‘Mèd-mèdan’ the ‘Kissing Tug of War’ ( 3 )

Kissing Folklore

The reason why no one dares to stop the mèd-mèdan tradition in Banjar Kaja Sesetan is probably because of the folklore around it that many believe to be true. These myths have been circulated in the form of good old story telling. The first being the story of a senior figure from an upper caste of the village feeling sick and needing a good rest. At Nyepi, people of his neighborhood organized games and created various noises that only ended in making him feel dizzy. He stepped out in order to disperse the crowd, but suddenly the ill figure felt cured from his sickness. Instead of stopping the people from having fun, he encouraged them to keep going. Since then, people uphold the tradition of playing mèd-mèdan at Nyepi. During Dutch rule, the community was even willing to pay a fine in order to continue playing the game.
Secondly, there is a story about a number of villagers who fell sick without good reason, after the village failed to perform the tradition during the 1960's. This seemed especially significant given the year of the alleged communist coup on September 30th, 1965. The tradition was skipped because of social and political reasons, but then resumed after a suggestion given by a spiritual elder. The tradition is believed to keep the villagers from harm and misfortune.
Another tale is related to a weird incident that took place one afternoon in the 1980's. Two pigs suddenly turned up out of nowhere in the village of Sesetan, to then fight fiercley until their blood flowed. This took place when the people of Sesetan skipped the mèd-mèdan tradition following the ban on people going out during Nyepi. Because of the sign relating to the pigs, mèd-mèdan was once again resumed, but was instead held the day after Nyepi. Since then, the mèd-mèdan tradition is considered a sacred ritual, something that must be annually upheld.