BELADU, BALI, May 9, 2012 (The Jakarta Post): Thousands of Balinese Hindu devotees and tourists are expected to flock into the historical Samuantiga temple in Bedulu, Gianyar, where the Siyat Sampian ritualistic battle will be held today from early morning until around 1:00 p.m.
Samuantiga occupies an important place in the history of Balinese Hinduism. In the 11th century, the great sage and royal advisor Mpu Kuturan invited the influential leaders of Hindu’s nine competing sects for a decisive meeting at the temple. It was said that the rivalry among these sects had nearly thrown the island into a religious war. The meeting resulted in an agreement to amalgamate all the sects into one unified body of philosophical teaching: Balinese Hinduism as we now know it.
The Siyat Sampian is the climax of the temple’s major anniversary ritual. It commences in the morning with the Nampyog ritual, during which a host of elderly female devotees slowly march encircling the temple’s spacious inner and outer courtyard 18 times. Last year, it took them two hours to complete the ritual, a magnificent achievement for elderly dancers who had woken up at dawn and prayed at six different temples before performing at Samuantiga.