The Other Side Of Quaint

It is very tempting to mythologise Bali, or any place which seems to hail from a bygone era, before faith, superstition and tradition gave way to cars, gadgets and tower block offices.

But apart from the obvious ethical problems with such a patronising outlook, ("we all thought it was so quaint," said a European in that documentary, "but they were starving") you can't pick and chose the romantic parts of Bali's traditions. You have to look at it as a whole. And some parts are harder for a western mind to swallow than others.

Bad spirits, as I may have mentioned, are summoned often at ceremonies in order to give them offerings to persuade them to go away. When we happened upon a ceremonial dance taking place round the corner the Barong (good spirit) appeared to be defeated by Rangda (bad spirit). Following this, young men took it in turns to enter a 'trance' state and try to stab Rangda with a Keris (ceremonial knife thankfully bluntened). When they fail, Rangda, in the story being unable to be hurt, they turn the knife on themselves. It's a story. But it's not. I can't see whether the men are actually in a trance, (possessed by the good spirits of the original young men in the story), but we witness several women collapse, or have what looks like a fit, to be helped to the priest to receive holy water. They have, we are told, been momentarily taken over by good spirits, which is a great blessing to them.

I have to admit that watching this is a little scary, despite the apparent blessing - and I become a little pleased we are watching from a respectful distance on the other side of the road, if there are going to be spirits flying around. But before you shout "eek! The ocult! Demonic practices!" I might note that I have witnessed many and frequent such displays in Christian charismatic churches, in which people appear to allow the Holy Spirit to take control of them. Frankly, it scares me there too.

Rather more unequivocal though, is the recent discovery that the Balinese do indeed practice animal sacrifice. The bad spirits require them, it seems. And they have large appetites.

We did not, thankfully, witness any such sacrifice in the ceremony we attended. The goose and hen remained, at least to our knowledge, whole. The same cannot be said of chicks though, who our guide tells us are offered at family temples as part of certain rituals.

"We just pull their heads off", he says, casually.

I can't. I can't think about it. I just can't. But when M looks up animal sacrifice in Bali, he discovers a story about a South Indian restaurant we had been planning to go to. The owner, being from India, where they have largely abandoned animal sacrifice, tried to resist. When the leaders of the village came to see him, before opening his restaurant, they told him the ceremonies required. 

"That sounds OK," he asked, "but could I do it without the animal sacrifice?"

The answer was no. He wanted to do business and so in the end he agreed.

He had to sacrifice a dog and no less than fifty chicks, burying them in set places around the restaurant.

"So it's basically an animal graveyard" says M.

I don't want to go to that restaurant any more.

"But they will all be the same" M points out.

And they will be.

Once every one hundred years there is a very important ceremony in Bali, Eka Dasa Rudra, which aims to convert bad spirits into good and secure the whole world against being controlled by bad spirits and therefore ending. At this ceremony one of every single animal and bird in Bali is sacrificed to those greedy bad spirits. One of every animal. This includes endangered species.

That. Is an awful lot of animals.

I can't wrap my mind around it and ever since I have viewed every animal as see as being somehow in danger. I see chicks following their mums and want to tell them to hide. When dogs and cats are too afraid of me to stop for me to stroke them, I commend them on their sense. When I see a tiny kitten I am worried for its safety. When I see it again later on a lead with a family playing and making a fuss of it, I am momentarily relieved - and then worried. Do animal sacrifices include pets? Are the bad spirits that cruel? 

Obviously my vegetarian western mind would struggle with this. I am trying to avoid making a value judgement, just reporting my response. But if you thought the world would end if you failed to do it, would you?

And what (I don't personally believe this) if it were true? What if every hundred years we are saved from extinction by a people brave enough to face such harsh 'realities'?

You have to view it in context. The Balinese are no more a violent, bloodthirsty nation of sadists than they are a quaint little people who like to make things look pretty. 

They are a complicated nation, contradictory and passionate, full by turns of love and anger, hatred and peace.

In short, they are human.