Pre-Cremation excitement

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The three people being cremated are Brahmans and therefore their funeral biers will be accompanied by these ENORMOUS bulls.

Tomorrow is the big day. Everyone is invited. Three members of the Sukawati royal family have passed on. Lonely Planet says the last time there was a royal funeral 100,000 people showed up, so we are a little concerned about crowds.

We got a taste of what it might be like on a smaller scale because the day before yesterday was also an auspicious day for cremation according to the Balinese calendar (35 days per mo.) and we saw at least 5 in various stages of the ritual as we drove around the island. The picture above was the closest we got to one. There was a major traffic jam. Cars weren't budging. We got a glimpse of gold and heard the gamelan, so our driver told us it was a cremation ceremony and to get out of the car to get closer. The tower on which the body is resting is carried through the streets by many, many men. At each intersection they pass on their way to the cemetery, they run back and forth in erratic patterns in order to confuse the spirit of the dead person to keep it from finding its way back. Note the very large demon whose face is everywhere. It is a good demon to scare away the bad demons. It is above the doorway of every temple.The cemetery is for burning, not burying. Burying is a temporary act while waiting for an auspicious cremation day or until you have enough money to afford a cremation which as you can tell from the preparations, is much more expensive than a burial! Anyway, cremation is preferred because then the spirit will reincarnate immediately.
Right now water is falling from the sky in torrents - wonder how that will affect the cremation ceremony...

Today we rented a motor bike - $5/day!! And I can report that Philip stayed on the left and was steady at intersections (luckily we did not face any roundabouts). One thing I have NOT taken a picture of is the bumper to bumper traffic in this little piece of Eden.