The Unsettling Proximity of Death on Bali: Fierce Fire and Cool Bones

By: Sita van Bemmelen

The first time I witnessed a ritual washing of the corpse, it was a rather confrontational experience. However, that was not the only time, I felt uneasy. But before I come to that, let us first have a look at what happens after the ritual washing: the sequence of a cremation.

On the day of the cremation, the chest with the remains of the deceased will be brought out of the family courtyard and put in a container (wadah) placed on the side of the road. That container can be an elaborately decorated and multistoried tower, for which Balinese cremations of royal families are so famous. But often it is a much simpler affair. The wadah will be hoisted on a rack made of bamboo and carried to the cremation field called setra by as many men as needed, depending on the weight of the tower. They can number up to a hundred men. Usually the wadah is brought to the setra around mid-midday, so one can imagine how heavy the task of the bearers is.