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span class="inline inline-left">No fear: A Balinese man stabs himself in a trance during Melasti at Batu Bolong beach in Canggu.The almost 75 villages and hundreds of banjar in Denpasar took around 10 days or more to prepare their temple’s paraphernalia and offerings for the Melasti ritual.

The preparations included the ritual scheduling among the villages to avoid traffic and pedestrian congestion in the beach areas of the capital city.

More than five years ago, the city administration built embankments along the Padang Galak Beach to prevent coastal erosion. The embankments, although necessary, narrowed down the ritual spaces on the beach, which is why the villages of the city were unable to perform their Melasti ritual in parallel.

Some participants acknowledged the discomfort due to the lack of space for praying as well as for parking their vehicles at the beach.

“Years ago, we could pray on the sand on a spacious beach. Now, the praying area is more crowded and when it rains like today, the pavement is muddy. But, whatever the discomforts, we’ll try to go on,” a participant of the Melasti ritual, Ketut Subagio from the Jenah customary village said on Tuesday.

Indonesia Hindu Council Parisadha (PHDI) Bali chapter chairman I Gusti Ngurah Sudiana urged more support from the business sector to help preserve the Balinese Hindu traditions.

“The administration cannot alone preserve our culture, thus more corporate entities should be willing to support our traditions,” said. In organizing massive ceremonies like Melasti as well as the Pengerupukan night, the administration is mostly in charge of aspects of security, sanitation and parking spaces.

Regretting that nowadays, there are few businesses that embrace and preserve Balinese culture, Sudiana urged more companies to perform their social responsibilities.

“We hope to see more companies operating here initiate corporate social responsibilities that directly support Balinese traditions.”

“It would be great if one day the business sector were willing to donate some Rp 10 million (US$1,000) for each village in their creation of ogoh-ogoh effigies or providing snacks and beverages for the Melasti participants.

“After all, the businesses here all make a living from these traditions too. Thus, they must show more respect to our traditions,” said Sudiana, as he explained that for the Melasti rituals alone, each village is estimated to spend some Rp 10 million for renting trucks, preparing offerings and providing snacks and beverages.

Nowadays, some businesses in Bali show their support for Balinese traditions by allowing their Hindu employees to take a day off or half-day off to perform their religious rituals. “Taking the day off from work during important rituals like Melasti is common. I am taking one today,” said Ani, a participant of the Melasti ritual at Padang Galak Beach on Tuesday.

“I work in shifts. So, this morning I am taking part in the Melasti, but this afternoon, I will be working as usual,” said Bekul customary village resident Kadek Donald who works as a technician in Denpasar.