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Czech tourists not let off lightly after playing with holy water at Balinese temple
Hindus of Bali, while generally welcoming of foreign tourists visiting the “Island of the Gods”, did not easily let off the hook two Czech nationals found to have disrespected a temple in Ubud.
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Czech nationals Zdenek Slouka (right) and Sabina Dolezalova (left) have agreed to take part in a Hindu cleansing ritual to ask the Gods for forgiveness after they angered Balinese Hindus for ill-mannered behavior in a temple in Ubud’s Monkey Forest, Bali. (Tribun Bali/I Wayan Eri Gunarta)
T
he Hindu-majority people of Bali are known to be deeply attached to their religious rituals and culture. And while they are welcoming of foreign tourists visiting the “Island of the Gods”, Balinese Hindus will not easily let off the hook those who disrespect their religious sites.
That is why many Balinese were angered when a video of two foreigners made the rounds in social media over the weekend showing a man sprinkling a woman’s bottom with holy water flowing from a pelinggih (altar) in a sacred Hindu temple.
The man and woman in the footage were later identified as Czech nationals Zdenek Slouka and Sabina Dolezalova, and they were at Pura Beji, also known as the “Holy Bathing Temple”, which is located within the Monkey Forest in Ubud.
In the footage, which was first uploaded by Dolezalova in an Instagram story on her account @sabina_dolezalova_ifbb, the two are seen standing near a pelinggih. As they giggled, Dolezalova suddenly lifted up her miniskirt, while Slouka scooped the flowing water and sprinkled it on her exposed buttocks.
The story immediately went viral and reposted by a number of accounts, including that of renowned Balinese designer Niluh Djelantik, who expressed her outrage over the foreigners’ conduct.
“As I said eight years ago in an interview, Bali will fall from grace if it cannot protect itself and be selective of tourists visiting the island,” she wrote in a post on her account @niluhdjelantik.
“[I was] regarded as anti-backpacker [because of the comment], but I have to say that this is not about money,” Niluh said. “We gladly welcome backpacker and luxury tourism as long as [the tourists] show respect and understand our customs and traditions.”
