer months, make sure you add the island’s vibrant cremation ceremonies to your list.
July is seen as propitious for weddings and cremations and while tying the knot is a private affair within the family compound, cremations are often large-scale public celebrations. Though it may sound maudlin, they really are joyful occasions, and visitors are welcome.
Ask around and you’ll find out what’s coming up. A shopkeeper told me about plans for a huge cremation ceremony in the village of Penestanan, just outside Ubud, in central Bali. I took the lovely half-hour walk through paddyfields to have a look at the preparations. It was June, and the big event would take place the following month.
The village was buzzing – men carving lions from wood, women preparing baskets of rice dough offerings. A huge covered platform had been built from bamboo, where the relatives of the dead would sit.
The cremation ceremony was for 32 villagers who had died in the past five years. Because it is so elaborate and costly, villagers often wait until a large number of families have a loved-one to cremate, and all chip in.
Each of the dead in Penestanan had already been buried, so representative effigies were to be created and burned instead.
In July, in the southern beach resort of Sanur, I was told about a cremation parade for a local high priest. This one would have been hard to miss – the whole town was out in force and outsiders were welcome to join the procession.
The priest had died eight weeks before, his body embalmed and kept in the family temple while the preparations were made. Because his relatives were wealthy, they could afford to cremate him straight away, in a ceremony just for him.
Wrapped in white cloth, his body was wheeled through the town on top of a tall white dais. Residents lined the streets, hundreds drumming and dancing in front of and behind the dais, as it made its way down to a sandy bay.
On the beach, there was a party atmosphere – whole pigs being roasted, the temple surrounded by tables groaning with offerings – flowers, fruit, roast ducks and smoking incense.
He was placed inside an open-ended bamboo coffin on a pyre, topped by a painted paper-mache bull. Later, his ashes were scattered into the sea. Sanur residents roamed along the promenade dressed in bright sarongs, chatting and eating satay skewers as the pyre burned. ´Cremations aren’t sad for us,’ one woman told me. ‘This is a happy day.´
Have you witnessed any spectacular religious ceremonies? Let me know about your experiences below…
