PELABUHAN RATU, INDONESIA, August 6, 2006: Here is a little taste of the Island of Gods. Priests in white, colorful offerings and vigorous dancers created a Balinese ambience on Java’s southern coast last week, as the local Hindu community carried out the Pakelem ceremony at Pelabuhan Ratu. Hundreds of Hindus from Greater Jakarta, West Java, Banten and Bali took part in the Drowning Ceremony, a Hindu ritual to serve offerings to the Balinese version of Poseidon, the god of the sea, Baruna. Although seemingly a polytheistic culture, all the gods of Balinese Hinduism are actually manifestations of the one God, Sang Hyang Widhi. Baruna is only one of numerous manifestations of nature’s protective spirit. After nature spoke through a series of earthquakes and a tsunami that swept away their homes, people were quick to turn back to their rituals to seek protection. As the gamelan played and the dancers swayed, people tossed into the sea the best of offerings along with prayers to the supreme being. The sea has spoken and here the people have answered.
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