Tumpek Landep Revering Machinery
Bali's uniqueness is again apparent on September 21 2003 when
Balinese Hindu celebrate among their most festive days, the
ritual offering to iron machinery, Tumpek Landep. The indigenous
of the ritual is unrivaled, not even to the Hindus in India.
Landep is among six similar rituals aimed at each element of
the environment which supports human, or rather Balinese life.
The other five rituals include celebrations for gods (kuningan),
animals (kandang), plants (uduh),
gamelan musical instrument and dance costumes (krulut),
and puppets (wayang). Roughly translated
as recognition and appreciation, each tumpek
occurs every 210 days-a period described as one otonan year.
Landep is celebrated by decorating cars, motorbikes, buses
and home appliances such as computers, televisions, telephones
and fax machines, especially sharp tools-with plaited young
coconut leaves. The ritual expresses appreciation to those tools
and blesses them so that they will not harm or injure the owners.
Literally meaning sharp, landep original was a ritual dedicated
to kris knives and other metallic weapons. Today's dedications
include aircrafts, helicopters, cars, motorbikes, and other
electrical equipment, as these modern tools are capable of injuring
people. Tumpek rituals come from a belief that each single thing,
animate or inanimate, has a soul and therefore needs spiritual
nourishment in the form of intricate decoration and offerings.
For landep, cars and motorcycles are cleaned and parked on
the house yard. Offerings of fruits, flowers, rice, cakes, leaves,
incense and holy water are placed nearby and a priest is called
to minister the ritual and sprinkle the holy water. Plaited
coconut leaves are hung on the windshield wipers, rear view
mirrors and grill. These accessories may last for few days.
So appreciative are Balinese that once a year they dedicated
a day of full rest to all things on earth. Roads, vehicles,
bridges, televisions, computer, telephones, pencils, books,
stoves, lamps-the list goes on-are given a 24-hour rest on Balinese
New Year, Nyepi, usually in the end
of March or early April. People are expected to stay at home
to fast and meditate for the 24-hour period.
Observers are easily misguided when Balinese make an offering
to an object, thinking they pray to the thing being honored.
They don't. Everyday Balinese make offering to please themselves
and express gratitude. Offerings are a matter of appreciation
to the one being honored, with the hope that if one is properly
cared, it never disturbs others.
Balinese Hindu are driven by the spirit of giving and sharing,
not taking and receiving. They believe in the axioms, dharma
and adharma: if you give, you will receive, if you share your
belongings with others, they will share their own with you.
Or, rather, if you hurt someone, he will hurt you in return.
Given this basis of belief, it is no surprise that Balinese
make offerings to almost every single entity in the world. And
to some extent, offerings are not aimed only to the gods and
the positive side of the world, but are equally presented to
butakala demons, the negative balancer of the universe. Such
offerings to butakala keep the two sides the world-positive
and negative-in harmony. Offerings to butakala are not a prayer,
as these entities' position is lower than human, but rather
to appease them so that they will not interfere with human beings.
Just as there is man and women, day and night, dark and bright,
black and white, left and right, Balinese believe that the universe
is governed by two axes of power, the bad and the good, neither
of which should be stronger than the other so that harmony can
be maintained.
From Bali-dewadewi-tours.com
