CYCLE OF LIFE ( Part. 4 )

The Balines death is but a return to your origins. The preceding wheels of one’s life are the way to ultimate release.

Not all corpses are cremated immediately, as some wait for an auspicious day, a collective ceremony or until their descendants have enough money to perform the rites. The cremation ritual is a reminder of the cosmic symbolism of life.

The tower is a duplicate of the cosmos; the corpse is put in the middle, symbolizing its position between the spiritual and human worlds. The sarcophagus, in which the body is burned, is a vehicle to take the soul away.

The ashes are collected and taken to the sea. It is here that the soul passes through hell to be tortured and cleansed. The soul is then called back on shore and eventually taken back to Mother Mountain, Gunung Agung. The soul is then enshrined in the family temple and the dead is now an ancestor, until the next incarnation.

CYCLE OF LIFE ( Part. 2 )

The gods and deified ancestors will descend occasionally to earth during temple ceremonies to partake of offerings and enjoy entertainment. When souls are ready to re-incarnate on earth, they will come from the mountains above or straight from hell.

That is why the mountains is revered as the Holy Place.

The religious rites of the Balinese consist of the human rites (manusa yadnya), the rites of the dead (pitra yadnya), rites of the gods or temple rites (dewa yadnya), rites of demonic forces (buta yadnya) and ordainment rites (rsi yadnya).

Each phase of a person’s life, from pregnancy to birth and birth to death, will be accompanied by rituals, which are performed specifically on certain occasions or at any time whenever the need arises. Holy water, fire, ash, geese, duck, eggs, and dabdab tree leaves are the purifying elements used in the rituals.

The manusa yadnya rites include birth rites. The seventh month of pregnancy is the time for the housing of the soul or Megedong-Gedongan ceremony, when the soul is bound within the womb.