Ngaben, Balinese Hindu Culture

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Despite the growth in modern living, Bali is famous for its well-preserved cultures and traditions. One of the cultures is Ngaben. The Balinese Hindu people perform a special ceremony called Ngaben for the funeral. All of the Balinese Hindus are going to be cremated when they deceased; the ritual is performed to send the deceased to the next life.

The body of the deceased will be placed as if sleeping, and the family will continue to treat the deceased as sleeping. No tears are shed, because the deceased is only temporarily absent and will reincarnate or find final rest in Moksha (free from the reincarnation and death cycle).

The day of Ngaben (cremation) needs to be consulted with a specialist. The body of the deceased will be placed inside a coffin which is placed inside a sarcophagus resembling a buffalo, or in a temple structure made of paper and wood. This sarcophagus will be carried to the cremation site, and will be cremated differently from the deceased body. This is done to confuse the evil spirits, to keep them away from the deceased.

Ngaben is not always performed immediately. People from lower social classes can opt to bury the deceased and cremate the deceased together with the other villagers in a mass ceremony. And the people from the elite caste or who are financially ready, can perform the ritual individually for the deceased within three days.