Daily Times

This world is filled with luxuries and wonderful things some of which we are not even aware of. Whenever we get to know of incredible things in the world, we are surprised.

Such a surprise can be received on knowing that a village does not bury or burn its dead.

This village is located in Bali, Indonesia and is known as the Trunyan Village. Instead of burning or burying their dead, they put the dead bodies in cabins made of bamboo between special types of trees.

Bali offers unique cultural traditions. Trunyan is one of its attractions. It has a cemetery in the village, made up of giant, old trees which gives out an odour as lots of skulls are scattered in it.

It’s the only region in Bali, where this ceremony takes place, and only those who were married are entitled to the honour. The bodies of the unwed are simply buried instead.

When only the bones and skulls of these bodies are left, they are taken up and placed on the rocks at a specific location. It is only possible to reach the cemetery or place by boat only-

There is also an ancient temple in the village the history of which from the 10th century and the villagers believe it is the oldest temple-

This village is culturally isolated and those who are living here are unaware of the outside world. They are extremely conservative and follow the old traditions.

This behavior with a dead body is also a special tradition. After the death, they put their loved ones in bamboo cabinets for trees for a long time- These cages are open from above.

Bali offers unique cultural traditions. Trunyan is one of its attractions. It has a cemetery in the village, made up of giant, old trees which gives out an odour as lots of skulls are scattered in it

When these people take a new dead, they remove the structure of the old dead in the cage and put a new dead place in it. The old structure is left in a nearby cemetery by boat.

Bali’s rapid development as a tourist destination has transformed the island’s culture, but this isolated village of Trunyan bears witness to centuries of unbroken tradition.

The village people of Trunyan believe they are the original Balinese, there before the Majapahit migration from Java began in 1340.

Interestingly, if the dead person is unmarried then it is buried.

Only men are permitted to go there and deliver the bodies after the preparation ritual. In addition, women are not allowed to attend the last rites of the dead. People believe that if women participate in the last rituals, their village will be destroyed – And this disaster may occur in the form of a catastrophe, such as a volcano or an earthquake, etc. It is also a fact that no one knows who these laws had made, only the villagers are working on their religious beliefs-

There are countless dead body’s skulls in a graveyard on the island and by seeing those, any human can be afraid because it is a graveyard of the dead where dead persons are not in the grave rather above the grave.

Other traditions practiced here include a ceremony to honour a mythological lion-like creature called the Barong, which involves a procession of young boys dressed in dried banana skins, As the youths run around the temple, passers-by attempt to steal the leaves while they beat off their ‘assailants’ with whips.

Only youths are allowed to participate, and they have to be specially chosen. They then spend 42 days in quarantine to ‘purify’ themselves.

As the youths run around the temple, passers-by attempt to steal the leaves while they beat off their ‘assailants’ with whips.

The Brutuk ceremony usually lasts for three consecutive days, beginning at noon and ending around 5pm.

Tourists wishing to visit Trunyan themselves can do so by taking a boat from the mainland, three hours from Denpasar.

The writer is a freelancer and a graduate of Punjab University. She works at the Federal Board of Revenue and be reached at canwal.22@gmail.com