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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Meru, an elaborate multi-tiered temple structure with thatched roof of sugar palm fiber called duk, is surely a prima ballerina of many temple courtyards. Towering majestically among other shrine, meru is a symbol of the temple prestige. A temple with an eleven-tiered meru is surely has more prestige than just a temple with a five-tiered Meru.

The shrines symbolize the world mountain, Gunung Maha Meru, and has one to eleven tiers or, as they are called, tumpang, or “levels.” There must always be an odd number, although one meru at Pura Taman Ayun in Mengwi has two. The tumpang are square and diminish in size toward the top, so that the effect is that of a Chinese pagoda, except the colors are somber.

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