THE NAME OF THE CEREMONY IS DESCRIPTIVE, but hardly explanatory. This is, perhaps, why the wife of a visiting foreign dignitary, when told of this practice, exclaimed: “Oh, do they still do that here?”

Yes, they still do that in Bali. To everyone. But do not confuse tooth filing with some sinister vision of Dracula-like sharpened teeth. In fact, the procedure produces just the opposite, dulling the front teeth to diminish the savage characteristics of their owner. The ceremony is called matatah, £rom the word natah, to “chisel” or “carve”. The same word in high Balinese is mapandes, and another common synonym is masangih, from sangih, to “file”. Sometimes the Indonesian potong gigi - “to cut teeth” - will be used. The person who files the teeth is called sangging, the same word used for “painter” or “artist”.

Tooth filing, together with prenatal rites, birth ceremonies, various ceremonies for the young baby, and marriage, is one of the rituals known as manusa yadnya. These are an important category of the Panca Yadna (”Five Rituals”) that every Balinese Hindu absolutely must have performed to insure an orderly transition of his or her spirit from birth to death and later reincarnation. Six to 18 years old is considered the best age for tooth filing - before marriage, bJ.lt for girls, after the first menstruation. Better late than never though, and it is not unusual for people in their 60s to have their teeth filed. If a person dies before having held the ceremony, the family sometimes has it done to the corpse before burial. It is that necessary.

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The panca datu, an important offering of iron, silver, copper, and gold, which is used to bless the foundation of an important building. Thus, even today, Pis bolong are associated with wealth. A single Pis bolong was never really valuable - but it is a charged metal object that is associated with, and a vehicle of, wealth. And so when gifts are made to the gods in the form of offerings such as flowers, fruits, cakes, and meat, Pis bolong are offered also. Pis oblong are included as the “base” of certain kinds of offerings. The exact number of coins is almost always specified, although the significance of the numbers is not known.

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Rites of passage are an important aspect of every Balinese Hindu’s life and invariably coincide with a physical event such as birth, puberty and marriage. Each rite is marked by a ceremony and elaborate offerings. The main aim of these rites of passage as a collective is to purify and provide the individual with spiritual energy for a peaceful, healthy and successful existence.

The first Balinese rite of passage begins when a fetus is approximately six months of age and has a definite human form. A small ceremony is performed in the hope that the child has a long and productive life. Another ceremony at birth involving the burial of the placenta is the next rite of passage. At this stage of a newborn’s life everything is done to protect the baby as he/she is considered weak and easy prey for negative influences. The baby’s umbilical cord dropping off is the next rite, followed by 12 days and then 42 days of age.

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