Our recent Womens’ Spirituality Bali Retreat participants had the opportunity to take part in a special private Balinese ritual purification. The ceremony was held at Floating Leaf Eco-Retreat in Sukawati, Bali and led by one of our local village’s High Priests, Ida Bagus Mangku.
A symbolic seven types of tropical flowers are arranged to be placed in holy water for a ritual purification ceremony.
It was a magical night with a huge full moon rising over us. We are grateful and deeply appreciative that the Mangku was willing to SHARE
his time and guidance with us.
We were humbled and honored to have Ida Bagus Mangku come to Floating Leaf Eco Retreat to perform this Malukat Purification Ceremony.
Previously on the retreat, the women in the group had taken part in several Balinese Hindu rituals and were becoming familiar with the process, symbology and purpose of these powerful and mystical observances.
Ida Bagus Mangku, his wife and daughter, bless the offerings to be used in the Malukat Ritual
This ceremony is called a Malukat, and in this case it was a Flower and Holy Water Malukat. Seven different kinds of flowers were used. Participants were dressed solely in a sarong. Ida Bagus Mangku recited mantras and sacred Kawi prayers to consecrate the offerings. There was something indescribable in the air. We all felt it, but none of us could adequately describe it.
Balinese Hindu High Priest recites sacred mantras and offers blessings to Shiva, Vishnu and Brahma in preparation for the cleansing ceremony.
The Malukat Ceremony is performed to reestablish lost purity or to create an elevated level of purity in relation to the sacred (the transcendental realm, or, as the Balinese refer to it, Niskala).
Under the huge Bali full moon, the participants receive a ritual cleansing with flowers and holy water.
There are three fundamental facets of Balinese Hindu Dharma. They are the rituals (Yadnya), the philosophy (Tattwa), and ethics and societal morals (Susila). These elements are kept in harmony through the careful execution of rituals. The elements used in the rituals are from nature and are referred to as Panchamahabhuta. Panchamahabhuta is comprised of air, fire, water, earth and ether. Of all of these elements, the most important to the Balinese is clearly water, as it is the essence of all life.
Holy man, Ida Bagus Mangku uses the leaves of the coconut palm to disperse holy water.
Every Balinese Hindu ritual involves holy water. From daily offerings at a household shrine, to the monumental Eka Dasa Rudra Ceremony which occurs every 100 years at Besakih Temple, the single most sacred place in Bali.
Holy water is provided to drink and be washed over one’s head.
Flowers of various types, fruits, coconuts and their water, incense, animals and other items are also used in the ceremony. The Mangku, or High Priest mixes the elements in various proportions based on the individuals needs. Through a series of blessings the holy water and its contents are pored over the participant to flush away impurities, release karma accumulated from past lives, balance the chakras, and regain harmony in the individual as well as in the universe.
The offerings and ritual implements are dutifully blessed, as is the holy man himself, in order to conduct the ceremony.
Upon conclusion of the ceremony, each participant was given a bracelet of three colors known as Tri Datu. The colors and meanings are as follows…
- Red, Brahma, creation, water
- White, Shiva, destruction/transformation, fire
- Black, Vishnu, preservation, wind
Wearing the Tri Datu bracelet protects against negative forces that may attempt to disrupt peace, prosperity and happiness.
The High Priest mixes the elements in various proportions based on the individuals needs and it is pored over the participant to flush away impurities and release karma.
The group felt a complex cumulative emotion of elation, exhaustion and euphoria. The participants were rewarded with the sweet taste of the fruits used in the offerings. With all of our senses enchanted, under the influence of the brilliant full moon, celebrating each other, and ourselves, it was a profound, rejoicefull, life affirming moment in time.
After each participant receives an individual dousing, all participants pray together.
The ceremony lasted a couple hours, but the profound nature of the ritual was immeasurable. Experiences like this are ripe for hyperbole and cliché. It takes a writer eminently more gifted than I to describe the overpowering emotional sensation. Hopefully the images convey some of the bliss these magnificent women experienced. Putu and I thank them all for their trust, enthusiasm and grace.
Upon completion of the ceremony, a bracelet is given to each participant to seal the purification and ward off evil.
Would you like to experience a profound and life enriching ceremony similar to this?
We have the perfect opportunity for you. Our signature retreat, The Path to Happiness Bali Retreat is the only retreats worldwide to be awarded the “Must DO Retreat″ by Treetop Yoga International two years in a row.
Do to the overwhelming success of this retreat, by popular demand, we will continue to run this retreat every couple months. Please contact us to find out when the next one will be and if we have any open spots for you.
To learn why this retreat received such special recognition, click here.
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4 Comments. Leave new
Mika, these are incredible. Thank you so much. My pics were way too dark and I really did want to capture the bliss that was being experienced during the ceremony. What a blessing this ceremony and the entire trip was to me and to all of us.
Thank you, thank you, thank you to all at Floating Leaf!
love and light to all, Cat
Thank you so much Cat. I love these photos of you guys. I can’t write to save my life and I always dread it but the photos allow some of the feeling and euphoria to shine through. Putu and I are so happy this was able to happen and we thank the Mangku again and again. We cant thank you enough as well for assembling such a fantastic group of women for this special spiritual retreat. It was wonderful the whole way through.
All the best to you and much love
Mikaku, Putu and the entire Floating Leaf Eco-Retreat team