Holy Water : From Spiritual Significance to Social Hierarchy ( 4 )

Tirta is a Sanskrit word meaning water, holy water, river, or bathing place. It also means the holy place for pilgrimage as in the word tirtayatra. Tirtayatra has recently become popular amongst the Balinese. They do not only practice tirtayatra around Bali but also at temples in Java and some places in India. Several Balinese tour companies offer packaged tirtayatra tours to India, although they are not demanded as highly as the annual Muslim pilgrimage to Mekka, have been steadily on the increase. Bathing in the River Ganges is always included on India's tirtayatra itinerary. Tirtayatra to India is affordable only by the upper-middle and upper class Balinese Hindus. The lower-middle and lower class people do tirtayatra on auspicious days, such as at the full moon (purnama) to holy places in Bali and Java. The goal of tirtayatra is not only to pray and receive holy water but also to immerse participants in the holy atmosphere of the visited temples. Participants of tirtayatra often like to bring some holy water home and give them as gift to their family. Receiving holy water from India or other temples is always an invaluable gift for those who appreciate them. The origin of holy water reflects both spiritual and social hierarchy.

Although the types and origins of holy water is varied, their functions, both spiritually and philosophically, remain the same, which are to remove impurity, to perform purification, and to receive God's blessing.

Holy Water : From Spiritual Significance to Social Hierarchy ( 3 )

With prayers at home or at a temple festival, the use of holy water often begins when devotees enter a temple. A ceramic bowl of medium size filled with holy water is often placed in front of the temple gate. Devotees should take the holy water and sprinkle it on their heads to purify their bodies and minds before entering the temple. Devotees are also required to cleanse their hands either using holy water or incense smoke to commence prayers. After praying, holy water is sprinkled three times. Firstly on their heads signifying purification of their minds to promote wise thought (manacika). Secondly, on their hands then held to their mouths to sip signifying purification of their mouths as to promote wise speech (wacika). Lastly, on their face or body signifying purification of their bodies as to promote wise behaviour (kayika). Manacika, wacika, and kayika are called trikaya parisudha, and are one of the principles of the Hindu teachings to encourage people to think, speak, and behave astutely.
It has become a habit for devotees to take holy water home in a can or plastic bag either to safeguard for upcoming relevant ceremonies or to distribute among family members. Members of the family who are unable to come to ceremonies or temple festivals (perhaps due to menstruation or being unable to afford long distance travel) can therefore still enjoy tirta and be blessed.

Holy Water : From Spiritual Significance to Social Hierarchy ( 2 )

The bigger the ritual then the more different types of holy water are required from different temples. During the first Bali bombing cleansing ceremony, named 'Pamarisudha Karipubhaya', at ground zero in November 2002, holy water was taken from as far away from the temple of Mount Semeru in East Java as well as Mount Rinjani in Lombok. In addition to holy water taken from temples outside of Bali and that provided by priests, holy water is also made at the actual ritual site by mask dancers and puppet masters. Holy water is used to purify the ritual site, to bless sacrificed animals so that their souls will go to heaven, to purify offerings and to bless prayers. At a big or special cleansing ritual for the whole of Bali, such as the one held after the Bali bombings in 2002, holy water was distributed through hierarchical structures from the Hindu council for customary affairs at a district level to sub-district and village levels before then being distributed to each member of society. At each distribution point, the holy water is mixed up with purified water to ensure enough for every one. Such distribution is meant to help people to get tirta without needing to come and join rituals held far from their residence.

Tirta is also important at cremation ceremonies. Cremations can be long, laborious, and complicated processes that can take days and weeks if not months. During the process, dozens of various tirta is needed starting from a small every day ceremony to the end of the cremation process. One significant importance is called tirta pangentas that cuts off the relationship between the body and soul of the deceased, so the soul can smoothly return to the afterworld. One hundred years ago, in September 1906, during 'the war to the end' that is locally known as puputan, which took place between the King of Badung and the Dutch colonial troops in Denpasar. The King's subjects were given tirta pangentas before going to war. This tirta was taken from the cremation ritual held for the old king who had died but had not been properly cremated due to the war. The sprinkling of tirta on the king's followers was both symbolic of their readiness to die in struggle to defend their motherland as well as engaging their spirit to get ready for battle. When they finally died at battle, principally no proper ritual or cremation was therefore needed. In September 2005 last year, however, the offspring King of Badung (now called King of Denpasar) held a proper chain of cremation rituals in case any of the king's followers did not receive tirta pangentas prior to the war a century ago.

