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Offerings, Beauty & Kindness on Bali
Death procession and cremation ceremony
Our first stop was in Ubud where we drenched ourselves in the Balinese art and temples.
We also witnessed a Balinese death procession and cremation ceremony of a priest, where the body is placed within a ‘bull’ made out of wood, iron and fabric, together with a lot of offerings and all that the person needs in the hereafter. After that the whole thing is set on fire…. Such an intriguing culture.
Special ceremony in the village temple
Upon hearing our interest in the Balinese culture, Buddhism and Hinduism, our driver (who lives in a nearby village) invited us to a special ceremony that’s only held every 5yrs.
It was in his village temple, would take place the next day and would last for 5hrs. The long procession of the villagers to the temple, the many offerings of flowers and fruits, carried in bamboo baskets by the women on top of their heads (and of course we brought a basket of offerings too), the beautiful traditional clothes (that we wore too of course), all the incense burning, the long and mystic rituals by the priest, all people sharing food and eating together, the wayang puppet play (performed by our driver, who appeared to be one of the main people of the temple)… we felt so welcome and fortunate to be invited to join as the only westerners there.
Bali was simply unforgettable and I hope to come back.
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