smoke and ashes…

4 nov.08 Ubud Bali

…Sitting in the shade of the ceremony hall at the busy intersection of Jalan Ubud and Jalan Suweta has become something of a pastime.The room i rent at Dr. Gede Budanas’ family home is only 75 meters north on Suweta,so it’s a close spot from which to watch the world go by and chat with locals.The hall hosts traditional Balinese dance performances on various nights,serves as a meeting point for town business/gossip,and since my return from Singapore,..resembled a union hiring hall at morning sign in.
Scores of men with sickle like knives tied at the waist,.a makeshift bamboo and steel scaffolding in the process of being “erected”,..i stepped in to see what all the hub-bub was about.
…….” Ngaben..ngaben,,”…my friend Ketut tells me…a female member of the royal family had died..a cremation ceremony was in the early stages of production.The hall was transformed into a staging area for the work at hand,and the determined starting point of a procession that was to take place on 31 October.No Halloween in Bali,..just a very auspicious day chosen accordingly by holy men and the calendars and texts that they read from.My normally quiet hangout had changed gears.,.and the road in front of it had become a small construction zone.
……Having foregone my motorcycle for a mountain bike and a bit of exercise,cruising around town the next few days i realized similar staging areas were being set up.Men splitting piles of bamboo in an open lot in one area..artists hammering,chiseling out cardboard stencils into elaborate shapes and designs in another….a team hunched over,razoring various colored silk,and foil cut outs from the stencils.On opposite sides of town,1.5 km apart,.two large bamboo ramps were being constructed.
Nearly 30 feet tall,and similar in shape and design,..i was reminded of the dare devil ramps that “Evil Knievel” used to launch his motorcycle from.Although the idea of launching the remains of a 70-something year old woman from temple to temple seemed amusing,,..it was out of line.I must be missing something.
…..Reluctant to ask too many questions,preferring to try and figure things out on my own,i spent three days pedaling about watching pieces come together:,the glue dry,the knots cinch,the ramps ramp..and sections of a multi-tiered tower take shape in three different locations.Late night 30 Oct,.passing a replica/statue of a huge menacing bull perched upon a bamboo platform in the middle of my road…i decided to set the alarm
on my mobile phone to insure an early wake up.A Balinese wedding already under my belt,there was no way i was going to miss this spectacle..
…..The half dozen roosters in the courtyard preceded the beeps of my phone,and woke me just before sunrise.A quick shower,..respectfully necessary set of traditional sarongs wrapped around my waist,…i stepped outside into brilliant sunlight and blue skies thinking i wouldn’t mind being cremated on a day as nice as this.Passing through the carved wooden gates that lead from the compound and onto the street,my eyes were immediately drawn skyward to the now completed and stacked “transportation” tower.Approaching 60 feet,9 tiers of silk drapery,foil,and flowers..it was docked against ramp/launching pad #1.The stiff bamboo skeleton that i had watched hammered,.notched and tied into shape in various locations,..was now fully concealed by a vibrant skin.Eyes squinting in the sun,i was staring up at an absolutely stunning piece of artwork sculpted by countless barefoot men,wielding only basic non electric hand tools.Not once did i see a tape measure or blueprint.
……In Hindu Bali,its all about the spirit,the soul…the physical body merely a home or vehicle for the spirit as it passes from life to life.The reincarnation wheel constantly spinning.Birth,marriage,children,death,..birth,marriage,children,death.The devotion to this never-ending cycle of life removes a lot of anxiety about what happens next…so unlike many other “closing acts”…a cremation is a time of joy and revelry..not associated with sadness and mourning. The actual fire,a liberating force from which the spirit escapes the body and passes to another plane,and is hopefully reincarnated as a higher being.The costs of a ceremony of this magnitude are only managed by the wealthy higher castes,,but for the less fortunate lower castes, it’s not uncommon for the deceased body to wait months or even years for a proper cremation.Buried,,and later unearthed when the “time”,and money are both right.

…….On this chosen day..after hours of being blessed by a high caste holy man in a nearby prayer room,the royal body was carried out into the sun in a simple white cloth covered coffin.Preceded by a gamelan band of 20,.and a line of women carrying offerings for the ancestors,..a crowd of nearly 15000 watched as the body was delivered up the ramp,and into the cradle of the tower.Then suddenly over a background soundtrack of rhythmic drums,gongs,and bells,the platformed bull below the tower,actually a hollow sarcophagus,was miraculously hoisted in the air by a group of nearly 60 men and carried 30 meters onto Jalan Ubud.Different animal representations for different castes..the Brahman bull ranks high…the ceremony had begun.Leading the way,the still empty sarcophagus was bounced about,.shaken,.and spun in an attempt to disorient any evil spirits.Dazed and confused,they will find the path home difficult,.rendering it impossible to torment the living family.Masses of people surrounding the bull,the streets mobbed..a man with a microphone barks out orders,..and the tower,.symbol of the Balinese universe,propelled by another 100 plus men,lifted off the ground,moved away from the ramp..,,and took chase of the bull. “Ground control to Major Tom…We Have Lift Off..!!!”. Absolute pandemonium,joy,and amazement as the bull galloped along,,the tower,..body on board,following close behind.Surrounded by thousands,the procession moved in short bursts down Jalan Ubud the nearly one mile trek and arrived at the cremation grounds an hour later.The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade has nothing on a Balinese ngaben ceremony.
…….The tower now firmly docked at ramp/landing pad #2…sarcophagus hoisted and supported upon a raised funeral pyre,..the coffin was brought back down from the tower cradle,and carried in 6 counter-clockwise rotations around the pyre.The back of the bull was then carved open,and the mummy-like sheet covered body was deposited inside.Another high level priest performs a final set of prayers and blessings over the body,and the back is replaced.Soaked in kerosene,large palm tree trunks evenly piled below,.the eldest son of the deceased stepped forward,nodded slightly towards the bull containing his mother…and set it aflame with the blazing incense sticks held in his right hand.The crowd now nearly silent..the music complete..he slowly backed down from the pyre and took a seat in the shade of a nearby banyan tree and watched the flames engulf the black beast that had previously danced down the street.

…It takes a long time to fully burn a body,and it’s not without assistance.A small crew of men continued to stoke the fire for two hours with a flame thrower like burner..kerosene pumping in…continuously checking the remains for progress.Black smoke and ashes still drifting upward.,the masses dispersed..the skies grew gray and a cycle of life began again.Walking away from the scene to find a cold beer,the popping and crackling of the smoldering fire still within earshot…i was certain a newborn child had just released its first wailing cries to the world.