NGABEN

NGABEN: Bali Cremation Ceremony

Hindu funerals in Bali are intensely suggestive ceremonies of great cultural and religious significance. Funerals are centred on cremation of the body requiring a complex apparatus and characterized by a large following known as ngaben or pelebon. This practice is considered essential if the 5 elements making up the microcosm of the human body are to be returned to their original residence, the universe’s macrocosm.


The five elements, Panca Maha Bhuta, are the earth (pertiwi), water (apah), fire (teja), air (bayu), and ether (akasa). Since the primordial dimension can only be attained through water and fire, the ashes are dispersed in the water of the sea or if the distance is too great, in a river. The funeral ceremony is generally led by a priest and punctuated by a lavish offering of gifts. For the occasion, a large bullock-shaped wooden structure is built and then entirely covered with white drapes if the deceased belongs to a priestly caste--in black.


There are ceremonies for every stage of Balinese life but often the last ceremony--cremation--is the biggest. A Balinese cremation can be an amazing, spectacular, colourful, noisy and exciting event. In fact it often takes so long to organize a cremation that years have passed since the death. During that time the body is temporarily buried.

Of course an auspicious day must be chosen for the cremation and since a big cremation can be very expensive business many less wealthy people may take the opportunity of joining in at a larger cremation and sending their own dead on their way at the same time. Brahmans, however, must be cremated immediately. Apart from being yet another occasion for Balinese noise and confusion it's a fine opportunity to observe the incredible energy the Balinese put into creating real works of art which are totally ephemeral. A lot more than a body gets burnt at the cremation.


The body is carried from the burial ground (or from the deceased's home if it's and 'immediate' cremation) to the cremation ground in a high, multi-tiered tower made of bamboo, paper, string, tinsel, silk, cloth, mirrors, flowers and anything else bright and colourful you can think of. The tower is carried on the shoulders of a group of men, the size of the group depending on the importance of the deceased and hence the size of the tower.

The funeral of a former rajah of high priest may require hundreds of men to tote the tower. A long the way to the cremation ground certain precautions must be taken to ensure that the deceased's spirit does not find its way back home. Loose spirits around the house can be a real nuisance. To ensure this doesn't happen requires getting the spirits confused as to their whereabouts, which you do by shaking the tower, running it around in circles, spinning it around, throwing water at it, generally making the trip to the cremation ground anything but a stately funeral crawl.

Historic Ubud - Bali (continues)

The Ayung River winds its way through several Ubud villages on its way to Sayan and on to the sea.

The Royals

Skipping ahead almost a millennium, we come to the founding of the royal house in the greater Ubud area. In the 17^th century, a rebellion occurred in the royal house of Gelgel, the then-capital of Bali, which started a surge of many small skirmishes and conflicts between royal houses. Nine kingdoms finally emerged (eight of which are now the established regencies in Bali, with the Mengwi kingdom absorbed into the others when it was defeated in battle in the 1880s).

In the early 1700s, the Dewa Agung Jambe (king) of Klungkung sent his son, the Dewa Agung Anom Wijayasunu, to Sukawati (called Timbul at the time) to found a palace there and establish a centre of power and beauty. Many artists and artisans from Klungkung and Mengwi came to build the palace in Sukawati, which was one of the finest in the land. Once their job was over, the artists did not want to go home and they remained there.

In the late 1700s, Puri Sukawati sent two of its retainers to the Ubud area as administrators to secure the area. Gusti Lanang Dauh formed the community of Padang Tegal (where Hanoman, Sugriwa and Jembawan streets now are) and the younger cousin Gusti Made Taman went further north to Taman (north of the main road in Ubud and east of the market). A fierce rivalry existed between them and fighting broke out between the two villages. In order to pacify the Tjokorde Ngurah Tabanan to Peliatan and Tjokorde Tangkeban to Sambahan, Ubud (a village north of the market and puri) to establish palaces and authority.

