Purification ceremony held at Sari Club, Kuta

DENPASAR (indo.com): The soul Bali weeps in a nation steeped in sorrow, yet the Balinese are taking the first steps towards spiritual healing. All calamities in Bali are purified spiritually, with the rites being held at the place where the tragedy happened. The Pemerayasita Durmanggala purification ceremony took place outside the wreckage of the Sari Club on October 18, 2002, and was attended by people from all religions. Most wore traditional Balinese dress and prayed according to their respective faiths.

The ceremony began at 16.30 with the pouring of holy water on the grounds where the bombs exploded. The water was taken from Peti Tenget Temple, Uluwatu Temple and Dalam Peed Temple on Nusa Penida, and are believed to purify the evil caused by the spilling of human blood at the site.

Ceremony was conducted by the priest from Kuta's main temple, and was attended by IB Wijaya Kusuma, head of Religious Affairs for the Badung district, and the Vice Regent of Badung. They said prayers to release the souls that are still spiritually bound to the place of the tragedy.

A more elaborate, second spiritual purification ceremony, called Pemarisudha Karipu Baya, is scheduled for November 15.