Ngaben, a Unique and Meaningful Balinese
Cremation Ceremony
Written by Bali Touron January 10, 2013
Ngaben is a cremation ceremony in Bali which is very famous not only in
Indonesia, but worldwide. Actually, cremation ceremony is also done by the other
religions besides Hindu. However, it is only in Bali that the cremation ceremony is done
uniquely, vibrantly, majestically, and artistically. No wonder that a ngaben ceremony
in Bali always attracts tourists to observe directly this one and only unique procession
in the world. Ngaben is actually a term used by the public class, just like it is organized
in Balinese social structure. Meanwhile for the nobles and royal family this ceremony is
called Pelebon. Ngaben comes from word ngabuin or ngabu which means turning into
ash, meanwhile pelebon is derived from word pelebuan which has the same meaning,
turning into ash.
For Balinese, ngaben is a sacred and important ceremony because by doing
ngaben the family of the corpse(mayat) could free his/her soul from
worldly(keduniaan) ties. By this ceremony the family hopes that their relative will go to
heaven and could reincarnate as a better person or even moksha (united with God).
This ceremony needs a lot of effort, money, and time, so the process could be long. To
ease the burden of the cost, effort, time, nowadays Balinese often do a perform mass
ngaben. This way is more affordable(membebankan) for people with low economical
condition. With this method, the corpse or so called layon is buried first until the cost of
ngaben could be fulfilled(memenuhi). If it is calculated, by using this method, Balinese
could save a lot of money. If commonly each family or person needs around 15 25
million rupiahs for an individual ceremony, with ceremony a mass(masal) ngaben they
will only spend no more than 5 million rupiahs in total with a complete ceremony.
However, for the family with financial sufficiency(kecukupan), the ngaben ceremony
could be done as fast as possible. However, they are still to need to wait for the best
day according to Balinese calendar, family agreement, and permission from Pedanda
(Hindu priest(pendeta)). Until the determined day, the body will be kept at home. Record
for the most magnificent and expensive ngaben ceremony is hold by the Ubud Royal
Family which the cost of the Pelebon ceremony estimated reaching billions rupiahs.
A good day is usually chosen by the priest(pedanda) after consulting and choosing the
best day from the Balinese calendar. Preparation is usually made in
advance(kemajuan), even before the best day is chosen. During this time, the family
will make bade and lembu which are the main equipments for the procession of
ngaben. Bade and lembu are created by a team led by an undagi or Balinese
traditional architect. Bade is a kind of great tower with multi tier roofs decorated with
colorful carved(ukiran) papers, woods, and bamboos which is used as a carrier of the
body until it arrives in the graveyard. Meanwhile, lembu is a container of the body while
it is incinerated(pembakaran). Lembu means ox, as its name implies, this container is
in the form of an ox. Not only ox, some other forms could also be found such as singa
(lion), padma, naga banda (dragon, used specially by the royal family), and so forth
according to their social status At the day of ngaben, the preparation is started from
early morning. In the middle of the day, usually all of the preparations are done and you
could hear the sound of vigorous(semangat) beleganjur orchestra which could take us
away from sorrow. The body is carried out and put into the bade before it is paraded to
graveyard.
The parade consists of angklung players, offerings carriers, the blacksmiths(pandai
besi), and the relatives and family. This parade creates a rousing(membangunkan)
atmosphere along the road heading to the graveyard. In every crossroad or
intersection, the bade and lembu will be spun(berputar) from east to south or from left
to right three times (symbol of utpti, stiti, pralina) while singing kidung as the symbol of
status improvement with a hope that the soul of the deceased could get a good place
and then could reincarnate as a better person or even moksha.
Arriving in the graveyard, the body is placed into the back of lembu which is believed as
the transporter to nirvana. The procession is initiated by a pedanda or priest. When the
body is burnt with the lembu, all of the family members will gather around the burnt
lembu. The atmosphere is so solemn(khidmat) with the sound kidung which is very
touching. It is often found that some of the family members will shed a tear releasing the
one that they love. After all is completely burnt to ash, this ash is washed away into the
sea or river. For the Balinese Hindu, sea is the symbol of the Gods place gate. Besides
that, throwing the ash of the deceased to the sea also means returning the five
elements of human body (water, heat, wind, earth, and either) back to the universe.
Ngaben is indeed an important ceremony for the Balinese Hindu. They believe that
mortality is not the end of the life, but the beginning of a new better life. Thus, the death
of the one they love must be accompanied with prayer, sincerity, and joy to set him/her
free from the worldly ties.
