Ted's Adventures

Preparation:

The Balinese take their ceremonies seriously; these are community occasions where everyone pitches in, and through this, the community is bound together. There is a saying that the Balinese find it difficult to run a business because they need so much time off to assist at ceremonies. There is some truth to this, but the benefits far outweigh the costs. A few months ago, the wife of the crown prince died and the Royal Cremation, held last Friday in Ubud, was an ultimate example of the community coming together to perform a major ceremony.

The community started building the Tower, that would bring the deceased to the cremation grounds, more than 3 weeks in advance. It was situated just outside the Palace, and each day different groups of volunteers worked on it; first building the scaffolding and frame, then adding all the gilding, and finally, the images of the various deities.

 

It was fascinating to watch the progress on a daily basis; and of course, volunteers needed to be fed so food was laid out for the workers, and at times a Gamelan orchestra would play while they worked.

In the end, the tower was 28 meters high, and though this took the most time, the ramp to load the casket onto the tower, and the Cremation Bull were other important pieces to be built. Everything was finally completed the night before.

The Parade:

Just before noon, the streets were closed off to traffic, the overhead electrical wires removed, and the electricity to this part of the grid, turned off. The streets around the Palace were packed with people all wearing the Balinese sarong, myself included, thanks to Kadek, my guesthouse host. Since I was properly dressed, I felt comfortable working my way towards the front of the crowd, but also importantly, finding the shade of a tree; the sun was bright and hot.

I ended up just beside a percussion orchestra, and from that vantage point, I could see the temple priests saying prayers and giving a blessing for those who were going to carry the Bull and the Tower.

 

The percussion group started playing, and the Bull bearers shouldered their load, and ran 25 meters down the road with it; the percussion group in hot pursuit… I was going to follow, but the police kept everyone else back. I was, however, able to move closer, and from this new perspective I could see the Tower being lifted and gently moved a couple of meters over to the ramp, then the Royal Coffin was loaded from the ramp into the Tower.

Music from a different Gamelan group started, and about 50 bearers lifted the tower on their shoulders and started running down the street, then abruptly stopped and set it down. Everybody on the street, packed shoulder to shoulder, quickly followed after them.

I could easily see that at this pace, it would take a while to get to the cremation site, the Pura Dalem in the East end of Ubud, and so I decided to bypass the procession route and arrive near the cremation site following a convoluted path of roads and lanes. I hurried, but I needn’t have, it took them forever to reach my new vantage point.

All along the street and side streets, people were packed shoulder to shoulder waiting for the procession, and from my new vantage point, I could see both the Bull and the tower approach in fits and starts. Carrying that Tower was a herculean task for all its bearers; even if they did rotate in different bearer groups after each run. And of course, there were casualties, Garuda’s right wing did not survive intact when it hit a tree during the procession, and It’s left wing broke as they arrived at Pura Dalem and mated the Tower to a ramp previously built there.

The Cremation:

The Bull, the cremation vehicle, had arrived in the temple courtyard, but still needed to be put on the covered dais in the center of the cremation site. The bearers first tried to do it with brute strength and leverage, however, the bamboo, large as it was, was not up to the task and cracked audibly when the Bull was halfway up. Mechanical help was needed, and soon an excavator was brought in to finish the job.

Once the Bull was in place, it needed to be cut open to receive the body and offerings. A temporary scaffolding was quickly erected giving the priests a place to work. Next, the casket was brought out of the tower and carried down the ramp’s treacherous incline. Everyone held their breath as the casket repeatedly seemed to lunge out of control and then be caught, every few feet.

The Gamelan orchestra played hauntingly eerie music, once the casket was safely retrieved, and the bearers paraded it around the Bull 3 times. It was then lifted up to the priests who removed the body and transferred it into the Bull. Finally, a metal skirt was placed around the Bull to direct the fire up and ensure a good cremation.

 

After prayers, bunches of incense sticks were lit by the king and his relatives and passed up to the Bull to use in starting the fire. It burned quickly and brightly, and soon the Bull was completely engulfed.

 

The firemen stood by and after a few minutes, doused the base to ensured that it did not burn; but that the body could burn at will.

I left as the fire faded, and on my way out, passed that marvelous tower that took over 3 weeks to build. I was told that once you brought something to the graveyard, it could never be brought home, and so it also became an offering to be taken down and burned.

Author’s Note: Here are some URLs describing this event, if you are interested.

Ubud Royal Family cremation attracts Megawati, Indonesian ministers and tourists

Cremation Ceremony in Bali

http://buten.net/max/Bali/index_baliroyalcremation.html