A lot can happen in an afternoon - if you let it. With a couple of loose plans we leave early in the afternoon case anything interesting happens on the way, as some things can never be planned.
Leaving the postcard rice paddy of Sidemen we drive though Tuli Kup where children are playing on a football field next to raging fire. Gus our translator says to stop and look, because it is a cremation ceremony. We are all a bit unsure about intruding on what would be in our lives a very private situation, but he reckons it is not a problem. It shows our cultural differences and the Balinese perception of death as being a part of life to be celebrated and accepted without mourning, or need for privacy.
The Hindu majority in Bali cremate the dead, but this wasn’t a typical funeral pyre. Gas lines feed the drums with kerosene for the blowtorch because the deceased was a priest, protocol stipulates he is to be cremated immediately. Workers stoking the fire and family are happy to let us get close, just the wild flames and heat keep us back.
Cremation is an expensive event in Bali and the graves surrounding the fire are of those whose families couldn’t afford one. They are instead buried until a much cheaper local mass cremation ceremony takes place, when they will be exhumed from the earth, cremated and then like the priest’s ashes taken to the sea.
Further down at roadside markets, whole pigs sit at canteens, carved up as a local delicacy for lunch. Stuart from Travelfish has been trying to find this - Babi Gulung, which is suckling pig cooked many ways. Our plate, are filled with pork, pork crackling, pork sausage – every bit of the animal has been used, and every bit is porky goodness.
Our appointment with a Balinese white magic healer is confirmed and we go to his clinic at the porch of his home, where after his day job as a shopkeeper in the local market he treats the sick and vexed. Patients arrive carrying bags of sugar and coffee, true healers will not charge for their services.
I didn’t expect what happened next. An elderly woman examined with the end of an incense stick starts screaming and writhing in pain. Aduh, aduh, ouch ouch, she wails and moves frenziedly, oh my oh my. The healer says there is nothing he can do, she needs to see a medical doctor for vitamins.
A young couple bring their toddler who has visited a medical doctor three times, yet has still had a fever for over ten days. The healer says a black magic spell has been put on the child by someone who doesn't like his parents.
The more people arrive at to the porch, the more I am convinced this isn’t fake. He asked me if he can treat me, and I say no. I don’t doubt his magic and that is what makes me weary of it. But I do eventually get on the mat, the end of the incense stick pokes my little finger and I say something in English I really hope he doesn’t understand. It hurts, it really hurts. And he continues poking my fingers, stomach and nipples, only returning to the finger that hurt. The finger tells him I have headaches, and he pokes some more to fix them. I’m not prone to headaches at all, but the day before I did take pain relief for an unusually strong headache.
Cleansed and captivated we leave as night and rain arrives. The scene was set driving into the dark Balinese countryside with to see another magic man, but this one practices magic of the dark, black magic.
We meet him under the cover of the temple at his home. He sits on a plastic chair and makes us sit at his feet. We are close to him, but never really see his face because of a light bulb swinging behind his head. His face is pock marked and even though I can’t understand what he says she speaks with authority
.
One of the key pieces of equipment he uses is a protective belt, which makes for a fee. When worn it protects the wearer and gives them power. A knife is sharpened in front of us, and he stabs his stomach and cuts his tongue, nothing happens because he is wearing the belt.
Through Gus our translator, we can ask him just about anything. He believes there is nothing wrong with what he does, harm from black magic will only happen to someone if they deserve it. He is not responsible for it, he is just part of the process doing his job. People come to him to seek revenge, to help their businesses or for protection.
The longer we are there the more questions we ask, and he can see that we are interested in his job, which unlike the white magic healer is quite profitable. He tells us the huge rates he charges for his services, we even have to pay a fee for our chat.
The scene – sitting in the dark, in the rain, in a rural village gets even creepier when he offers to take us to the cemetery at midnight to see him in action. We decline the invitation, having already been to a cemetery once today and having to wake at 1am to climb the most sacred volcano in Bali, Mount Agung Gunung.
In an afternoon we got under and inside Bali. While this was due to Stuart and Gus, Bali locals, this was also just due to seeing what happens. A lot can happen if you just let it.
