Police Collaborate With Hundreds Of Balinese Pecalangs To Secure The Implementation Of "Ngerebong"

Balinese 'Ngerebong' Tradition (Photo: Antara)

JAKARTA - The tradition of 'Ngerebong' or a religious ceremony once every six months in the Kesiman Traditional Village, Denpasar, Bali, was again held with the help of police and pecalang security, on Sunday.

"We involved nearly 250 village pecalang assisted by banjar (hamlet) pecalang to guard the roads, and assist the police and the Transportation Service," said Kesiman Indigenous Village Bendesa I Ketut Wisna in Denpasar quoted by Antara.

Wisna explained that the Ngerebong ceremony is a tradition recognized by the Indonesian Ministry of Culture as an intangible cultural heritage. This tradition is followed by the whole community in Kesiman Village, so it requires attention in terms of security.

On this basis, the customary village chief said the Bali Police had paid attention. Since noon, through the East Denpasar Police, a number of members were dispatched to provide security, especially on the main road.

"In the context of the Ngerebong ceremony, considering that the crowd is quite congested, we have to divert traffic with traffic engineering," said East Denpasar Police Chief Kompol I Nengah Sudiarta, Sunday.

Sudiarta said that for this activity, the WR Supratman road was closed, precisely in front of Petilan Temple as the main location from 10.00-21.00 WITA or until the event ended.

Alternative roads have been prepared starting from the diversion to Jalan Sedap Malam and Jalan Gatot Subroto. Sudiarta saw from the hectic arrival of Hindus, it was not possible if there was no road closure.

Around 20 police personnel were deployed to secure traffic and closed units, while the pecalang carried out security at every point of the ceremony location, including the Petilan Temple.

"We always work with pecalang and Sipandu Adat in security, both in traffic lanes and at the ceremony location," said Sudiarta to the media.

Regarding the density of visitors, Sudiarta admitted that his party continues to give advice through pecalang and traditional village officials to maintain health protocols, because COVID-19 still needs to be watched out for even though cases are declining.

The Ngerebong ceremony itself has been going on for generations for the residents of Kesiman Village. In its implementation, it is believed that the gods are descending to gather, then the community will parade the barong in the middle of the Petilan Temple for three rounds and other ceremonies will follow.