Ngaben, next step of life

Ngaben
Originally uploaded by BarryKusuma.
Balinese religion is based on respect for and worship of God and ancestors, and is a combination of Hindu elements and indigenous Balinese culture. After death, the body must be dissolved and returned to its original elements. The cremation ritual is a purification rite which frees the roh (soul or spirit) from its temporary earthly house and facilitates its journey to its next existence.

After a death, the whole village helps with preparations for the cremation. The mayat (dead body) is laid out in a special house to be bathed and prepared. Meals are prepared and offered to the deceased as normal. Around the body and entrance to the house are placed damar kuranung (lamps), which notify people of the death and help facilitate the soul's journey and to keep the person's memory alive.

The night before the cremation, holy water is collected from the temple and used in preparation of the body and during the cremation. Any important ceremonies which have been missed during the deceased's lifetime must be carried out prior to cremation. Some Balinese are buried until the cremation can be organised or to wait for an auspicious date. The bones are exhumed a few days before the cremation then prepared in the same way as the whole body.

All the village unites for the cremation, which is a joyous occasion. After cremation, the ashes are placed in the sea - achieving final separation of the soul from the body.

The size and elaborateness of the cremation ceremony reflects the wealth of the deceased's family. Since cremations are large and expensive festivals, sometimes the body is temporarily buried until the family can afford the cremation. The cremation may take place years after the death of the individual.

Cremation scene

The tower containing the remains is taken to the cremation ground. Depending on the size of the ceremony, either the eldest son or a priest stands on the tower holding a 'paradise bird' which will guide the spirit to heaven. At the cremation ground the corpse is placed in the carved figure of a cow (a sacred animal).

Ider-ider paintings tell a story using a sequence of scenes on a horizontal strip in the style of a comic. They were tied under the eaves of temple or palace pavilions and read by walking around the building. This segment shows the cremation of Abimanyu, the heroic son of Arjuna, who died from being pierced by 100 arrows. One of his wives, Uttari, is pregnant and not permitted to join her husband in death, but his other wife Sundari leaps from the ramp into the fire, where her soul is released and flies upward in the form of a bird.

The tika is a complex 210-day-per-year calendar mainly used by Balinese ritual experts to advise the Balinese villager of the most appropriate day for undertaking any important activity, such as a cremation

In the past, an anthropomorphic (human-like) figure made from Chinese coins and cotton thread was placed lengthwise on the body after death. Called the 'measure', it ensured that after rebirth, the deceased's bones would be in the right dimensions and arrangement. Today, Chinese coins, rice and other offerings are thrown from the cremation tower as it travels to the cremation ground.