Ngaben Anyar tradition at Sampalan customary village
Residents
of Lekok hamlet, Sampalan customary village, held the tradition of
ngaben anyar cremation, Monday (Sep 1). Implementation of the tradition
was quite unique, where the body was handled first before continuing to
the next stage of cremation procession.Chief of Sampalan customary village, Ketut Sujana, said that the ngaben anyar did not took place as usual. When a public figure or resident of higher social status died, they would be cremated through the ngaben anyar tradition. However, the implementation would also highly depend on the economic condition of the family. Sampalan village consisting of 16 hamlets remained to preserve the local ngaben anyar tradition. In regular cremation, the body was usually cremated, but in the ngaben anyar tradition the body was even worked on first.
Sujana asserted that the cremation applied patus system in which that all residents participated in the process of cremation ceremony. “This ngaben anyar procession applies internal patus system. In other words, the activities only involved the internal family, while other residents helped the preparation,” he explained.
The difference of ngaben anyar from the cremation in general lay in the process of preparation. After the body was handed over to residents, they would parade the body to the front of funeral home. The procession was held in tense condition. Moreover, when the body began to be put into bade tower, the residents mutually pulled it.
“It is called ngarap procession. On that account, the ngaben anyar is also often called ngaben ngarap,” Sujana said. On the one hand, a group of people pulled the body so that it could be quickly put into the existing bade tower. On the other hand, another group held the body so that the body was not immediately put into that bade. People often referred to the process as a rwa bhineda (basic dualism) concept in order to respect the differences among the people. Besides, such a process was also believed to bring in fortune. People believed that they would get strength if they could palpate the body. In addition, it also represented sincerity (of family) against the resident who died. Thus, the process took place joyfully.
The resident cremated with the ngaben anyar tradition was the deceased Ni Ketut Ribek, wife of the Chief of Lekok hamlet, Sampalan Klod, Nyoman Badung. She died four days ago due to aging and complication of disease
