On June 28th, at 10.00 in the morning Art Center was filled with visitors. Men-women, young-old, and native-foreigners seemed never want to blink their eyes as if they did not want to miss a thing from this show. They were hypnotized. Wherever the show went then those people would follow it as if they were the part of this show.

Bali Art Festival does not just present Balinese handmade goods or Balinese culinary heritage but also performances that begin to be neglected. One of them is Nglawang. This show had been presented twice to re-popularize it to the people, especially to the Balinese children.

Nglawang actually is a Balinese tradition aiming to ward a village from disasters. This tradition is similar to Pangrebongan which is held in Kesiman village (see the article). Nglawang is usually held after Kuningan day in several villages in Bali but it becomes rare ritual to be held in the town nowadays.

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Omed-omedan is held in a day after Nyepi (silence day) by people of Banjar Kaja, Sesetan village, South Denpasar. The teenagers who belong to this Banjar play the main role on this tradition. They -the boys and the girls- embrace each other by turns with wet body. They push a chosen boy and a chosen girl’s waist until they embrace and kiss ech other then he and she are pulled back to their initial position (see the complete information of omed-omedan on the previous posting).

Omed-omedan come from ‘omed’ meant pull. Many people outside Banjar Kaja often call omed-omedan with med-medan. “Actually, this tradition was held on Nyepi day,” said I Wayan Sunarya, Kelian Adat (Head of Banjar) Banjar Kaja. In the bygone days, Raja Puri Oka, authority of Sesetan village, was sick. He was still sick until Nyepi but the teenagers of Banjar Kaja were bored staying in home during the silence day. So, they went out gathered together. They played and chatted noisily that Raja Puri Oka was disturbed. Raja Puri Oka felt angry and commanded them to get in their house. But a miracle happened. Raja Puri Oka got well and became really healthy. Since that day, Raja Puri Oka told Banjar Kaja’s teenagers to do ‘omed-omedan’ in Nyepi Day.

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So many people, young and old, men and women, natives and foreigners came in flocks to see a unique ritual in Banjar Kaja, Sesetan village, South Denpasar, a day after Nyepi. The old men from Banjar Kaja sprinkle the road. A moment later, while the members of sekaa teruna teruni Satya Dharma Kerti (youth organization; in Banjar Kaja, its youth organization is named Satya Dharma Kerti) was praying, a Barong dance was held. After the praying and dancing session was over, the core of this ritual came.

The teenagers came out to the road. The boys were in left and the girls were in right. They were wetted by the adult ones. Balinese gambelan (traditional instrument) were played. The boys chose one of their members, so did the girls. Those chosen people were pushed by the others. “Omed-omedan” was started,

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On 2/10/08, the biggest mass ritual trance ritual which is known as Pengerebongan was held in Petilan temple, in Kesiman village Denpasar. Here are some snapshots from the most famous trance dance in the island.

Petilan temple is situated near the palace of Kesiman many people calls this temple, Pengerebongan temple due to the popularity of the pengerebongan trance ritual that is held in this temple. There are many speculations on the origin of the word “Pengerebongan”; the widely accepted origin of this word is the phrase “ngerehang barong” or “recharging the magical power of the Barong” (protective deities in form of mythological beast). This speculation is supported by the fact that many Barong and Rangda from Kesiman and surrounding villages come to participate in the ceremony.

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Cockfighting with wagering in it was banned by government in accordance with eradicating gambling policy in 1981, but cockfighting in Bali showed its strong resilience and survived the test. In 2003 cockfighting was put into greater test, Made Mangku Pastika was appointed as Bali chief police and he waged a war against all kind of gambling especially cockfighting. Some gamblers who make a living in cockfighting arena told me that the reign of Mangku Pastika was the time of hardship but as quoting words of Tupac: Bali chief police come and go but cockfighting stays in time. Once again cockfighting survives and the bitter experiences contribute a great deal to the face of cockfighting nowadays.

What lies behind the strong resilience of cockfighting against all odds is not something that can be achieved in a day or two, it is a result of a custom that have been practiced for hundreds of years, part of Balinese culture that Balinese have been lived with over centuries. Cockfighting has interwoven deeply in socio-religious life of the Balinese, there is a three-round cockfight known as tabuh rah in most of temple anniversary or in a big ceremony that can be transformed easily into a cockfight for gambling purpose after the ceremonial three-round fight is over, the additional fights may run up to ten rounds; sometimes the gamblers wagering in the ceremonial three-round fight on a pretext to enliven the fight. By adopting this religious context in staging a cockfight the gamblers can satisfy their need of wagering at the very least they can wage in the ceremonial-three- round match.

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Every region must have their own tradition which is inherited from their ancestor. Such as India with their ‘mangal sutra’ tradition and the dowry from the bride, Japan for their tea ceremony and also the growth day for them who have reached the age of 20, and many other traditions around the world. And so does Indonesia with its various areas must have diversity on its tradition. One of them is Bali.

Gebogan offering

Bali is so popular with its ‘banten’ (means in the Balinese worship which is usually made from young coconut leaves and contains fruits, flowers, leaves, betel vine, cakes, and sesari – a little money as an offering). There are many kinds of ‘banten’, hundreds might be. It is so amazing that the old people are able to remember those kinds of ‘banten’ for each different ceremony meanwhile most of the young Balinese generations do not understand on ‘banten’ and everything related on it. That’s why this sentence appears; “It’s quite difficult to be a Balinese, isn’t it?”

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