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Suckling pigs offered in ritual
It was near midnight, yet Bugbug village in Karangasem regency was far from quiet
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t was near midnight, yet Bugbug village in Karangasem regency was far from quiet. For the first time in more than a century, it was the night of celebration, the night for an ancient festival of gratitude.
At the center of the tradition was the village's Puseh temple, a sacred place dedicated to Wisnu, the sustainer in the Balinese Hinduism trinity of trimurti.
Wisnu is the benevolent protector whose consort, the goddess Sri, bestows the Balinese with bountiful harvests of rice and fruits.
On that Friday night, Aug. 15, thousands from among Bugbug's 3200 households flocked to the temple to pay their homage to the generous deities.
Unlike regular temple festivals in which devotees bring colorful offerings of flowers and fruits, the Bugbug villagers brought with them freshly cooked suckling pigs.
In the presence of thousands of delicious-looking offerings, the temple's yard was turned into a place where the mouth-watering aroma in the air tickled the taste buds of many devotees, particularly the children.
They stared at the pigs with a dreamy gaze that spoke more about the need for physical fulfillment -- the stomach's -- than aspirations for spiritual achievement.
Some of the devotees carried not one or two pigs on their wooden sticks but five.
All worked hard to navigate through the narrow temple's gate, creating a view of streams upon streams of suckling pigs emerging from the narrow gate and into the spacious temple's middle yard.
Amid the mass of carriers was the family of I Wayan Selat. Following Mount Agung's eruption in 1963, Selat left his devastated village and relocated to a village in the neighboring regency of Buleleng.
Now escorted by his children and grandchildren, the beaming man entered the temple of his home village along with a personal offering of two suckling pigs.
"I have never participated in this festival in my entire life. I certainly will not live long enough to see another one," he said.
Selat was a 65 years old. The last time the village held the festival was in 1900.
The Bugbug villagers call the festival Ngusaba Kaja, a religious feast to express their gratitude to God's grace and protection. They believe the festival is the time when purusha (the masculine, passive energy of the universe) unites with pradana (the feminine, active energy of the universe) and out of that union life is born.
"It is the celebration of fertility as well as the beginning of life, and that's why this festival is so important for all Bugbug villagers," local leader I Wayan Terang Pawaka said.
Each villager is obliged to present an offering of one suckling pig during the festival, which lasts for four days. An adult man must present a suckling male pig, while an adult woman a suckling female pig, a nod to purusha and pradana.
"However, families that don't have enough money are allowed to present a pair of suckling pigs to represent the whole family," said Pawaka.
"Moreover, the village will shoulder the responsibility of presenting the offerings on behalf of the poor families."
The festival reached its climax as the local elders made a procession that encircled the temple three times, symbolizing their hope for the continuation of life.
"When the earth stops revolving then all life will perish," Pawaka said.
Toward the end of the procession, light rain fittingly fell and refreshed the earth -- Wisnu is also the god of rain in Balinese mythology.
"It means that the Lord has blessed our ritual," Selat said.
The devotees brought the offerings back to their homes, whereupon the feast of the century began.
