Under the Volcano by Cameron Forbes

Author:Cameron Forbes [CAMERON FORBES]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Schwartz Publishing Pty. Ltd
Published: 2011-09-21T16:00:00+00:00

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A procession comes down through the terraced levels of Besakih, the mother temple of all Bali, beneath the sacred mountain, Gunung Agung. Nine people follow a priest, Jero Gede Pala. With reverence, each carries an urn. They are villagers from the Tabanan regency, bearing the ashes of spouses and relatives on a ritual journey of the utmost importance. So far, they have visited four temples, and now they pass through the gate of their clan temple, Pasek Sanak Pitu, part of the sprawling Besakih complex. Soon some of the dead will have peace and release from the cycle of reincarnation, joining god, becoming divine ancestors, being worshipped in the family temple and protecting their descendents. They died between two and two and a half years ago. They were between twenty-five and ninety years old. Five others of the village dead should be making this journey, but their families could not afford the cost of cremation, five million rupiah, which is a huge amount for the poor. The final journey around the temples costs 500,000 rupiah each. These five dead and their families will just have to wait until the money is saved. It will be an anxious time, with the unquiet souls needing to be placated.

In life and in death, ceremonies and rituals — from those for babies, to the tooth filings which mark the transition to adulthood, to marriages and then cremations — all involve costs and require money.

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We discuss this at Dewa Mahardika’s family compound in Tembuku village. His father, Dewa Ngurah, bears the family responsibility. There is the full-moon ceremony, which costs 25,000 rupiah, and the dead moon ceremony. Every six months there are village temple ceremonies, family temple ceremonies and clan temple ceremonies. Collectively, the villagers will spend around 200,000 rupiahs on the village temple ceremonies, buying rice, coconut and fruit and coconut leaves for the offerings and the pigs, of course, four pigs perhaps, both as offering and for the communal feast. Then each family will make its private offering. Dewa Ngurah will spend 75,000 rupiahs on that.

I am bewildered by the number of ceremonies. ‘So what is the total cost?’ I ask.

Dewa Ngurah and Dewa Mahardika consult. ‘1.4 million rupiah every six months for our family.’ That is around US$280.

‘Isn’t that a lot of money?’

‘It is a lot of money,’ Dewa Mahardika says, ‘and also in a year there will be many weddings and many cremations. We do not give money for those getting married; we give presents, usually rice. This will cost 50,000 rupiahs for one present and in a year there might be ten weddings.’

‘Your people aren’t rich. Is it a burden?’

‘We think of it as helping. My brother got married and many people came here and there were many presents. For us, it is not a burden because I am paid as a schoolteacher. But there are people who are very poor, and they find there are too many ceremonies. Life is difficult, but there is no way they can avoid ceremonies.

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