Mandi Lumpur, Ritual Hindu Bali setelah Nyepi Disorot Dunia
Traditional Balinese Mud Bath Draws the Crowds
Editor : Ismail Gani
Translator : Novita Cahyadi
SEHARI setelah penganut Hindu Bali di pulau dewata melaksanakan hari raya Nyepi, ratusan warga melakukan ritual mandi lumpur yang kembali dilaksanakan setelah tidak dilakukan selama enam dekade.
Mandi lumpur, yang dikenal warga Bali sebagai ´Mebuug-buugan´ diyakini dapat memurnikan dan menghilangkan nasib buruk dan energi negatif.
Pria, wanita dan anak-anak, mengenakan sarung dan perlengkapan kepala tradisional, mengumpulkan gumpalan lumpur dari hutan bakau di Desa Kedonganan, di luar kota Denpasar pada Jumat, dan mengolesi tubuh mereka sebagai bagian dari ritual pemurnian.
Ritual tersebut dilakukan sehari setelah perayaan Nyepi, hari raya bagi penganut Hindu Bali - yang mewajibkan warga setempat maupun pendatang dan wisatawan untuk menyepi tanpa kegiatan apa pun, begitu pula penerbangan, lampu dan internet dimatikan.
Di masa lalu, mandi lumpur mewajibkan para peserta telanjang bulat saat melaksanakan ritual tersebut, tetapi pada pertengahan abad kedua puluh aturan tersebut diubah karena alasan kenyamanan bagi publik.
Ritual tersebut dihentikan selama enam dekade, dan dilaksanakan kembali tiga tahun yang lalu - dengan pemahaman bahwa konsep ritual akan berubah sehingga peserta diizinkan untuk mengenakan pakaian.
Penduduk desa dari segala usia mengolesi lumpur pada siapa pun yang berada di dekatnya, setelah berdoa untuk keselamatan dan keberuntungan.
Setelah ritual mandi lumpur, mereka pergi ke pantai terdekat bersama-sama untuk membilas kotoran dan mengusir roh-roh jahat.
Ritual mandi lumpur kembali populer, dan puluhan wisatawan menyaksikan di sela-sela pohon dan mengambil foto untuk mengabadikan momen yang pernah hilang selama beberapa dekade.
Pada Rabu, sehari sebelum Nyepi, Bali mengadakan ritual tahunan untuk mengusir setan dan roh jahat.
Dalam pawai tersebut, patung berwarna-warni yang dikenal sebagai Ogoh-Ogoh diarak di jalan-jalan sebelum dibakar, mewakili pembaruan dan pemurnian seperti dikutip AFP yang dilansir MailOnline.
A DAY after Indonesia´s holiday island of Bali fell quiet for the annual "Day of Silence" festival, hundreds joined a mud bath purification ritual which has been recently revived after a sixty-year hiatus.
The mud bath, known locally as Mebuug-buugan, is believed to purify and remove bad luck and negative energy.
Men, women and children, wearing sarongs and traditional head gear, collected lumps of mud from a mangrove forest in Kedonganan village, just outside the town of Denpasar on Friday, and smeared themselves as part of the purification ritual.
It comes a day after Nyepi, a Balinese festival where Hindus -- plus non-Hindus and tourists on the island -- are expected to stay home and self-reflect, while flights, lights and the internet are all stopped.
In the past, participants were naked during the mud festivities, but in the mid-twentieth century locals grew more uncomfortable with public nudity.
The festivities were halted for six decades, until being revived three years ago -- on the understanding that the concept of the ritual would change so participants were allowed to wear clothes.
Villagers of all ages smeared mud on anyone in the vicinity, after praying for safety and good fortunes.
After the mud bath ritual they headed to the nearest beach together to rinse the dirt and ward off evil spirits.
The ritual has been popular since its return, and dozens of tourists watched on the sidelines and snapped pictures to capture the moments which once disappeared for decades.
On Wednesday, a day before Nyepi, the island held its annual ritual to ward off demons and evil spirits.
In the parade, colourful effigies known as Ogoh-Ogoh were paraded through the streets before being burned, representing renewal and purification.
Indonesia is a Muslim-majority country but more than 80 percent of Bali´s population identify as Hindu and practice a local version of the religion.
