Ngaben is a Hindu Cremation ceremony in Bali, Indonesia. Ngaben event is a ritual performed to send the bodies to the next life. Bodies should be put asleep, and the families left behind will always think so (sleep). There is no tears, because the body is temporarily absent and will undergo reincarnation or find the last resting or moksha (freedom from the wheel of death and reincarnation.
Cow/ Bull are not only animal that is used as a vehicle for cremation, but also sometimes there are other forms of animals such as fish, tiger, elephants, dragons. All of these animals symbolize different clan / family stream.
The villagers brought the bull and other forms of animals with shouting excitedly.
At each intersection, they will rotate three times to Confuse Evil Spirits, so do not follow them to the grave.
Ngaben in the village is done once every five years, in Katik Lantang - Ubud heald on July 23th 2010. So these events are quite rare for most people, so it deserves if the atmosphere and knick-knacks Ngaben in immortalized by the camera. Seemed the two little girls who pose in front of a bull for a remembrance.
Dragon as one of the forms of animals as a vehicle to heaven
Appropriate day for this event is always discussed with people who understand. On this day, the body placed in coffin-bodies to die. Chest-die sarcophagus was placed inside a container like a bull or in the form of temples, made of wood and paper. Form of a bull or monastery was taken to the cremation place through a procession. The procession was not running on a straight road. This is in order to confuse Evil Spirits and keep him away from the body.
Ngaben highlight the overall structure is burning (bull or monasteries made of wood and paper), along with the corpses. The fire needed to liberate the spirit from the body and eases the reincarnation.
Ngaben not always be done immediately. For members of high caste, it is very reasonable to perform this ritual within three days. But for members of lower castes, the body first buried and then cremated few years later on collective / mass cremation. (source wikipedia)
This post first appeared on Sentanoe- Bali Monochrome Photography, please read the originial post: here
