Death
And Cremation
THE SOUL
By
this time the corpse has lost'all importance,' and from
this time on, the family is concerned entirely with
the soul of the dead person, A most important accessory
for the ensuing ceremonies, and the object around which
the rites revolve, is the adegan, the effigy in which
the soul is embodied to be purified. The adegan consists
of two images', one silhouetted out of palm leaf in
the traditional tjili shape and a more realistic one
drawn on a thin tablet of sandalwood:, bound together
and placed- on a, silver vase that rests on a silver
platter. Betel-nut, sirih leaves and flowers for praying
are placed inside the vase to make the. soul comfortable
and, nothing being too good for it the to-do add a third,image
made of beaten gold, bracelets, ankleits and a comb
of silver.or gold. The person's.name is written a small
label of palm-leaf attached to each adegan. There is
effigy for each corpse, but only the adegan is used
should remains be available; for instance, if no bones
should be found on opening the grave, if its location
has been forgotten, or if. the person died at sea or
in a foreign land.
The
souls are provided daily with " drinks," holy
water,from sacred springs. Processions go regularly
to distant mountain-springs to fill the new clay pots
inscribed with a lotus and I sacred syllable ong, while
someone casts coins into the waters and recites prayers
for the spirit of, the spring. Rolls of ancient black
" coppers are tied to the neck of each pot with
the special white yarn used in ritual, and each pot
is provided with a label' bearing the name of the dead.
The pots of holy water -are then deposited on the pavilions
where the bodies lie.
The
elusive souls are next " awakened " and captured
in the effigies. They are taken to the burial ground,
and the company kneels,
in front of the open graves strewing afferings on theground
and singing songs.the men dig The earth alittle knocking
upon it, and call the souls to aweken while someone
scatters pennies to distract the devils that wait ready
to pounce upon the e and pollute them. The procession
returns home, each effigy now incorporating a soul,
carried on the bead of a girl, to be blessed in the
shrine of each household. Each effigy is then cured
as if it were a corpse: it is sprinkled with holy water,
the various, ingredients (banten SUtji to anttain physical
perfection shreds of mirror, flowers, a gold ring, nails,
etc.) are placed over it the, egg rolled along its length,
and it is decorated with gold and silver obiects. The
cured effigies are placed near the corpses, wayang music
is plaved. and the little egg shell lamps of the angenans
are lit for the night.the Ceremonies acquire greater
significance as the date for the cremation approaches.
A
great procession is held on the, the cremation day to
take the effigies to the house of the high, priest for
their final blessing. It is important that this procession
be grand and luxurious, and, all the relatives of the
dead Parade in it dressed in the finest clothes obtainable,
with brocades gold flowers, jewellery, and jewelled
krisses much in evidence orchestras, baris dancers,
and scores of bovs carrying spears bannersand flags,
followed by long lines of women offerin bearers come
at the bead of the parade; they represent the retinue
souls in the effigies which are borne on silver platters
on the heads of a specially picked group of beautiful
girls in ceremonial full, dress - diadems of trembling
gold flower-on elaborate arrange ments of lacy scarfs
binding their breasts and yellow orgreen skirts of brocade
trailing in the dirt often the youngest decendant of
the family aboy or a girl dressed in silks and gold
riding on a gilt palanquin and shaded by gilt umbrellas
Groups of men relatives close the procession. In once
saw some fifty men uniformed in yellow trailing loincloths.
magenta breast-cloths, and white bead-dresses, all wearing
gold krisses, awkwardly conscious of being admired,
marching in triple file to the beat of gongs and drums
amidst bursting firecrackers.
If
you are interested in seeing the Bali ritual Performances
such as the Barong and the Rangda, Cremation ceremonies
or seeing other ritual ceremonies, or you have other
ideas on what you want to see we can design the package
just for you. please send us an email to
The
procession goes to the priest's house, where he waits
to consecrate the effigies through a performance of
maweda, the spoken formula emphasized by gestures of
the hands. The priest recites his formulas, flings flowers,
and sprinkles holy water towards the effigies, which
are reverently held in front of him by the kneeling
girls. After the ceremony the procession returns home,
stopping along the way in the temple of the family's
origin to offer a final prayer. At the house, towards
dusk, the baris dancers perform war dances to cast a
protecting net of magic vibrations, and shows are given
to entertain the guests. Relatives, guests, and populace
spend the night divided between watching an all-night
shadow-play and listening to public readings of the
Balinese classic Bhima Swarga, the tale of the fantastic
adventures of Bhima on his visit to Hades. Tradition
prescribes that this should be read aloud from beginning
to -end on the eve of cremation. In dark comers people
huddle to steal naps. Outside, the orchestras, among
them the gambang, only heard at cremations, boom and
bum throughout the night.
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INDONESIA
