Ngaben
By: Shannon 5c.
Ngaben is a ritual from Bali. The ritual is doing a
cremation. This ritual is about dead, so when the
people was dead the family put it like the deceased
is sleeping so the family consider the deceased is
sleeping. The deceased will temporarily not present
and will have new place for rest in Moksha.
The Ritual..
This ritual happened in Bali. This country is a
name of island in Indonesia. Most of the people
who was from Bali is Hindhu. Bali is a province in
the country of Indonesia. The island is located in
the westernmost end of the Lesser Sunda Islands,
lying between Java to the west and Lombok to the
east.
Where does it Happen?
People who celebrate this ritual is Hindhu people.
But the one who celebrate Ngaben is only in Bali.
All the hindhu people follow this ritual because this
is their own ritual from their own religion that is
hindhu. Hindhu is the majority religion in the
Thousand Islands this temple.
Who does it?
This ritual is happened when the hindhu people
was dead. There are no specific/special date to do
this ritual because the hindhu people do this ritual
when they’re dead. But if the people don’t have
any money for the ceremony the deceased still be
burnt. And after they burnt the deceased are will be
aranged in a form of a line.
When does it happen?
Hindhu people keep this ritual to send the
deceased to the next life. And the people want to
restore the ancestral spirits (of the dead) to the
place of origin.
What is the Purpose?
The equipment and materials that they use are: coffin, the coffin is for the
deceased because the deceased is put in the coffin. Sarcophagus, the sarcophagus
is use to put the deceased in the sarcophagus. Lembu is a special ngaben’s
equipment because only use by use by high cast people Lembu is the special
ngaben’s equipment because only used by high caste people and the color also
different like the white lembu is special for Brahmana, black lembu is for Ksatria,
and for the unmarried people he has high caste so he use yellow or white lembu
because people still considered that he still holly. Lembu is made from bamboo
and it shape like lembu and wrap by colorful paper. Bade is like a tower where the
body is put inside it and all of the community member carried on their shoulders to
the cemetery. When they pass across road, T-junction they have to round the bade
for three times to the clock wise. They to do it because it is a custom and they
believe the soul cannot back home again. If ngaben ceremony using lembu, they
carried off also the lembu to the cemetery and when they arrived at the cemetery
the body is taken out from the bade and it is put inside the lembu. After the
blessing finish, the eldest son lit the fire to burn the lembu which contain the body
inside it. The body is also burn together with the lembu. That’s why ngaben cost
much money.
Equipment, Materials
There are some steps to do the ritual. First, the corpse will be
laid down in a burning place then it will be put in buried place.
Second, the priest make a ritual program of ceremony and many
people follow. After the priest make a ritual program of
ceremony they burnt the decease and arrange it in a form of a
line. After all been burning and cremating there is still another
step because the atman or spirit are still have other part of
element that need to be eliminated that we call Panca Karmendria
or five major sin that we are doing. The Panca Karmendria is
consist of: Padendria (sin that coming from our path of life),
Payundria (sin that coming from our food in life), Panendria (sin
from our hand created), Upastenindia (sin from our sexual
behavior), and Wakindriya (sin from our speech or our mouth).
The ceremony to “erase” those sin is we call as “Nyekah.”
Steps of doing it