Indonesia Bali Bangli Regency
Terunyan
A unique Balinese village known for its ancient burial ritual where the deceased are placed openly in bamboo cages near a sacred tree.
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You’ll need to venture far out to the northeastern edge of Lake Batur under the shadow of Bali’s ash-spouting volcanos to find the ancient peoples of Trunyan. A small village that’s tucked beneath sinewy mountain ridges, it’s a fascinating place just to look at. However, it’s the curious funerary traditions that’ll get you thinking. Instead of burying their dead, the tribes here leave them exposed to the sun and elements in simple bamboo canopies.
jrfrancis 2 years ago
On the northeastern corner of Bali lies Lake Batur. There reside, to the lake’s eastern shore, the Bali Aga people of Trunyan village, whose funeral rites, retained from ancient times, see the dead covered with cloth, placed in triangular bamboo cages and left to decompose in the open. A nearby banyan tree masks the stench of rotting corpses, with lore dictating that only 11 bodies be placed underneath it at any one time. Eventually, when a body has completely decomposed, the skull is transposed to a stone altar in the village of Kuban, a sacred place accessible only by boat.
tomas.d 3 years ago
Terunyan Guides
Tradition and Lore: Eight Intriguing Sites in Indonesia
tomas.d (Tom D) Whilst Indonesia has plenty to entice visitors, it is the hidden depths that often offer the most compelling allure. The depth and breadth of folklore and history mirror the cultural diversity across the archipelago, from the northern tip of Sumatra to West Papua’s border with Papua New Guinea, and indicate the influence of long-held customs. Magnify this across innumerable religions, languages, cultures and islands to have some idea of the myriad stories that only begin to scratch the surface of Indonesia’s mythology and teach lessons to those willing to learn. Here are eight such examples.
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