Your Bali Pics of the Day ~ High Priest in Trance ~ Balifornian Villas and Tours

The high priest or Pendanda in Balinese Hinduism performs a cleansing ritual during a cremation ceremony or Ngaben in Sangeh Village in Bali's Southwestern province.
A Pendanda performs a cleansing ritual at a cremation ceremony in Bali ~ Balifornian Villas and ToursShe sits on a raised platform after her husband carefully prepared her spiritual implements or Upakara. These include a sacred prayer bell also know as a Gantha, rings and other special jewelry, trays with many varied flowers, gold and silver vessels containing rice and sandalwood powder, a holy-water container or Siwamba with a silver sprinkler (Sesirat) and a longhandled ladle called a Tjanting, an incenseburner (Pasepan) , and a bronze oil lamp ( Pedamaran).

A Balinese Hindu High Priest goes into Trance at a Cremation Ceremony ~ Balifornian Villas and Tours
She will light incense and begin chanting to cleanse herself and then fall into trance as she removes special flowers one by one, recites a prayer and tosses them away. Pranayama, a special type of breathing, will enable her to fall into a trance in order to carry out the prayers and rituals necessary for the deceased's journey to the after life.

A Balinese Hindu High Priest enters into a trance in Sangeh, Bali ~ Balifornian Villas and Tours

Ngaben; The Traditional Balinese Cremation Ceremony

These photos are from a traditional Balinese cremation ceremony, or Ngaben, in Sangeh, Bali, Indonesia from our 2011 Balifornian Culture Tour.  Sangeh is located about 40 minutes north west of Ubud in the Badung Regency and home to Bukit Sari monkey forest and Temple, Pura Bukit Sari which dates back to the 17th century.

Ngaben, The traditional Balinese cremation ceremony

According to Balinese tradition, this village is revered in The Ramayana. The epic Hindu poem discusses the legend of the monkey god Hanuman who must kill the evil demon Rawana who has taken over the colossal cosmic mountain named Mahameru. Mahameru was home to large Nutmeg trees filled with happy monkeys. One day a section of the mountain fell to earth onto the village of Sangeh and there have been monkeys here ever since. The tall nutmeg trees that surround the temple are found nowhere else on the island and have remained a sacred mystery.

Our good friend, Gung Adi, who’s family has lived in Sangeh for generations, invited me to partake in The Balinese Hindu cremation ceremonies taking place in his village. 

The Ngaben ritual which is executed to return the deceased soul and the five elements to heaven by burning the dead body in an elaborate ceremony which is followed by Hindu ritual procession.  It is among the most renowned cultural activities in the world for adhering to its ancient roots, dating back over a thousand years. The fortunate exception that has thankfully broken from ancient tradition is that the wives of the deceased no longer throw themselves onto the flaming funeral pyres as their dead husbands are cremated.

The ceremony and traditions involved in this powerful and striking ritual are covered in depth and stunning footage in the upcoming Balifornian Film’s documentary.

Balinese Ceremony Creates Balance amid Disaster

Nangluk Merana – Balance The World, Prevent The Bad Things
by admin from blog.baliwww.com
Lately, Indonesia seems so tragic. This country is suffering from the challenge of natural disasters: flood in Wasior, tsunami in Mentawai, and the latest is Merapi eruption. All people in other islands of Indonesia feel worried, Balinese also. Even more, considering this month is Sasih Kanem based on Balinese calendar which means a month full of disasters and something bad, Balinese held Bumi Sudha.



Bumi Sudha is a ceremony to make the world balance. This ceremony aiming to prevent any other disaster was held in every area of Bali since 3 up to 5 December. And the same ceremony will be held annually on Sasih Kanem, this is based on the result of the meeting of Hindu priests.


For Gianyar and Bangli community, Bumi Sudha in this year coincided with Nangluk Merana ceremony. Even Nangluk Merana has been held for hundreds of years to prevent their area from disasters and create peace at heart. In Gianyar, Nangluk Merana which was held on yesterday (5/12) took place in Lebih village. This ceremony was followed by Geblogan and Topeng Sidakarya dance.

In Bangli, Nangluk Merana ceremony was held in Catus Pata and Bukit Jati Temple. Basically, this ceremony has the same purpose that is to prevent something bad come to life. But Nangluk Merana held in Bukit Jati Temple is a special one since this ceremony aims to prevent all of agricultural plants from any kind of diseases.

Apart from that as human being we can not only blame on the nature of that great disasters. We need to evaluate what we have done to the nature and try to behave better in this world, don’t we?