Kising ritual ‘Omed-omedan’ packaged into modern festival

Omed-omedan kissing ritual, an age-old tradition at the Kaja hamlet in Sesetan, received a makeover this year when locals organized a fun festival around it.
Named the Sesetan Heritage Omed-omedan Festival 2010, the event drew thousands of spectators, including foreign visitors.
In the past, the spectators, who flocked into the hamlet from early in the morning, would have to wait for the only attraction, the Omed-omedan, to start in the afternoon.
On Wednesday, however, there were a variety of activites to precede the Omed-omedan.
One such activity was a mouth-watering bazaar of Balinese traditional food, where the spectators could spoil their appetites with sweet cakes, spicy salad, refreshing fruit cocktails and, of course, the satisfying Balinese nasi campur.
The festival also held a handicraft expo, several competitions and performances of traditional dances.
“This is a community-based event, organized by the local residents, with a primary objective of making this tradition of Omed-omedan a better and fun experience for the spectators,” said Kaja elder Wayan Sunarya.
This year 100 young boys and girls participated in Omed-omedan.
After a joint prayer, the boys and the girls separated themselves into two groups.
As the Bleganjur ensemble rose its tempo, each group selected one candidate and escorted them to the empty space between the groups.
When the elder gave its command, these candidates embraced and kissed each other. To prevent the kisses from turning into a public display of lust, hamlet officials separated the candidates with a spray of water.
“In the past, a large number
of our youths were a bit shy to participate in this ritual and we had to do a house-to-house visit to convince them to come,” organizing committee head I Putu Wiranata Jaya said.
“Nowadays, they come of their own accord because they believe that by participating in this ritual they are contributing to the preservation of traditional heritage.”


When the elder gave its command, these candidates embraced and kissed each other.