Holy Water : From Spiritual Significance to Social Hierarchy ( 1 )

Holy water is the element of purification, blessings and godliness ever-present at Balinese rituals and ceremonies. Along with flowers (offerings) and fire (incense), holy water, or tirta in Balinese, is an essential part of Hindu rituals and ceremonies. There is no ritual considered complete without holy water. Given the importance of tirta at Balinese rituals and ceremonies, the religion is also known as 'the religion of holy water' or agama tirta, a name that also brings Hindu's closer to nature.

Holy water not is not only essential but also contributes to the various levels and complexities of ceremonies. Unlike the offerings displayed, the contribution of holy water to ritual complexities is not always easily observed. Holy water is usually kept in a ceramic or silver bowl of small to medium size that contains some flowers that contribute to its fragrance and sense of holiness. Different types of rituals require different types of holy water. There is holy water provided at a particular ritual by a priest (sulinggih, pemangku) at a family temple and also by ritual officiators such as shadow puppeteers or mask dancers. Each 'tirta' has its own function.

There is also specific holy water taken from various temples, ranging from family temples, seaside temples, lake temples, or mountain temples, all gathered by priests or laymen. Each clan group in Balinese society has their own priest and clan temples from where tirta is obtained for a particular ceremony. Although such alliances and hierarchy is not always fixed or static, for sure, tirta cannot be obtained from just any temple or just any priest.

‘Siat Sampian’: A Centuries Old Unique War Performance at Samuan Tiga Temple ( 4 )

The devotees dedicate their time and skills during the ritual preparations at Samuan Tiga, and they join the sampian war. The sampian war starts in the morning as early as 6 o'clock. It is started first by the premas, 42 people, wearing white shirts and black kamen, making a line and dancing around the temple with three different movements. For each movement, they first move around in circle three times, each circle being around 200 meters. The last movement is making waves where the premas hold each others' white waist-scarves. This white wave symbolizes holiness. The parekan, who dress in full white, join the last movement of the premas, but go straightaway to a temple to pray where they surrender themselves spiritually to the Gods. While the parekan are praying, the women group performs a war, using sampian to attack each other for around 10 minutes. When they have finished, the parekan enter the yard and dance hand in hand, moving around, and then perform the sampian war. The participants run to the spring water beji on the site to get holy water to mark the end of the holy war performance.
Samuan Tiga, which is strategically located set back a little from the main street between Ubud and Tampaksiring, used to be one of the most popular tourist destinations. The local Bali government built a stage for touristic performances and other cultural activities for the locals. Samuan Tiga was selected as one of the PATA's marts participants to visit in the mid 1970s. Many travel agents held dinners with cultural nights there. But, by the late 1980s, the popularity of Samuan Tiga as a tourist destination dropped drastically because of competition and lack of site management. But, nowadays, with a strong commitment from temple congregation to maintain their traditions and the spiritual power of the temple, Samuan Tiga has gradually regained its popularity especially concerning tradition and its religious field. This month, be sure not to miss the sampian war performance at Samuan Tiga where visitors are most welcome!

‘Siat Sampian’: A Centuries Old Unique War Performance at Samuan Tiga Temple ( 3 )

The main rituals of Samuan Tiga can be distinguished into three categories, which are the temple festival that falls every six months of the Balinese calendar (210 days) the same day as Kuningan. The other two are ngusaba alit and ngusaba agung, that fall every 11th full moon. The latter being a more elaborate festival that is attended by divinities and gods from related nearby temple networks, ngusaba alit is celebrated every odd year, while ngusaba agung is celebrated every even year, with this year, 2006, being an example, with a more grander ritual. The end of the whole ritual is marked by melasti or a purification ceremony at Lebih Beach, 15 km southward, done through a returning walking procession. In the procession, almost all of the temple regalia like spears, umbrellas, and arca are taken to the beach for purification. The primary congregation of Samuan Tiga temple spread across five customary villages, with a total of 2000 family heads, all of whom are socially obliged to attend the ritual.

