I Wayan Sukanada said he was quite happy that the island's first ever Hindu crematorium had finally opened.

"This crematorium will offer an affordable solution for Balinese Hindus who do not have much money or enough manpower to organize a 'ngaben' (cremation) ritual," he said.

A member of Maha Gotra Pasek Sanak Sapta Rsi (MGPSSR) inspects the grounds of Crematorium Santhayana in north Denpasar. The first construction stage of the island’s first-ever Hindu crematorium has been completed recently and the facility is ready to host affordable cremation rituals for Balinese Hindus. (JP/Luh De Suriyani)

A ngaben can cost a Hindu family anywhere between several millions of rupiah to several billions. In recent years, Balinese Hindus have opted for bigger, extravagant versions of ngaben in an apparent effort to show their devotion to the deceased as well as elevate their social status.

The towering, elaborately decorated funeral tower known as a bade, the giant wooden bull sarchopagi, the long, noisy street procession and other aspects of the ritual have became one of the most iconic images of the island -- and its most enduring tourism attraction.

The ritual, however, has also inflicted a hefty financial burden on many Balinese Hindus.

Last Sunday, Sukanada and several residents of the Tonja village, East Denpasar, paid a visit to the Hindu crematorium in Kedua village, North Denpasar. The crematorium was initiated and constructed by Maha Gotra Pasek Sanak Sapta Rsi (MGPSSR), arguably the biggest clan-based organization on the island.

The clan has a membership of more than one million people, all of whom are direct descendants of seven venerated sages in ancient Bali, thus the name Sapta Rsi (which literally means seven sages).

Each Sunday, members of the organization involve themselves in voluntary, communal work to assist the construction of the crematorium.

Construction of the crematorium began in June and is estimated to cost more than Rp 1 billion. At the end of the construction stage, the crematorium compound will comprise a furnace, a temple, a wantilan open hall, bale pawedan elevated hall for the high priests, a building for holding and preparing the dead and a spacious parking area.

The first stage has been completed and the 600 square-meter site now has a completed furnace and shrine. The inauguration of the crematorium was held during the MGPSSR's Pesamuhan Agung annual meeting on Dec. 7.

MGPSSR's chairman, I Wayan Wita, declared the crematorium had entered its operational stage.

"Its ready to operate. The cost of having a body cremated here is very affordable, starting from as low as Rp 1 million. For the poor families we could even set a much lower price," he said.

The establishment of the crematorium was decided during the organization's 2007 annual gathering. The gathering identified the need to provide a solution to the increasing number of families unable to cremate their deceased relatives due to conflicts with the leaders of their respective desa pekraman (traditional customary village) or members of their banjar (traditional neighborhood association).

These powerful traditional community institutions are known to punish their "rebellious" members by revoking their rights to use the community's shared properties, including the community temple and cemetery.

"Its regrettable that a Balinese Hindu could not carry out a 'ngaben' ceremony due to this kind of conflict," Wita said.

The crematorium was named Santhayana, literally meaning the "Path of Peace", a clear sign of the organization's wish that the crematorium would be a sound solution to the conflicts.

Wita said the MGPSSR had no intention of antagonizing the traditional community institutions in building the crematorium.

"The crematorium is an alternative solution, a complementary one, it will not substitute the role of 'desa pekraman' or the 'banjar' as the institutions responsible for organizing 'ngaben'," Wita said.

An alternative, he added, was necessary since ngaben had become a very expensive ritual, with many Balinese Hindus forced to take out loans to finance them.

"A crematorium is an economically realistic way to deal with this," Wita said.

The MGPSSR is one among a small number of progressive organizations that are determined to turn Balinese Hinduism into a modern religion. Several decades ago, it promoted collective ngaben as a way to make the ritual more affordable for the island's low-income communities.

Jero Mangku Dalem Babakan, a temple priest who donated the land for the crematorium's site, said it was about time for Balinese Hindus to pay more attention to the substances of the religious rituals, instead of dwelling on their outer and often lavish appearance.

He cited the use of extravagant bade, which was uncommon in the island's past.

"In ancient times, the body was carried into the cemetery on a 'pepaga' ( a simple bamboo carrier). It only took four people to transport the 'pepaga'. After all, the soul of the deceased will carry nothing to the afterlife, only his good deeds will accompany him there. Ritual is only a tool," he said.

He said the use of a crematorium in a ngaben ceremony would not reduce the substance or the sanctity of the ritual.

Head of the island's Parisadha Hindu Council, I Gusti Ngurah Sudiana, praised the crematorium as an intelligent answer to the religion's ongoing problem. The religious body, Sudiana added, would support the crematorium.

Similar support has also been expressed by the 60,000-strong Association of Hindu Workers.

"Around 3,000 Hindu and non-Hindu individuals have registered to use the crematorium's services," Jero Mangku Dalem Babakan said.

The crematorium's first client arrived Wednesday afternoon. The deceased was a woman from Tabanan regency and a member of the Wangbang Pinatih clan-based organization.

"This is the first body to be cremated in this facility and it will prove that this facility is open for everybody," MGPSSR leader Ketut Pasek Winastera said.

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