A unique Royal Cremation Procession and Celebration of Life, will take place in Ubud, on July 15th, 2008. Undoubtly, it promises an unforgettable event for spectators. The Ubud Royal Family will hold this ceremony for the bodies of two prominent elders, Tjokorda Gede Agung Suyasa, the leader of thr traditional community in Ubud since 1976, and Tjokorda Gede Raka, a senior officer in the police force in Denpasar until his retirement in 1992. The effigyof Gung Niang Raka, whose body was cremated in a smaller ceremony in December soon after she died, will also now be given a full cremation ceremony.
The cremation procession and associated ceremonies are important rituals in the Hindu rites of passage. The bodies of the deceased will be carried by thousands of local people on top of a nine tiered tower called ‘bade’. The procession will be accompanied by an elaborately decorated and venerated bull effigy (Lembu) and a mythical dragon like creature (Naga Banda), with a five meter long tail. The Naga is reserved for only the elders of the Royal family and is thus seldom seen in cremation ceremonies.
The Balinese believe that burning the remains of the deceased in a cleansing fire will both return the elements of the body to earth and release the soul to enter heaven.
Once of the remarkable sights in Bali is a cemetery on the eve of ngaben. People gather around open graves, carefullyvcleaning the bones of a beloved parent or grandparent. Cremation is viewed as a means for children to pay their debt to the parent who nurtured and protected them. Many Balinese attribute illness or misfortune to the mischief of an unsatisfied soul. Some families will hold a second cremation, using an effigy in place of actual remains, if they believe that a loved one was not given an appropriate send off the first time.
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