Buried in the Fire
Friday, September 21st, 2007 by Sidarta WijayaNgaben is always translated into “cremation ceremony” in English, but unfortunately not all cremation ceremonies in Bali can be categorized as ngaben. There are two types of cremation ceremonies in Bali, Ngaben and Mekingsan ring Geni (buried or left in the fire) with the main differences lie on the offerings and paraphernalias which are used and the function of the ceremony.
A Ngaben ceremony can be done in a modest to extravagant way, a modest ngaben needs a few basic offerings and preparations; while the extravagant ngaben will involve massive offerings, cremation tower, cow sarcophagi (befitting the caste of the deceased), gamelan orchestra and hundreds of manpower; while Mekingsan ring Geni (buried in the fire) is always a simple affair regardless the caste of the deceased, with only a few offerings, few manpower and little preparations.
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