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Social ritual affair turns deadly business
JP/J
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JP/J.B. DJWAN
Killing people doesn’t cross Ketut Sukrena and his wife Luh Sisiani’s minds when they produce arak from distilled forms of fermented palm juice, a concoction that has already claimed dozens of lives in Bali in the last few years.
Living in a drought-prone village of Bondalem village in Tejakula district, Sukrena has been producing tuak — fermented palm juice — and arak for local consumption for years to support his family and four children.
He has seven 20-meter-high sugar palm trees that he climbs every morning to take the sap of the sugar palm trees and put it in bamboo containers called bung bung.
“My wife will later distil the liquid for at least five hours before it can be consumed,” Sukrena said, adding this was the only way they could currently make a living.
Working as a tuak maker requires extra courage, strong nerve and stamina.
“It’s quite a risky job to climb a 20-meter-high tree without any supporting life equipment,” Sukrena said.
“We used to work in rice fields, but in the last few years, our village was hit by severe drought. We didn’t have any water to irrigate our rice fields,” Sukrena said.
Every day, Sukrena produces seven bottles worth Rp 3,500 each and therefore, his daily income barely reaches Rp 22,500 (US$2), excluding the Rp 8,000 he has to spend to buy kerosene.
“But, my product is pure arak and it won’t kill anybody,” he confirmed, adding that pure arak only contained 10 percent alcohol.
He had heard many people had died of complications from consuming hazardous arak liquor. “They [the victims] drank very dangerous mixtures of arak with hazardous chemical substances that
killed them.”
Tuak drinking used to be a social affair for the majority of Balinese men. The beverage comes in two forms — sweet (tuak manis) and bitter (tuak wayah). Tuak manis is fresh from the tree and has high sugar content since the fermentation process is not too long, while tuak wayah tastes very sour and bitter like strong alcohol.
Arak, or distilled tuak, has been used for hundreds of years in many Balinese Hindu rituals. Arak was specifically used in the caru ritual, an offering to lower spirits, to prevent “butha and khala” from disturbing the upper life.
Arak has been used for various medicinal purposes too. Blended with herbs and spices, arak becomes a potent rubbing oil to ease body pain.
In the nearby Air Sanih village, dozens of men are always chatting in a bale banjar, or community center, drinking glasses of tuak.
“We always gather here to meet members of the villages, play cards and have a glass of tuak or a cup of coffee,” said Gus De, a resident of the village.
Gus De knew that many people now drunk arak with higher alcohol content to get drunk.
“They are no longer satisfied drinking tuak. They have to drink arak mixed with hazardous substances including deadly methanol, detergent and other ingredients to make it more powerful. That’s crazy,” Gus De said.
Rising unemployment has contributed to a rising demand in arak and tuak brewing.
“This [arak drinking] is not just a leisure activity. It reflects the level of poverty and the unemployment problem. People do it to escape reality,” said the head of the subdistrict.
He added that many people, young and old, were unemployed in the village.
“They just hang around in the village, drinking cheap arak and gambling. To make it stronger, they put methanol, additive coloring and even kerosene.
“We could say they are lazy boys, but actually they could work hard if we found them jobs.”
Anton, a 45-year-old resident of Petitenget in the Kuta area, remembers his days as a “café and party boy”.
“I used to drink and attend parties every night here in Kuta.”
Anton said he used to consume low-quality arak mixed with toxic substances.
“It tasted very bad, but I just wanted to challenge other boys. Drinking is a man’s world.”
Anton, however, regretted his heavy drinking days.
“I know it affects my lung, kidney and my health in general. Recalling those bad memories gives me the shivers.”
Gus P, who lives in Denpasar, knows exactly what he wants.
“There are some potent recipes that can make you ‘fly’.”
Both arak vendors and their buyers have their own secret blends.
“Many vendors add flavors with a blend of methanol and chemical substances used to produce mosquito killers. When you drink such a beverage, you will get high immediately, or die.”
Such poisonous and toxic arak is sold at every street corner of Denpasar street.
“They [the vendors] have their loyal customers.
“Yet, the vendors often hide their arak business by selling bottles or cans of beers and soft drinks, to avoid the police finding out about their illegal business.”
Gus P also warned people not to buy arak with strange names or labels written in italics.
“Most of them are toxic and dangerous because they do not list their ingredients or registration number with the trade office and health agencies.”
For the humble and traditional Sukrena, producing arak is a lifetime job. “I do not want to hurt anybody with my arak. I want to make money to feed my family. Don’t blame us, arak makers. The deaths resulted from people mixing pure arak with toxic chemical substances.”
