THE
HIGH PRIESTS AND THE BRAHMANIC
RITUAL
The ultimate stage
of perfection in the evolution of man on this earth, from
the Balinese point of view, is to reach the Brahmana caste
and to be ordained as a pedanda human being, to warrior,
statesman, scholar, priest, and after death a god. Simply
having reached this position, the highest during life in
the long and arduous scale of evolution, endows pedandas
with a magic character and justifies - in their own eyes
at least - their superiority over all living men. .
Thus the high priests are, to the Balinese, extraordinary
beings who, by their caste, knowledge, systematic preparation,
and old age, are immune in handling the dangerous secret
formulas of the higher ritual. An ordinary person, unprepared
and not possessing the capacity to store the necessary surcharge
of magic energy, would be destroyed, blown out like a weak
fuse under a high charge of electricity, should he attempt
to use this magic to control the unseen forces.
With
the proper training, however, people of all castes may become
priests; a common man can study to become a witch-doctor,
for pemangku or for sunguhu, and a mystic prince with a
vocation may become a resi, but only a Brahmana can be an
authentic pedanda. Although the low-caste priests control
the ordinary temple and community ritual, have direct dealings
with the ancestors, and are able to intimidate demons with
formulas of their own, they are restricted to officiating
for people within or below their caste, while the Brahmanic
priests serve all those who can afford their fees.
The pedandas still exert a powerful influence on Balinese
life despite the fact that their relations with the people
were never intimate; they represent the law, and the judges
of the high native courts (raadkerta) are still pedandas
in the majority. They purify persons or dwellings, bless
people after illness or accident, and can avert curses or
spells. On account of their knowledge of the calendar they
must be consulted every time it is necessary to determine
the exact lucky or unlucky date on which to begin or to
which to postpone a significant undertaking.
Mountain
people ignore them entirely, but they are essential to all
ceremonies of the nobility, and even the poorest commoner
will make great sacrifices to be able to call a pedanda
to officiate at his private affairs, particularly at cremations,
to assure his deal-: ones of the correct send-off into the
nether world. To use the services of a pedanda is a luxury
that brings social prestige.
A pedanda's life is strictly regimented and full of prohibition.
We visited occasionally the good-natured, sociable pedanda
of Sidan, who often remarked with a deep sigh of regret
that the life of a priest was a difficult one because he
had always to think of the gods. At lunch in his house,
when he had a goose " cut " in our honour, he
condescended to eat with us, but had to sit at a higher
level, " otherwise the gods would not like it." With
a grand disdainful gesture he threw a few grains of rice
at the hungry dogs that surrounded us, explaining that he
had to share his food with these evil spirits in disguise;
then he proceeded to enumerate the many taboos he had to
observe when eating: he could not sit at a public eating-place
or eat in the market; he ate facing east and not until he
had made his morning prayers.
Beef, pork, and food from offerings were forbidden to him
and he could not touch alcohol. Under no circumstances could
he walk under dirty water. He was fat and old and lie loved
to ride in motor-cars, but since so many drain-pipes have
been built recently at high points over the roads to connect
the ricefields, he encountered great difficulties when travelling
by motor-car. Every time he came to a pipe the car stopped.
He stepped out and climbed to the top with great effort,
to come down panting on the other side.
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