The younger brother of Dewa Agung Gede, king of Sukawati, I Dewa Agung, reigned in Peliatan from 1775-1800. It was here that he established a puri in Peliatan in order to guard against incursions from Mengwi and to expand the power base, again bringing with him an enclave of artists as well as people from every caste. His half-brother Tjokorde Batuan also built a puri in Peliatan. The kingdom of Peliatan ranged from Tegalalang to Mas and included Ubud village. Batuan’s older brother, Tjokorde Made Kandel, was sent to Mengwi to become sovereign there. The oldest son Tjokorde Putu kandel, went in search of holy water (tirthayatra).

Tjokorde Made kandel (who had ‘disappeared’) wanted to see the battlefield. The Pe;oatan troops numbered only 16, whereas Mengwi had thousands. Tjokorde Putu Kandel stepped onto the battlefield brandishing the keris Ki Betara Batukaru (said to have such magical powers that the enemy would flee) and the Mengwi army did indeed flee. Tjokorde made Kandel was not pleased with this and went to see why his soldiers had retreated. He got quite a shock when he realized that the Peliatan army was not being led by his uncle, Tjokorde Putu Kandel! They embraced and all was well. In fact, people fro Mengwi came to Ubud to help populate the area. All of this took place in the village now known as Tanggayuda (place of battle) around 1800.

From 1850-1880, the grandson of Tjokorde Putu Kandel, Tjokorde Rai Batur, became king and this is when Ubud began to really prosper. Batur was more inclined to steep himself in spiritual rather than military matters. The next sovereign was the pious Tjokorde Gede Sukawati (1880-1917). Rice was in abundance and the economy was booming. At this time a number of sacred in various temples around Ubud.

In the mid-19^th century, the new Dewa Agung (king) of Klungkung began and anti-Dutch campaign. Mengwi was defeated at this time and its land divided up between the victors. The punggawa (district leader) of Negara near Sukawati aligned himself with Klungkung and wanted to take over Sukawati, which extended throughout all of Western Gianyar, including Peliatan and Ubud.

The next ruler was a spiritual leader but, by default, became a great military man as well. By mustering forces from Peliatan, Ubud and Tegalalang, the Tjokorde Gede Sukawati, in 1890, was able to defeat Negara and occupy itslands all the way from Ketewel to Taro. The Tjokorde had a special keris, which, by simply piercing the earth would make the enemy run away. He also had a special power called bau siu whereby the enemy thinks it’s seeing many more soldiers than are actually there. Many more political intrigues and battles took place with the Dutch helping to fuel conflicts among the rivals.

Tourism and the First Westerners

The 1930’s saw the first real development of tourism on the island of Bali. Much of this was centre dint he Ubud area due to the entrepreneurial savvy of Tjokorde Gede Agung Sukawati. Tjokorde Gede Agung was born in 1910. At an early age he moved in with an uncle in Puri Belaluan in Denpasar, across the street from the Bali Hotel. At age fifteen, he stopped school and began his work as a ‘guide’ by approaching the guests at the nearby hotel and picked up English and Dutch languages. At the age of seventeen, he married (his first wife of eleven!) and moved back to Ubud where he established a small guest house in the Puri Saren Agung (now run by his son Tjokorde Gede Putra Sukawati). In that same year, 1972, his older brother Tjokorde Raka Sukawati from Puri Kantor across the street invited the composer-painter Walter Spies to come to Ubud to live, where he did for the next eleven years. Spies, along with other resident foreigners, such as Willem Hofker and Rudolf Bonnet, both painters, began to entertain celebrities from far and wide, including Charlie Chaplin, Noel Coward, Barbara Hutton, H.G. Wells and Vicki Baum, who in turn told their friends about Ubud. The Tjokorde Agung was instrumental in developing tourism in Ubud as he made very visitor feel like family.

When the Balinese talking about magic, they mean actually something completely different. The power of magic is still revered to in Bali, where more than 90 percent of the population accept magic as a part of daily life.

