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BALI TRADITION AND RELIGION
- THE CYCLE OF LIFE -
According to Hindu religious beliefs, after death, a soul
passes into another body. During its tenure in a body, the
soul is in torment. Consequently, the soul is always seeking
to free itself from incarnation so that it can attain
enlightenment or moksa. Once enlightenment is achieved,
both the body and soul can join their cosmic equivalents
for ever. Therefore, when a person dies, but its soul fails
to achieve moksa, it will continue with the cycle of life
through incarnations.
The religious rites which are performed to accompany a soul
through its journey in the cycle of life incorporate such
cosmic notions. The intervening journey between life and
death is given high importance in Balinese rituals. Such
rituals consist of the human rites (manusa yadnya), the rites
of the dead (pitra yadnya), rites of the gods or temple rites
(dewa yadnya), rites of demonic forces (buta yadnya) and
ordainment rites (rsi yadnya).
Balinese believe that the mountains are the abodes of the gods,
deified ancestors and souls which did not attain moksa.
The gods and deified ancestors will descend occasionally to
earth during temple ceremonies to partake of offerings and to
enjoy entertainment.
When souls are ready to re-incarnate on earth, they will come
from the mountains above or straight from hell. That is why
the mountains is revered as the Holy Place.
The incarnation of the human soul is seen as a human and a
cosmic process, starting from love. The union of a man and
a woman is that of purusa and pradana - the male and female
principle respectively and the cosmic energy of Asmara, the
god of love, and Ratih, the goddess of the moon. In their
sexual love are united the red and white elements of desire
(kamabang/kama petak), symbols of male sperm and female ovula.
The eventual merging of the two kamas begets what is often called
"The Godly Fetus" or sanhyang Jabang Bayi, as the soul originates
from the heavenly world. A child is called "Dewa" or little god
during his first year of life.
All the phases of existence, from pregnancy to birth and then
from birth to death will be accompanied by rituals. Their
purposes are: to fasten the soul in its body before birth,
to welcome it into the world, to take it harmoniously along
the various stages of life, and, finally upon death, to help
it cast away all earthly bonds and rejoin the old country of
its origins. Here it can merge with the sublime soul of the
world, paramatma of God.
The seventh month of pregnancy is the time for the housing of
the soul or Megedong-Gedongan ceremony. This ceremony binds
the soul within the womb. The birth is then celebrated through
the penyambutan ceremonies. These are the true birth-rites.
The catur sanak or burying of four little siblings is when the
after-birth is given a ritual burial in four different places
within the family compound. On the fifth or seventh day, a
ceremony for the fall of the umbilical cord (kepus pungsed)
is held. The twelfth day is the first otonan or 35-day cycle
ceremony, followed by the forty-seventh day ceremony and, finally,
the third month ceremony.
At three months, the child is allowed to touch the ground and is
given a name. The child has entered the earthly world and the
ceremonies are to welcome and guide the child during his or her
first steps in life. This is how a child attains full incarnation
of human status. Like any other being, the child will be subjected
to the cycle of the Balinese calendar. He or she will have an
otonan anniversary in the family temple, with offerings, every
210 days (one cycle in the Wuku year).
According to the principles of cosmic harmony, Man is expected to
reach moksa. To do this he or she should strive to fulfill three
other goals of life: desirekama, wealth-artha and virtue-dharma.
Each of these goals should be fulfilled in an order of priority
depending on the stage reached in life, such as when young,
becoming an adolescent, getting married and becoming old.
Desire must be exercised with caution and balanced by dharma.
This control of desire is illustrated in the mesangih of metatah,
a tooth-filing rite, which takes place during adolescence - a time
when sexual desire has reached its peak. The teeth symbolize the
animal, or the uncontrolled side of humans, and Balinese demons
always have big canine teeth. By filing them, six enemies will
be eliminated; namely, lust, greed, anger, intoxication, confusion
and jealousy.
The Balinese marriage ceremony is no less complex. It is preceded
by an engagement of mepadik during which the couple falsely elope,
and are supported by a group of accomplices, who protect the couple
during their honeymoon. After three days, they are considered man
and wife. The ploy is a serious one as the girl's parents may be
furious and refuse their blessing.
The wedding ceremony follows in a more formal manner. It emphasizes
that one's desires, while being exercised, should at the same time be
kept under tight control. The climax of the wedding ritual, Mesakapan,
is meant to appease the earthly forces or buta sor, which are the
origin of desires and temptation.
Priorities in life then shift towards family and an accumulation of
wealth or artha. Male heirs are regarded as important because it
is these heirs of sentana who will implement the rituals of death
and look after the family temples. They are a safeguard in the
process of release. It is therefore important to accumulate wealth
so that the rites for their ancestors and the community can be financed.
The Balinese death is but a return to your origins. The preceding
wheels of one's life are the way to ultimate release. Not all
corpses are cremated immediately, as some wait for an auspicious
day, a collective ceremony or until their descendants have enough
money to perform the rites. The cremation ritual is a reminder of
the cosmic symbolism of life. The tower is a duplicate of the
cosmos; the corpse is put in the middle, symbolizing its position
between the spiritual and the human worlds. The sarcophagus, in
which the body is burned, is a vehicle to take the soul away.
The ashes are collected and taken to the sea. It is here that
the soul passes through hell to be tortured and cleansed. The
soul is then called back on shore and eventually taken back to
the Mother Mountain, Gunung Agung. The soul is then enshrined
in the family temple and the dead is now an ancestor, until the
next incarnation.
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