The Jakarta Post, Fri, 12/31/2010
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| Local villagers in Saddang, North Toraja, South Sulawesi, take part in a traditional burial procession called Mabadong, which involves animal sacrifice. (Antara/Sahrul Manda Tikupadang |
Showing posts with label Funerals. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Funerals. Show all posts
Friday, December 31, 2010
For the dead
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
Thousands bid farewell to late King of Peliatan
Luh De Suriyani, The Jakarta Post, Ubud | Wed, 11/03/2010 9:17 AM
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| Royal cremation: A wooden sarcophagus in the shape of a white bull with gold plated horns makes its way along Ubud’s crowded streets on Tuesday. The coffin of the late Ida Dewa Agung Peliatan IX, the last king of Peliatan, with a 25-meter-tall bade cremation tower on it is seen in the background. The remains of the Balinese king were later moved from the tower and placed inside the sarcophagus and cremated. Almost 7,000 men from 30 hamlets in Ubud took turns to help carry the sarcophagus, the bade and the naga banda (dragon) during the funeral procession. JP/Agung Parameswara |
The Bali royal families, foreign dignitaries and thousands of residents of Peliatan and Ubud flocked to Peliatan Palace to witness the grand cremation of the late King of Peliatan IX, Ida Dewa Agung Peliatan, on Tuesday.
Prior to the grand palebon agung — a cremation ritual for members of the Bali royal families — Peliatan’s royal family and nobility paid their last respects to the late King, who died from diabetes last August.
Hindu High Priest Ida Pedanda Lingsir Padang Tegal, who presided over the religious ritual, fired a sacred arrow into a 6-meter-tall dragon-shaped bridge called naga banda in a symbol of destroying the earthly desires that tormented the late king, and thus releasing his soul from the temptations of the material world.
The naga banda, presented by the Ubud royal family, was used to carry the body of the late King Peliatan to a 25-meter-tall cremation tower called a bade.
The tower has 11 pyramid-shaped roofs signifying the king’s lineage from the noblemen of East Java’s Majapahit Kingdom, which conquered the island in the 14th century.
Thousands of villagers enthusiastically carried the 20-ton bade from Peliatan Palace to Royal Dalem Cemetery. They were followed by a long procession of women carrying colorful offerings and other items as part of the ritual.
All of the members of Bali’s royal families attended the procession in the most formal of royal attire.
It took more than one hour for the hundreds of pallbearers to carry the bade over the 1.5 kilometers from Peliatan Palace, where the king had been lying in state, to the cemetery.
Pan Mandi, a theater artist from Gianyar, was one of the bade carriers.
“I am so honored to take part in the ritual. This is a sacred ritual and a reflection of our respect for the late King of Peliatan,” Pan Mandi said.
Traffic in the Ubud area ground to a halt as a sea of spectators flocked to the event. Power was turned off in the area to ensure the 11-tier cremation tower was not damaged by power cables.
Local and foreign visitors waited patiently under a scorching sun for the procession to make its way to them. Most restaurants, cafes, shops and traditional markets were closed in the morning out of respect for the event, which took the palace months to prepare for.
Peliatan Palace had also held a long series of rituals before Tuesday’s cremation ceremony.
Tjokorda Putra Nindya, the King’s nephew and the heir to the Peliatan throne, said he must follow in the late King’s footsteps by getting the palace more involved in social and cultural activities in Bali.
“Before he passed away, the late King asked me to become more actively involved in cultural dialogue for the betterment of Bali.
“We have a similar family lineage to the Ubud Royal Family, but they are more active in society,” Tjokorda Putra Nindya said.
On Oct. 7, the Palace declared Tjokorda Putra Nindya would be crowned the new king of Peliatan.
Power was turned off in the area to ensure the 11-tier cremation tower was not damaged
by power cables.
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Rest in peace
The Jakarta Post, The Associated Press, Yogyakarta | Thu, 10/28/2010
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| Relatives pray in the grave for the victims of Mount Merapi eruption during a mass burial in Umbulharjo, Yogyakarta, on Thursday. AP/Irwin Fedriansyah |
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Wednesday, October 27, 2010
No special funeral for Mbah Maridjan: Sultan
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Wed, 10/27/2010 7:39 PM
Mount Merapi is seen as sacred in the region
Yogyakarta Governor and Sultan of Yogyakarta Hamengkubuwono X said Wednesday there would not be a special funeral for Mbah Maridjan, who died after refusing to abandon his ceremonial post as caretaker of Mount Merapi’s spirits.
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Mbah Maridjan |
“There are no special funerals for the Sultanate’s servants. His body has been retrieved by his family and will be buried with the other victims [of the eruption],” Hamengkubuwono said as quoted by Antara news agency.
Maridjan, 83, had been entrusted by the highly respected late Sultan Hamengkubuwono IX to watch over the volcano's spirits. For years he led ceremonies in which rice and flowers were thrown into the crater to appease its spirits. Maridjan had angered officials in the past by refusing to evacuate during Merapi’s eruptions.
“[His refusal to evacuate] was because of his responsibility as caretaker of Mount Merapi,” Hamengkubuwono said.