Boom Times

In the ‘70s, backpackers and researches alike flocked to Ubud. The serene atmosphere was conductive for painters and one could study music and dance with some of the greats. It only took a brief fifteen years before Ubud changed from a sleepy, dirt road village of the past into the bustling tourist town it is today. Yet still Ubud remains a draw for artists, dancers, musicians, students and anthropologists of all stripes.

Even in the 21^st century, Balinese firmly believe in the power of the unseen world. There is a tiny tree with six branches on it that lives inside a box within the Pura Batukura temple in Ubud. This tree sprouts kepeng of Chinese coins on it which reflect the economic tenor of the times. The last time the box was opened, there were four coins in it. In the 1960s, during the economic crisis, there were just three. Tjokorde Gede Oka Sukawati stated that perhaps at the end of the 19th century, during his grandfather’s time, that there might have been six.

Rangda.. the Widow who turn herself into balck magic world and transformed herself into monster.

Another barometer of sorts for Ubud is a celulak mask, which is used in the tale of the black magic dance-drama, the Calonarang. This mask was given to a Western couple back in the 1960’s as a wedding gift. It traveled around the world with them, bringing nightmares to those in close proximity. The woman recipient was said to unhitch herself off walls and float around her house. Finally she has came to rest in Puri Saren and if you are out around one in the morning, you will see her lurking in front of the Puri. A paranormal told Ubudians that she has come here to protect the people of Ubud. There are numerous stories like these.

Kecak Dance - Ubud, Bali

Why is it that the Ubud area has such a rich artistic tradition? Some will tell you it is the beauty of the land, but there are places far more breathtaking than Ubud on the island. Others will tell you it is due to the spiritual energy created by the confluence of the river waters at Campuhan. Whatever it is, Rsi Markandeya was the first to discover what visitors have been coming back to for centuries.

Addapted from material prepared for the book ‘Ubud is a Mood’ by Rucina Ballinger

Historic Ubud - Bali

Historic Ubud - Bali

"Today the entire world is a museum available to those who have the desire to see. In this museum, Bali is one of the most impressive collections, and while I have seen relatively little of Bali, I am convinced that Ubud is the principal gem of the entire collection. Ubud contains not only the precious mementoes of Bali's glorious past but also the living representations of its impressive present and hopeful future. Some may worry about the change that modern energy and drive will bring to Bali, but I do not. The creative urge of the Balinese, the natural instinct for beauty and contentment, will prevail." - 17 September, 1959, C. McVicker, of Jakarta; in a Puri Saren Agung Ubud guestbook.

These women all seem to be princesses vying for special roles in an ancient Asian pageant. Their finery, however, is part of daily traditional style in tis village

Those words, written almost half century ago, could still be written today. Even though enormous changed have occurred on the island in the past twenty-five years, particularly in the tourist enclaves which include Ubud, there is still a feeling of balance that prevails. Ubud is indeed one of Bali's many gems.

In the beginning Ubud itself was originally a small portion of land centred around Campuhan (meaning 'rivers meeting') and the puta (temple) Gunung Lebah. Yet Ubud, as it is known in the 21^st century, spans many villages and is a kecamatan (district), and kelurahan (sub-district), as well as a desa (village).

In the West, history consists of tangible events and things that can be recorded. In Bali, history and life itself consists of the seen or conscious world (sekala) and the invisible or psychic realm (niskala) and Balinese are able to move between there two worlds with easy. One could not exist without the other. Therefore, some of the tales about to be told may seem fantastical to the visitor, but to the Ubudians it is a part of their history. Magic keris (daggers), cannibalistic giants and coin-sprouting trees may serve as allegories but they also stand on their own, as you shall soon see.

A lontar (traditional palm leaf book)

Almost all sources begin Ubud's history with the coming of the great Hindu Indian mystic sage, Rsi Markandya in the 8^th century. A lontar (traditional palm leaf book) called the Markandya Purana describes how he spread Hinduism throughout Bali. He had been told to journey east from Mount Raung in Java and to convert the inhabitants of Bali to Hinduism. Bali had a reputation of being filled with dangerous spirits and many travellers never returned. walking through Java, he made his way to Bali with 800 followers. His goal was the holy mountain of Gunung Agung, where Besakih temple stands today. However, his followers succumbed to a cholera epidemic and, in fear for their health and safety, he took those who survived back to Java.

