YOU shall not pass.

Vanhelsing

Well-Known Member
Cager
Joined
Nov 6, 2016
Messages
1,581
I found my normal gang out of the area blocked today.The alternative route doesn't take you too far out of your way, but you wouldn't get a vehicle down that gang which makes me wonder how annoyed, if at all, locals are by the inconvenience their neighbor's ceremonies bring.

yLV5Tx0l.jpg
 
I was wondering two things today. 1. Similar to what you've stated above when the local main drag was blocked & everyone had to take a detour due to just another ceremony .. .& 2, What Van was up to & when we'd hear from him again.

I suppose they accept they have no choice & to think otherwise would be un- Indonesian
 
Blocking gangs, and even main roads, for ceremonies is a daily event in Bali. They usually have the banjar pecalang guiding to an alternate route but sometimes you just have to wait. It's part of the Bali experience.
 
Between this and full live dangdut bands blocking the road at house weddings it drives me crazy. I have talked to many indonesian neighbours and they don't like it but no one complains or does anything to stop it.
 
Most of the time when I have seen it, it has been for some part of a wedding ceremony or part of the funneral. Some friends of mine whose dad passed away about a year had a section of the street where the crowd was about half in and half out of the house.

I have seen it once or twice in Jakarta, but a number of times in Solo.

My guess the locals might only get annoyed depending on the circumstances.
 
When I experienced this, I pressed hard on my horn as I passed. I was hoping to share the misery with the people who were rudely blocking the road, but alas, the only person who became annoyed was my wife. She said that the people blocking the road would just assume that I was a rude bule rather than a frustrated driver. Seriously, streets are paved for vehicles (even bicycles); NOT for freaking wedding receptions.
 
When I experienced this, I pressed hard on my horn as I passed. I was hoping to share the misery with the people who were rudely blocking the road, but alas, the only person who became annoyed was my wife.
Where I live, you could be (very) seriously beaten for disrupting a religious ceremony, especially one related to the death of a community member. I am not kidding, the fact that you are a bule would not spare you.

These ceremonies, where part of the totality of the road is blocked, are authorised by the RT/RW.
 
When I experienced this, I pressed hard on my horn as I passed. I was hoping to share the misery with the people who were rudely blocking the road, but alas, the only person who became annoyed was my wife. She said that the people blocking the road would just assume that I was a rude bule rather than a frustrated driver. Seriously, streets are paved for vehicles (even bicycles); NOT for freaking wedding receptions.

I agree with Atlantis as the same would happen here in Bali where those ceremonies are authorised and, if you ignite the ire of the pecalang by honking horn etc., very few would have sympathy for your consequence.
It is THEIR tradition...
 
I agree with Atlantis as the same would happen here in Bali where those ceremonies are authorised and, if you ignite the ire of the pecalang by honking horn etc., very few would have sympathy for your consequence.
It is THEIR tradition...

That tradition can't be that old since modern paved motorways and loudspeakers are only a few decades old. Speaking of tradition, why is it such a taboo to speak up against it when it's clearly a detriment to public at large? Would we also stay silent for tradition such as female genital mutilation, corruption, etc?
 
In Jakarta, and area, it is most often middle or middle lower class. They do not have big enough houses or garage, cannot rent hall etc. and so the community gathers in the street and sets up as best they can, to pay respects if someone passed away, or gather for reception or event.
 
If you are integrated into the life of your neighborhood, ceremonies that make use of the public way are not a surprise. Even if we are not part of the festivities, it would be unusual for the organizers not to let us know when an event will begin and end, makinging it easy to avoid any major inconveniences. The organizers visit, couched as an invitation, followed up with a polite request to use the courtyard for motor parking or something else, is almost always coupled with an unspoken expectation of a contribution. (A small helping hand generates a heep of good will.)

Just part of going with the flow; I actually enjoy the opportunity to get better acquainted, at a time when differences are pretty much ignored and everyone is in a festive mood.
 
That tradition can't be that old since modern paved motorways and loudspeakers are only a few decades old. Speaking of tradition, why is it such a taboo to speak up against it when it's clearly a detriment to public at large? Would we also stay silent for tradition such as female genital mutilation, corruption, etc?

The traditions of Balinese predate the modern road system, likely when the road was an ox-cart pathway.
I recall, on a holiday in the mid 1970's, witnessing such a funeral ceremony...it was carried out on what is now Jl. Kartika in Kuta, which was tarmacked but before it became a proper road with sidewalks....taxis and bicycles waited patiently.

You can speak-up about anything you like. My suggestion was it may not be a good idea to honk a horn during these ceremonies.
 
