Bali holds more rituals to ward off bird flu

The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Mon, 09/24/2007 3:15 PM  |  National

The Bali provincial administration has conducted Paneduh Jagat and Nangluk Merana ceremonies at the Besakih Mother Temple in Karangasem regency and the Watu Klotok Temple in Klungkung regency to help protect the island from bird flu.

Karangasem regency spokesman, Agus Susena, said the ritual was aimed at protecting Bali from danger, including avian influenza which has claimed two lives on the island.

Agus said that village-level ceremonies were also held at the Pura Dalem and Kahyangan Desa temples.

Villagers gathered to pray before dispersing to sprinkle their houses with holy water, he said.

According to Agus, it is appropriate that rituals begin with families and villages, and are thereafter also conducted at the regency and provincial levels.

It is hoped that prayers offered during the ritual cycle will bring peace to Bali and ward off terrorism, outbreak of disease and other ills.

The provincial administration previously conducted a ritual animal sacrifice -- known as pakelem -- in both the Bali and Lombok Straits as part of its effort to ward off the virus.

Bali Governor Dewa Beratha said he had consulted with Balinese religious leaders and concluded that spiritual measures were needed to free Bali from the threat of the bird flu pandemic, apart from conventional measures such as vaccinations and mass culling which were also needed.

The pakelem ritual prescribes that a living animal be thrown into the sea as a sacrifice whose aim is returning nature to equilibrium.

In Bali, two women and thousands of poultry animals have died of bird flu. -- JP

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