The temple of Pura Gunung Lebah in Campuhan, on the fringes of Ubud.

While in Java, he received a divine revelation that he was to return to Bali and bury panca dhatu (five precious metals which are buried under temples to give them more power) at the place where Besakih temple is today. he returned with four hundred followers. From there, he was drawn to a place in the central part of the island which was pulsing with light and energy: Campuhan, Ubud. Here, where two branches of the Wos River (named Lanang and Wadon, or male and female) meet in a confluence, he settled, meditated and built the temple Pura Gunung Lebah (Low Mountain temple). These two rivers swirl around each other as two naga (dragons or serpents) might do. The naga in the Balinese belief system symbolise all that sustains humanity: shelter, food and housing and, of course, spiritual sustenance. The water in the Western branch of the river is used for holy water in local temple festivals and the water in the Eastern branch is used for cleansing oneself; both physically and metaphysically.

Rsi Markandeya founded many temples along the Wos River. In the most northern part of his journey, he built the first (some claim) Hindu temple on the island: Pura Gunung Raung (later named Pura Agung) in the village of Taro. Just north of here in the village of Puakan (Pa-subak-an) the sage created the unique irrigation system for rice fields called subak and divided up the lands among the small populace at that time. He is also credited with the formation of the banjar (hamlet, subdivision of a village) and desa (village) systems.

The Balinese philosophy of Tri Hita Kirana, the relationship of humans with their environment (subakor rice fields), humans with each other (banjar or hamlet) and witht he Supreme Being (desa ot village, represented by the three main village temples) was first established here by Rsi Markandeya. Subsequent sages and priests have developed and expounded upon this but this was the foundation of Balinese Hinduism in its purest form, called appropriately Agama Tirta or 'Religion of Holy Water'.

Campuhan is indeed a special centre of power. People have been meditation here for centuries and bathing in its curative waters which spurt out of pancoran or fountains along the river banks. In 1961, this site was chosen as the place to form a religious body recognized by the Indonesian government and known today as Parisadha Hindu Dharma Indonesia, a symbolic tribute to Rsi Markandeya's founding of Hinduism in Bali over a millennium before.

The name Ubud is derived from the word 'ubad', meaning medicine, and refers to the myriad variety of healing plants found along this riverside and in the surrounding environs.

Historic Ubud - The Royals (continues..)

The Village of Tenganan in Bali

The village of Tenganan in Bali carefully preserves a cultural legacy dating back to the Majapahit Empire, and offers a unique glimpse into the lives of the first Balinese.

Midway through each year, an undercurrent of intense excitement surrounds the unique Baliese village of Tenganan. A buffalo is ceremoniously slaughtered, while beautiful textile heirlooms are displayed in the open. An ancient wooden ferris wheels is specially constructed. And, perhaps most ominously, strips of thorny pandanese leaves are piled up, ready for the combat to begin.

All the action is in preparation for the village’s fifth-month celebrations. For hundreds of years, Tenganan has maintained its cultural authenticity through daily, weekly and monthly ritual and ceremony according to strict customary law. For the visitor, a visit to one of Bali’s most pristine villages is a glimpse of Bali as it once was – a time capsule preserving the lives of the original Balinese.

Ancient Culture
Tenganan is a walled communal village that has preserved its animistic cultural practices for hundreds of years. The village lies at the head of a narrow valley at the base of Bali’s sacred Mount Agung, about 3km into the hills from the eastern coastal holiday resort of Candi Dasa.

Locals call the Tenganese Bali Aga, or Bali Mula, meaning original Balinese. As such, their culture predates the Majapahit Empire (1294 to 1478) from which most mainstream Balinese claim cultural and spiritual descent. The 300 or so members of Tenganan communally own land that spreads far beyond the surrounding hills. They are reputed to be among the riches tribes on Bali.

