The Birthday of Implements
Saturday (11/23/07), Balinese celebrate Tumpek Landep ceremony. The Tumpek Landep, is a holyday dedicated to the Sanghyang Pasupati, the God of steel implements especially the weapon that has been “pasupati-ed”, or invested with magical power. On this day Balinese show their gratitude to the Sanghyang Pasupati and all the steel implements that make Balinese life easier and safer. Actually, the word ‘landep’ is a the high Balinese dialect means ‘sharp’ and usually associated with weapon. Traditionally, on this day tools and family heirlooms of weaponry, such as sacred swords or keris (double edged dagger with wavy blade), are sanctified. But as the time passed a great change occur in celebration of this holyday.
At first, on this holy day only the weapons that have magical power, especially sacred Kris and spear given a veneration and special offering, early in the morning these weapons are washed with water of yellow coconut (nyuh gading) and dried with a clean new piece of cloth. Then they are wrapped with wastra (a clean holy cloth) and a sasap (a symbolic accessory made of young coconut leaf) are tied on each weapon. After that they are placed in a special place, given a special offering, and sprinkled with holy water and yellow coconut water.
With the passing of time, new implements made of steel and useful to the Balinese life appears, and weapons are now not the only thing that is useful to the Balinese. And nowadays, all steel-made and plastic-made implements are given veneration and offerings. Among the newly venerated implements are car, motorcycle, pushbike, personal computer, television, laptop, scissors, knife, etc. Even hand phone now begins to creep into the list.
The reasoning behind this mass addition is that all these newly venerated implements have helped the Balinese in their daily life, in their works. They are now the weapons that are used in daily struggle of life; make the struggle easier and sometimes they become the tools of living. Taxi drivers will decorate and give an elaborate offering to their car, students will give special veneration to their personal computer, and so on. They deserve an offering as a sign of gratitude, for Balinese anything that have helped them deserve some appreciations.
Although the numbers of the implements that have to be given veneration and offering have been increased rapidly, the magically powerful weapons are still deeply venerated by the Balinese. Bigger and more elaborate offering are given to these sacred weapons much bigger than the offering for the newly venerated implements.
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