Royal Cremation Ceremony

Sunday, September 24th, 2006

The Village of Peliatan, Ubud Bali was flooded with hundreds thousand of people who were coming to witness a great royal cremation for the daughter in law of the former king of Peliatan on Sunday, September 24th. The grand Royal Cremation was dedicated to Ida Cokorda Istri Rai. As it is very common in Bali whenever there is a royal cremation, it has been always a great spectacle for the people on the island of Bali. They do not want to miss the chance to witness such a grand cremation ceremony that rarely being able to be witnessed on the island because it is a very costly one.

A giant wooden bull sarcophagus with the weight of around 2 tons that was carried by hundreds of villagers, an eleventh multi tiered of roof Bade (towering cremation) with the height of approximately 21 meter or around 67 feet and a spectacular Naga Banda (Green Dragon) was built for this royal cremation. Because of the height of the towering cremation, all the power lines and telephone lines along the road to the cemetery ground was taken down for a few hours until the procession was over.

Artisans and the villagers have been busy for weeks in making all the necessary preparation for today’s grand cremation. Days and nights the family and the local villagers work hand in hand to get all the needed offerings done.

Shortly, It was such a great event that attracted hundreds thousands of Balinese, Indonesian and tourists from all over the world flooded the town of Ubud to witness the grand Royal Cremation.

My warmest regards,


Wayan Sueta.