Mass tiwah in Palangkaraya

Every year the Government of Central Kalimantan sponsors a huge 'tiwah' ritual for Dayak families who could not otherwise afford to have this ceremony to release their ancestors souls on their journey to the 'Prosperous Village' in the upper world.

The traditional Dayak religion, Hindu Kaharingan, requires that the family of status ancestors perform the tiwah, not only for the ancestors to be released from the state of wandering spirits in this world, but also to being merit and good fortune on the surviving family members.

The burden of costs of this ceremony are huge, and are largely related to the carving of the sapundu or totem pole with the servant to join the ancestor, to the purchase of sacrificial animals, for the ceremonial blood spilling and feeding of the great numbers of invited guests, and most importantly, for the hire of the Kaharingan expert to conduct the ceremony correctly. Great supernatural risk is taken on by engaging in the tiwah and by building the sandung or wooden mausoleum, that the riitual practices must be followed exactly by ritual specialists.

From the disinterring of the bones, their cleaning and perfuming, to the extraordinary gentleness and respect with which the sacrificial animals are prepared, to the raising of the totems, where the beasts are tied, and the final placement of the bones in the mausoleum (which may be distant from the tiwah site and near the ancestors houses), everything is done according to ritual.

The centre piece of the event is the place where massed bamboo poles are decorated with a yellow skirt and festooned with yellow and batik banners. Yellow is the colour which represents the spiritual world, and will attract the good spirits, who gather to prevent disturbances and protect the ceremony. The totem pole with the ugly face painted below is also designed to scare away disruptive spirits.