BALINESE NGABEN CEREMONY
The Balinese Ngaben Ceremony, also known as the Cremation Ceremony, is a ritual performed in Bali to send the deceased to the afterlife. The deceased’s body will be placed as if sleeping, and the family will continue to treat him as sleeping. There are no tears shed because the deceased is only temporarily absent and will reincarnate or find eternal rest in Moksha (freeing from the reincarnation and death cycle). The most important thing for Hindus is the Ngaben procession, because there will be a ceremony that will make the deceased ceremoniously so that they can unite with Ida Sang Hyang Widhi Wasa, and if he is reincarnated again, he will undoubtedly live a good life according to his current karma. Hindus believe that if a person dies but is not cremated, his spirit will be unable to reincarnate or unite with God. As a result, the Ngaben procession is extremely important for Hindus in Bali.
BALI HINDU CREMATION RITUAL TO SEND THE DECEASED TO THE NEXT LIFE
Ngaben Ceremony on the Correct Day
You don’t choose any day for the Ngaben procession; usually, the family of a deceased person will go to the priest first to ask for blessing and find a good day to perform the Ngaben ceremony; after getting a holiday date, the cremation ceremony can only be planned in detail. Ceremonial cremation The cremation procession differs depending on the dominant caste; higher castes will use the puppet bull as a means for the dead; lower castes will use the Ngaben procession as usual without using puppets for the body; it is sufficient to use only the body. In Bali, the place for the body is known as a bade. On ceremony days, the proper day of the Ngaben ceremony is always a matter of consulting a specialist. The deceased’s body is placed inside a coffin on the day of the ceremony. This coffin is placed inside a sarcophagus shaped like a buffalo (Lembu) or a temple structure made of paper and wood (Wadah). In a procession, the buffalo or temple structure will be carried to the cremation site. The Ngaben procession is not walking in a straight line. This is done to keep bad spirits away from the deceased.
Ngaben is a significant ceremony.
Ngaben is one of Bali’s most important ceremonies. Because the human body is made up of ten basic elements. We call one of the five elements, Panca Maha Butha, or the five macrocosmic elements: Pertiwi (soil), Apah (water), Teja (fire), Bayu (air), and Akasa (ether or space). And the other five memory elements are known as Panca Tan Matra, which are the five elements that influence us through our senses and are as follows: Ganda (from the nose or smell), Rasa (from the tongue), Rupa (from the eyes), Sparsa (from the skin sense), and Sabda (from the skin sense) (from the ears). The purpose of the Ngaben ceremony is to hasten the body’s return to its origin, namely the Panca Maha Buta of this world, and to hasten Atma’s journey to the Divine Realm. Panca Sradha, namely the five basic frameworks of Hinduism, namely Brahman, Atman, Karmaphala, Samsara, and Moksa, is the philosophical foundation of Ngaben in general. Meanwhile, Ngaben is carried out in particular because of ancestor love and children’s devotion to their parents. The Ngaben ceremony is a ritual in which the five Maha Butha elements are returned to the Creator. Ngaben is also known as pitra yadnya (lontar yama purwana tattwa). Pitra refers to ancestors or deceased people, whereas yadnya is a genuine sacred offering.
Ngaben Ceremony Procedure
After all of the burning and cremating, there is still another step because the atman or spirit has other elements that need to be eliminated, which we call Panca Karmendria, or the five major sins that we are committing. Padendria (sin from our path of life), Payundria (sin from our food in life), Panendria (sin from our hand created), Upastenindia (sin from our sexual behavior), and Wakindriya comprise the Panca Karmendria (sin from our speech or our mouth). We call the ceremony to “erase” those sins “Nyekah.” It does not imply that we will be free of those sins after the Nyekah ceremony, but rather a recap of our sins. And the outcome will be the report that “atman” or spirit has, which will determine whether he or she is reincarnated or not. This report is referred to as Karma Wasana. So “Ngaben” is basically assisting the atman to progress as quickly as possible to “Brahman” or God, and there are several layers of “wrapper” that must be removed by performing Ngaben and Nyekah ceremonies.
Philosophy of Ngaben
And for those who are still alive, Ngaben and Nyekah are good philosophies that remind us to always create good karma in our lives. So our Karma Wasana or report can lead us to Moksatham Jagadhita Ya Ca Ithi Dharma, or freedom from reincarnation. This also demonstrates that Hinduism is about becoming one with Brahman, or God, rather than obtaining heaven. Cremation of the dead is necessary to expedite the process of returning the gross body to its source in nature, namely the five mahabhuta: pertiwi (earth), apah (water), teja (fire), bayu (air), and akasa (space). Ngaben is a very important event for the Balinese because it allows the family to free the spirits of the dead from earthly ties to heaven and await reincarnation. As a result, the Ngaben ceremony is a process of purifying the spirit by burning it in order for it to return to the Creator. The burning fire is thought to be Lord Brahma’s incarnation. The fire will consume all impurities attached to the deceased’s body and spirit.
