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.

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Balinese Hinduism is very much a living organism. It is alive. And the visible sign of it is its never-ending adaptation with the Desa (place), Kala (time), Patra (circumstance), the results of this adaptation is numerous variations of Balinese Hinduism, especially in the field of ritual and ceremony. Each village (desa) has its own version of a ritual and may have a wide difference with the neighboring villages.

This time, however, I will not point out the adaptation of Balinese Hinduism in the concept of place but rather in a framework of time and circumstance, and one of numerous example of this adaptation is the Tumpek Landep that will be celebrated on Saturday, 4/28/2007.

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