INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF INDONESIAN STUDIES SPRING 2016
argues that the purpose of these orchestras in the cremation ceremony is to direct the soul to the heavenly realm . Based on these symbols , only angklung and gong participate in the festival procession of the cremation , whereby angklung is in the front line and gong in the back .
The groups of the orchestras are called sekehe , professional groups who mostly come from the banjar community . If the cremation ritual takes place among the banjar themselves , then the banjar members do not perform in the orchestra , as they must be directly involved in the ritual and festival activities . As a result , the family of the deceased will be required to use groups from other places . Due to their laws , all families become members of banjar community , and males and females in one family must be involved in the cremation ritual from the initial purification rituals of the deceased to the final day of the cremation . This involvement is an essential part of the ‘ sukha-dukkha ’, to the dead and the living family . If members are absent from this ritual , they will get fines according to the law . In exceptional cases , banjar organisations , in a final meeting called ‘ sangkep banjar ,’ can decide to evict one of members from their home and the community , if a family does not participate in the rituals of the ‘ sukha-dukkha ’. Though it seems harsh , it may be a strategy to secure a unity of the community . So far , there have been no cases of evicting a citizen in Tabanan for this misdemeanour .
As mentioned earlier , the eagerness to carry the tower / bade without using wheels might indicate that the banjar community members are still strong enough to handle the ritual cremation festivals as before . The involvement of the community in the festival procession emerged during the time of mamios , involving ritual walking around the inner Tabanan village carrying ritual equipments . This festival is mostly supported by the younger members , while the elders handle activities to construct temporary buildings for cremation and the priest worship ( Bale Pemasmian and Bale Pemujan ) at the cemetery . They work at the cemetery from morning to afternoon , organising the serving of refreshments and food which are provided by other members . On the final day of the cremation the young and the old ( both female and male ) come to the funeral ground of the deceased to fully support the ceremony that takes place from morning to afternoon . In the festival procession , the men carrying the tower / bade attempt to hold the load on their shoulders on the uphill slope of the route , whilst women carry the ritual equipment and ceremonial materials .
Recently , a major dilemma has confronted the banjar communities in Tabanan village , who not only carry the deceased ’ s ceremonial structures , but also must bear the increasing economic costs of the event . Even though Miguel Covarrubias and others have demonstrated clearly that the expenses of a cremation are enormous there is generally no regret or concern on the part of the Balinese , as they believe the cremation represents the accomplishment of the most sacred duty ( Covarrubias , 1937:359-60 ).
Besides the enormous expenses , there is also consideration of time and labour in the preparation of these events ; labour migrants from other islands who build their own houses ,
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