Religion in Bali by C. Hooykaas

4 Some Dangers
We are used to find in a country of the Western sphere that shortly after harvesting time
provincial authorities keep a thanksgiving day. The Balinese, certainly not less keen on having a
good harvest [51], for all of them a serious matter, annually take steps to promote their harvest
by trying to forestall disasters or at least to minimize them [15]. To that purpose in Gianiar and
Klungkung rituals of nangluk marana are held; perhaps elsewhere as well. Marana is Sanskrit
and means 'death', nangluk is Balinese and means 'exclusion'. Officiating priests are the fourth
caste pamangku, village or temple priest (k), as well as the brahman priest of the first caste, the
padanda (m), whose ritual is rich in Sanskrit [1]. Government is represented by its highest
functionaries down to the lower ranks, for the ritual is held on behalf of the whole province.
According to popular belief the devastating mice take their origin from fishes, approaching from
the island Nusa Penida to the southeast. Therefore the ceremonies are held at the shore.
The date for the yearly celebration of nangluk marana is chosen in such a way that the season
helps to diminish the plague. If, however, the calamity continues, another stratagem is adopted:
each house father has to contribute one mouse, and they are cremated in their thousands,
following the same ritual as is practiced for human beings. The basic idea must be that after this
ritual malevolent spirits have been pacified and no longer feel attracted to harass mankind. This
procedure is reputed to work much better than poison.
It is only too evident in an agricultural community, moreover living under the refined
circumstances of having irrigated fields to a considerable extent, that a sufficient amount of
water is indispensable and that drought is a danger. As the idea of vow and propitiating the
deities has its natural course in Bali and Lombok, Government periodically sent a brahman priest
to the most important lakes of Bali and Lombok to invoke the benevolence of their goddesses. In
order to promote this state of mind small golden replicas of aquatic animals were offered to her.
To that purpose the priest makes the climb from the hot plains to the cold shore of the lake.
Shivering in his white ritual cloth, not made for these circumstances, he conducts his service and
throws the gold into the lake.