You might not think Tenganan was so wealthy and socially complex at first sight. In this non-descript walled village, there are no streets or cars, merely two rows of houses doubling as shops, which face each other across an ancient village green.

Magical cloth
Tenganan is best known for its traditional cloth, called Kamben Gringsing, which transpates as both “flaming cloths” and “against sicknesses”. This peculiar double-ikat cloth – only woven elsewhere in Patola, India and Guatemala, Central America – is characterized by its distinctive colors. A group of four gringsing cloths takes up to eight years, and each piece can fetch as much as Rp 32 million (US$3,494). However, certain gringsing heirlooms are not for sale.

An element of mystique surrounds gringsing. In the 1930s, Miquel Covarrubias wrote in Island of Bali that kamben gringsing was once dyed in sacrificial human blood and possessed magical powers. In turn, the wearer was said to be protected from black magic. Many mainstream Balinese still avoid Tenganan today, fearing black magic.

Clearly defined social structures forbid outsides marrying into the Tenganan community. Until 1925, marriage in Tenganan was only permitted within the village. Upon relaxation of this law, a village man could marry a single woman from one of the mainstream Balinese high castes without losing his right to live in the village. A villager breaking any of Tenganan’s laws is considered to be breaking divine law. The result is banishment for life to the outer village, to become a member of the organization of the fallen.

More than any other village in Bali, Tenganan performs rituals on a daily basis, to guarantee the spiritual purity and balance of the entire community. The most popular by far and highlight of the fifth Tenganan month is the thrilling mekare-kare (shiled) pandanas fighting.

Battle for blood
On the second day of the Usaba Sambah even from June 13 to 15 each year, Tenganan’s excitement reaches an electric and infectious climax. The atmosphere is tense as hundreds of local and foreign visitors armed with cameras edge forwards. Each strains to witness open combat, Tenganan style – combat between pairs of male villagers, boys and men alike, each armed with rattan shields and strips of thorny pandanas leaf.

Steadily, the rhythmic melody of the ancient gamelan orchestra builds, together with shouts of encouragement, as one combatant after another drinks rice wine, or tuak, before pairing off for battle.

Thwak! Thwak!
This is no play fight. Males of all ages participate in mekare-kare combat – and the aim is to draw blood. When bleeding does occur, fighting is supposed to cease. But sometimes the head and fervor of the moment gain the upper hand, forcing elders to step in to separate combatants.

The fight’s main skill is in attacking and dodging. Attacking is done by scratching or hooking parts of the opponent’s body with strips of thorny pandanus leaf. Anything between the neck and the waist is considered fair game. By and large, most scratches occur on the back.

Remarkably, the fight’s rules demand blood. Fights averaging two-to-three minutes may take longer, because the referee won’t stop the fight until blood is drawn. Afterwards, injured parties are treated with traditional medicine called bareh, which repairs the skin in a matter of days.

Maintaining harmony
Villagers see this bloodletting ritual with no winners or losers as a healthy reinforcement of masculinity. Village elder, I Putu Suarjana, says that according to Tenganan tradition, the blood-letting helps maintain a harmonious village: “When someone is fighting in the mekare-kare, anger will rise within him. However as soon as the fight is over this anger will vanish involuntarily.”

As the males assert their virility, young girls reinforce their culture ties too, observing the combatants while wearing gringsing, family heirlooms handed down by generations.

Aside from these public displays of cultural continuity, other key actions are take to safeguard Tenganan, including limiting the spread of capitalism. When concerns arose that the integrity of the village was being eroded as more houses were used as shops, the village council decreed these be restored to their original structure. I Nyoman Sadra, another village elder, explains: “Over the next few years, all our shops will have moved to the parking lot outside the front gate. But visitors will still be able to come into our homes where the old arts, including the making of gringsing are practiced.”

While acknowledging the outside world, Tenganan continues to draw its strength from its traditions. Parts of Bali may be radically transformed by tourism and change, but Tenganan village is intent on remaining an island unto itself.

Words by Ed Bailitis - mandala mgz