Here is a good articles on wedding by Balinese high priest Sri Bhagawan Dwija Warsa Nawa Sandi from Buleleng regency, without further ado here is the words of Bhagawan Dwija

THE WEDDING IN HINDU (BALINESE) RELIGION

By : Bhagawan Dwija

Om Swastiastu,

The “Weda” says that marriage in Hindu is a holly act. There are two main reasons; firstly, God bless man and woman to love each other as what “Dewa Smara” (similar with Adam) and “Dewi Ratih” (similar with Eve) done in the beginning; secondly, human have to allow their ancestor come to reincarnation through the couple so that the soul be able to reform live in the next born. Reform to a better and holly live exactly important for every soul than through reincarnation that rolling times to times they hope at one time can be in one with God. That is make children is a need in Balinese couple.

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Attending a cremation ceremony for Balinese is not just a matter showing taking a part in the cremation but also cleansing the mind and body soon after attending the cremation ceremony. When Balinese arrive at home after attending a cremation, they will go right to the kitchen and take a ladle of water then throw it upward so that the water gets on the kitchen roof while Balinese stand under the roof waiting the water to fall down. A second later that water falls out wetting their heads and faces. Sometimes, after that they also should enter the kitchen again; after this ritual they are allowed to enter other structures in the house compound.

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What color should I wear when attending a ceremony? Sometimes, can be a tricky for a Balinese, when it comes to traditional dress for attending a ceremony, color sometimes matter. For attending temple ceremony white is the most popular color especially for men, for attending a cremation black is still a major choice, while for attending other kind of ceremony such as wedding, tooth filling, birthday, etc, for men Batik is reign supreme as for women bright color kebaya is welcomed.

The above-mentioned colors are not a dead set you can find in some area some people wears white clothes in cremation ceremony, or white clothes in wedding ceremony. Debates on what is the appropriate colors use in certain ceremony are often occur from time to time.

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Ngaben or cremation ceremony is arguably the most documented Balinese ceremony among hundreds of Balinse religious ceremonies. And of course the prima ballerina of Balinese cremation is the cremation tower or well known as Bade or Wadah. Bade or wadah is a tower which is used to carry the body of the deceased to the cremation ground.

Bade or Wadah is a pagoda-like structure with multi-tiered roof, constructed by a group of special craftsmen known as sangging with specific material such as bamboo, paper mace and cotton. The size, proportion and the structure of the bade is strictly governed by the ancient rules of bade construction. The height of the Bade could reach up to 25 meters and the weight around 10 ton. It is required a few hundreds of man to carry it.

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Part 2

On I Gusti Ngurah Rai’s life Gianyar (state East of Denpasar) became a special place for him. It is not just because Gianyar was his first place to learn about military drill but this was also a place where he met his true love. Desak Putu Kari, a dancer, was the one who had stolen Rai’s heart at the first sight. She is an orphan from Gianyar. Gusti Ngurah Rai asked for the hand of her when she was at the age of thirteen. One day Rai appeared suddenly at 11 pm in her room and ran her away. When Kari’s family looked for her Rai asked her to go to the barracks while he talked about his willing to get married with Desak Putu Kari. But based on Kari’s demand, they got married after the cremation ceremony (ngaben) of Kari’s parents.

I Gusti Ngurah Rai. www.baliprov.go.id
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Ngaben 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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