Siat sampian is one of the most important and interesting. It's held two or three days after the ngusaba day. The war is first performed by the women's group called premas, and followed by the men's group called parekan. Both premas and parekan mean 'follower' or 'devotee' in Balinese. Not all of the temple's congregation are premas or parekan. The status of the devotees is determined by inheritance along the family line. There are now are 42 premas and 300 parekan. In the last ten years, the number of devotees has increased significantly, not because of an increase in family numbers, but because some of the devotees have submitted themselves to fulfill their spiritual promises, that the temple council would find difficult to reject. There were some of the congregation, for example, who promised to become a devotee if s/he could recovery from a serious and prolonged illness, others become devotees because s/he had been appointed in a dream by the divinities. Gaining a special status has also been a motive for members of the congregation to become premas or parekan. Those holding premas or parekan status are ascribed a certain prestige at the village level. They are often given trust to conduct certain rituals at the village level's temple.

‘Siat Sampian’: A Centuries Old Unique War Performance at Samuan Tiga Temple ( 2 )

The brilliant and influential priest Mpu Kuturan was able to encourage the participants to accept at least three concepts for both the Hindu beliefs and their community life. The first, the notion of Tri Murti, that is the three manifestations of God including Brahma, Wisnu, and Ciwa, each respectively being a Creator, Carer, and Destroyer. The second, the idea of the customary village known as desa pakraman along with its three village temples (Khayangan Tiga). The last is the three spaces of a household's temples and shrines or sanggah kemulan. All of these three-based concepts had been, and are now still, the backbone of the Bali Hindu religion. The term desa pakraman had long been forgotten, having been replaced by the Dutch term of desa adat (customary village). However, since early 2000, amidst the attempt to revitalize indigenous values, the Balinese once again use the term desa pakraman and are aware that the term has been passed down from Mpu Kuturan. Along with the popular use of the term desa pakraman, the Balinese also reflect again on the importance of Samuan Tiga temple.
Actually, Samuan Tiga temple is as important as the Hindu mother temple Pura Besakih, in Karangasem. This can bee seen from the ritual day of both temples that fall on the same day which is the 10th purnama (Purnama Kadasa, fall every April). In order to give more preparation time and to pray for the general public and in particular the congregation, the ritual at Samuan Tiga temple is delayed to the following full moon, which is the 11th purnama. Thousands of people, mainly from Southern Bali, come to perform worship to Samuan Tiga on each day of ritual. In addition to that, in the last ten years, the pilgrimage (tirta yatra) of this local region has become popular amongst the Balinese, therefore many people visit Samuan Tiga temple to pray, notably on the full moon day.

‘Siat Sampian’: A Centuries Old Unique War Performance at Samuan Tiga Temple ( 1 )

'Siat sampian' or sampian war is one of the oldest Balinese Hindus' sacred tradition that is performed annually at Samuan Tiga temple in Gianyar. In this war, dozens of premas - or women - worshippers to the temple's Gods, attack each other using young-coconut leaf arrangements (sampian) in an almost unconscious state of mind. After them, the same sampian war is also performed by no less than three hundred of the parekan - or men - devotees. The war and its related ritual begins at 6 am and finishes around 1 pm. This more than eleven centuries old tradition is very unique and cannot be found in other parts of Bali.

Samuan Tiga is one of the most important temples in the history of the Hindu development of Bali. Initially, Hinduism in Bali was very sectarian. There were at least nine sects among Hindu's adherents and each of them followed certain beliefs and practiced them differently. Each of them tended to claim the ultimate truth of their belief and undermined others. Thus this caused spiritual tension and forced the community to split thus forcing the king to reconcile them all. The then Balinese King, Udayana Warmadewa and his Javanese wife Sri Gunapriyadharmapatni, who ruled Bali in the 10th century, made a stand for reconciliation. A meeting was initiated and held at a place now called Samuan Tiga. The king invited several priests from Java to lead the reconciliation process.