Maridjan was among 31 people killed by hot ash spewed by Merapi on Tuesday in Umbulharjo village, Sleman, which is located 4 kilometers from the volcano.
Famous for his convictions about his position, Maridjan was reportedly found in a praying position, kneeling facedown on the floor.
A large crowd of people attended the funeral of Maridjan, Merapi's spiritual keeper
Related Articles:
To villagers, active volcano is a friend, not an enemy
Thousands See Gatekeeper to the Mountain of Fire Laid to Rest
Mourning Mount Merapi's 'spiritual keeper'
Indonesia Holds Mass Burial for Volcano Victims
‘Mbah’ Maridjan, Mt. Merapi’s spiritual guardian dies
Spiritual guardian of Indonesian volcano dies
A motorcycle lies covered by volcanic ash at a village that is hit by pyroclastic flows from Mount Merapi eruption in Kaliadem, Yogyakarta, on Wednesday. A volcanic eruption and a tsunami killed scores of people hundreds of miles apart in Indonesia, spasms from the Pacific "Ring of Fire," which spawns disasters from deep within the Earth. AP/Slamet Riyadi
Sunday, May 23, 2010
Former Indonesian First Lady to Receive State Funeral
Jakarta Globe, Dessy Sagita, May 23, 2010
Women reciting prayers for Hasri Ainun Habibie at a mosque in South Jakarta on Sunday. Ainun, the wife of former President BJ Habibie, passed away in Germany at the age of 72 after a battle with cancer. (JG Photo/Clara Prima)
IHasri Ainun Habibie, the late wife of former President BJ Habibie, will be accorded a state funeral at Kalibata Heroes Cemetery in South Jakarta on Tuesday, a spokesman for the family has confirmed.
Ainun, 72, died of colon cancer in Munich on Saturday. Her body is expected to arrive in Indonesia early on Tuesday, Ahmad Watik Pratiknya, the family’s spokesman and executive director of the Habibie Center, told the Jakarta Globe on Sunday.
“If everything goes well, we expect that the funeral can be conducted on Tuesday evening," he said, adding that Ainun’s remains would be repatriated to Indonesia as soon as possible.
According to Ahmad, the body will first be taken to the Habibie family’s private residence in Patra Kuningan, South Jakarta, for religious observances before the funeral at Kalibata.
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono over the weekend expressed his deepest condolences to the Habibie family.
He said Ainun should receive a state funeral not only because she was a former first lady, but also because she had contributed significantly to the country with her tireless services.
Presidential spokesman Julian Aldrin Pasha said that Yudhoyono himself would lead the funeral at Kalibata.
Vice President Boediono also expressed his condolences to the Habibie family over the weekend. Julian said he was still coordinating with the vice president to organize the necessary arrangements for the funeral.
Ainun had been hospitalized at the Grosshadern Clinic at Ludwig Maximilian University in Munich since late March. She had undergone a series of surgeries and other treatments for colon cancer over the past two months.
According to reports, Habibie had stayed by his wife’s side during her stay at the hospital. They had been married for 48 years and had two children.
Ilham Habibie, the Habibies’ eldest son, said in a message on his personal Twitter account that he and his family were still in Germany waiting for their flight to Indonesia and would arrive on Tuesday morning.
Ilham also advised mourners against sending flowers and instead asked for them to make donations in his mother’s name to the Orbit Foundation (YAAB Orbit), a private educational charity, and Aini Eye Hospital, both institutions that Ainun had been actively involved in.
Hasri Ainun Habibie was born Hasri Ainun Basari in Semarang on Aug. 11, 1937. She was the fourth of eight children of Muhammad Basari and his wife, Sudarmi.
Ainun graduated from the School of Medicine at the University of Indonesia in 1961 and soon after began working in the pediatrics section of state-owned Cipto Mangunkusumo General Hospital in Jakarta.
She married Habibie in May 1962 and they had two children, Ilham Akbar and Thareq Kemal, and four grandchildren.
During her life, Ainun was actively involved with the Orbit Foundation, a nongovernmental organization focusing on providing scholarships for bright students from poor backgrounds. She was also active in promoting eye health and was involved in promoting eye donor campaigns, working closely with the Aini Eye Hospital in Jakarta and other health-related foundations.
Despite avoiding the spotlight as much as possible, Ainun received several national service honors for her contributions to the country, including the Mahaputera Utama decoration in 1982, and the Mahaputra Adipurna and Mahaputra Adipradana in 1998.
Habibie became the country’s third president after Suharto stepped down in 1998.
Former President BJ Habibie and first lady Hasri Ainun Habibie in this file photo from 2005. Ibu Ainun has been hospitalized for almost a month.
Related Articles:
Ainun Habibie's Body will Arrive in Indonesia Tuesday Morning
Former first lady Ainun Habibie passes away
Last respect: President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (right) places flowers arrangement on the grave of former first lady Hasri Ainun Habibie as third Indonesian President B.J. Habibie (second left, sits) looks on during the funeral service in Kalibata Heroes' Cemetery Park, South Jakarta, on Tuesday. Ainun died at a hospital in Munich, Germany, on Saturday last week, from an illness. Antara/Widodo S. Jusuf
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