Reconciliation on the Isle of the Gods

Religious reformasi is taking place in Bali. Priests from two different clans are sitting together in the Hindu rites of ngabena rare occurrence in the tradition-bound society.

February 19, 2002

THE bell rings in the hands of Pandita Peranda Lenganan as Ida Pandita Mpu Istri Manikgeni Darma Yoga, sitting by his side, utters the mantra. Both sit on a single pameosan, a bamboo altar, accompanied by pengayah assisting in the panglukatan rites to cleanse the souls of the dead. The elder priest from the Ida Bagus clan, an 83-year-old from the village of Bajera in the subdistrict of Selemadeg in Tabanan, sits at ease beside the pandita fr

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