RITES
AND FESTIVALS
GODS
AND DEMONS: OFFERINGS AND
EXORCISMS
Offerings
to evil spirits are in themselves polluted and are left
to be eaten by the village scavengers, the hungry dogs.
The devils receive elaborate sacrifices on certain occasions
and on special days, every fifth (klion) and every fifteenth
(kadjeng klion) day; but, as they are greedy by nature,
the little offerings given them every day - a few grains
of rice, a few flower petals, and a coin or two - are enough
to distract them from their evil intentions. They become
particularly obnoxious at sundown, and on these special
dates the women of each household place in front of their
gates trays of food, flowers, and money, next to a burning
coconut husk.
Great calamities will fall upon the village when the butas
predominate or when they are angry. Then they cause epidemics,
the loss of crops, and so forth, and only by the most elaborate
ceremonies of purification and great offerings of blood
sacrifices can the pollution of the village be wiped out.
Nyepi. Once a year, at the spring equinox, every community
holds a general cleaning-out of devils, driving them out
of the village with magical curses and rioting by the entire
population. This is followed by a day of absolute stillness,
the suspension of all activity, from which the ceremony
takes its name. Nyepi marks they New Year and the arrival
of spring, the end of the troublesome rainy season, when
even the earth is said to be sick and feverish (panas) .
It is believed that
then the Lord of Hell, Yama, sweeps Hades of devils, which
fall on Bali, making it imperative that the whole of the
island be purified.
There
is great excitement all over Bali at this time, and on the
days before nyepi everybody is busy erecting altars for
the offerings and scaffolds for the priests at the village
crossroads Since no cooking is allowed on nyepi day, the
food for the next day is prepared and there are melis processions
all over Bali to take the gods to the sea for their symbolical
bath. The celebration proper extends over a period of two
days: the metjaru, the great purification offering, and
nyepi, the day of silence. On the first day the Government
allows unrestricted gambling and cockfighting, an essential
part of the ceremony, because the land is cured by spilling
blood over impure earth.
In
Den Pasar round after round was fought all morning; crowds
of men gathered in the meeting hall of every bandjar, each
bringing his favorite fighting cock in a curious satchel
of fresh coconut leaves, handle and all, woven over the
cock's body, its tail left sticking out so as not to damage
the feathers. Each satchel was cut open and the cocks presented
to the audience to announce the matches. The betting began;
excited enthusiasts waved strings of kepengs and silver
ringgit and yelled at each other. A vicious steel blade
five inches long and sharp as a razor was attached to the
right foot of each cock in place of the natural spur, which
was cut off. When both contenders were ready and the bets
had been placed, the referee and the time-keeper went to
their places and gave the signal to start, beating a small
gong.
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