Pedanda Sidemen and his wife at the Griya Bungsu Kepaon tooth-filing ceremony, 14 th and 15 th April 2006
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A pedanda is generally limited to five ceremonies in one day. Pedanda Sidemen performed four in an 18 hour period at the Geria Kepaon tooth-filing and related ceremonies on the 14 th and 15 th April.
Now read on:
It is the evening before the tooth-filing. The pedanda is performing a masasarik cleansing ceremony (see photo bottom) for the three teenage brahmana cousins. The celebrants will soon go into retreat – an all night affair involving a sacred diet and a lot of Nintendo games.
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The next morning the pedanda performs the charming ngungkab lawang (door opening) ritual from a standing position (see photo above right). This ceremony empowers a magic bridge which is manifested in the form of a ‘door mat’ of offerings across which the celebrants will cross.
After breakfast the three teenagers assemble in the family house temple. Pedanda Sidemen has been there for some time, willing himself into a Merlin the Magician-like mode.
Like an experienced dentist he keeps up a happy banter as he uses his magic gold ring to scrawl aksara letters, on the relevant teeth and body parts of the youngsters. In the Bale Bali ceremonial pavilion the teenagers’ teeth are then filed by a sangging, a pedanda-in-waiting tooth filer (see photos above).
After the ceremony, the pedanda changes into full regalia and invokes the spirit of Lord Siva, for the final ‘natab’ ceremonies.
By noon the work is complete.