WanderingSusan: HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY FEB. 14TH

ROYAL CREMATION CEREMONY

All week long in Ubud we have been watching groups of men sawing bamboo, climbing scaffolding, attaching decorations in one of the neighboring streets next to the Royal Palace. When we asked, it turns out

Resting on the shoulders of hundreds of male villagers, the nine-tiered bade (cremation tower), bearing the body of Nelly Sukawati, makes its way from Ubud’s Puri Kantor Palace to the royal cemetery at the Dalem Puri Temple during a pelebon (royal cremation) procession on Monday.

This above was from the Djakarta Press. I heard a couple versions: One she was the French (or Dutch) wife of a previous King (since deceased). She was 84 (or 80) and had been dead for 4 months (2 years). Tradition in Bali is that people need to be cremated to separate the 5 elements of their body: Earth, Water, Fire, Air and Space. But often families can't afford immediate cremation (This royal one must have cost TONS of money!)

Anyhow, they must do something to preserve the body and they keep in their house home/compound temple. I've also heard they might bury the body until they have saved the money for the ceremony.

So they built two sloping ramps - one to get up to the nine-tiered high tower where the body/coffin will be carried on a a bamboo scaffolding by about 100 men down from the palace to the temple/cremation site (about 1 km). the other ramp is to bring the body up to the black bull they have built. The bull is carried through the street decorated in gold. Then the back is opened and the body removed form the coffin and placed inside the bull with the back replaced. The coffin is taken back down the ramp.

Before the parade started there was a a priest sitting, ringing a bell in front of the tower. Then the priest and maybe 4 others sat on the tower on the coffin during the parade. Very tipsy perch!!

We were told of a restaurant that overlooked the road so Betty and I went down around 10 a.m. and got spots - ordered a drink and delicious chocolate cake!! While we were waiting, workmen came and we thought they were just working on some TV or telephone wires that crossed the street. But it turned out they had to remove them (and I'm assuming replace them, when the tower passed!)

When the ramps, the huge tower and the bull passed by, we joined in the procession to follow it down to the site. It looked like then members of the

family climbed the ramp to the bull and said good-bye to the body. Many flowers/fruit and other ornaments that had been carried in the procession were placed in the coffin. (BTW, there was a drone flying overhead! You can enter UBUD Cremation and 2/13/2017 and see the video taken by the drone flying over this ceremony!)

A fire truck was brought around and sprayed nearby tents that were hawking drinks, etc. so they wouldn't catch on fire. Then guys with big propane torches started the fire and it burned for maybe 10 minutes and collapsed. Show was over. I don't know whether they keep parts of the decorated tower or the ramps to use again or it's a one-time thing.