This too, shall pass. Gotta give this couple props for thinking out side of the alley.
73881-nikah-unik.jpg
73881-nikah-unik.jpg]

73881-nikah-unik.jpg
 
Last edited:
That tradition can't be that old since modern paved motorways and loudspeakers are only a few decades old. Speaking of tradition, why is it such a taboo to speak up against it when it's clearly a detriment to public at large? Would we also stay silent for tradition such as female genital mutilation, corruption, etc?
This tradition largely predates the modern paved motorways. If I speak to my wife, my mother in law or any elderly people I may meet I am very confident that they would tell me that the community has always paid respect to their dead and has always helped the family to overcome the loss by gathering to the house of the defunct.

We are not talking about 5 or 6 persons showing up, but whole kampungs coming to one place, which as most house in Indonesia, are not build to hold people by the hundreds or even the dozens. This, among other things, is one of the thing which helps Indonesian communities and families to remain unified and caring for each other.

During these ceremonies, not only people support each others emotionally, they also do it financially. Each people/family will leave an amplop to help pay for the ceremony (which often allows poor family to pay respect to their dead in a descent manner, thing they would perhaps not be able to otherwise). In their large majority, people help and support each others in Indonesia, unlike perhaps in the western world where you often hand up alone in similar circumstances. This money, for the poorest, may also help a widow and her sons/daughters to deal with the future when the bread winner is departed.

So, yes I believe that preserving this tradition, which lightly impact traffic and costs a few precious minutes of a bule life when it can help whole families to overcome the death of a loved one, is not a detriment to public at large. Let's face it: who, other than a bule, would have the idea to horn during a religious ceremony or enter in a masjid to unplug a speaker during al fajr?

Don't get me wrong, many are annoyed to have to waste two minutes to go through a maze of unknown lorong when one could go straight, but, in the aircon of their car they usually know why the road is blocked and how important the ceremony may be for those less fortunate than them. Thus, they don't horn, nor yell or loudly spit venom. Personally I just smile and, sometimes wave an hand and, to release the anger, mutter a quick inaudible "you fucking bitch/asshole, you couldn't die another day/somewhere else?" while keep smiling. Much better and safer than jumping on my horn, believe me.

I'd also like to kindly ask you to point me where in my previous post you have read that I may encourage or imply that one stay silent. You can always go to your RT/RW and, if you suffer any inconvenience, let them know. In my own experience it works very fine. One of my neighbor kicked the bucket a few years ago and for the empat puluh hari (or was it the one year ceremony?), the family organized a big gathering, totally blocking the road. It was a bit of an annoyment because it meant a loss of five minutes for any truck of us going out. It was a tanggal merah but we were working. Despite saying to my guys to put rocks in front of the warehouse gate so that no one park in front of the gate and block the access/exit, they forgot to do it and, with no surprise, two cars blocked our gate. I went to the ceremony, spotted the pala (the equivalent of RW here) and kindly ask him to inquire who the owners of the cars were. It took a good 20 minutes but he finally found them in a crowd of 200+ people.

Comparing (putting on a similar level) your loss of 3 minutes of your time in traffic with female genital mutilation and corruption? Really? Were you serious?

Whenever I am in an area where I don't know all the lorongs I just approach any of the guys who help to direct the traffic and ask what is the easiest way for me to get back to my direction. So far I had only very positive reactions with even one time a guy escorting me on a motorbike he borrowed to show me the way.

I have tried to have my wife promising me that, when it will be time for me, she would not hold such ceremony with a thousand people coming to shake my relatives hand (and plunder our food stock), half of them or more being unknown of me. I failed. She told me she wouldn't be able to and that even if I would put it in writing, no one would believe that I refused to my family the departing ceremony and to let them (and the invited crowd) paying respect to me. I just managed to get a promise that they would not patrol in convoy the whole city to my final resting place. I asked for a cremation and my ashes to be scattered in one of our land in front of the house so I shouldn't be a burden for the traffic.
 
Last night we had a prayer meeting at the junction of our road, it appears a car tipped over and lots of plates broken, nobody wants to tell me the full story on how the car tipped over, perhaps all will be revealed at a latter date
 
I as disappointed to see that there are no speakers covered in giant fake cobwebs or is that old hat now?
 
The story is a car tried to squeeze past but accidentally drove into the drain, caused a slight delay to the prayed while they all helped to lift the car out
 
Being my 80th birthday is shortly, my wife said would I like a party, so I thought good idea I can ask a few mates I haven’t seen for sometime and have a few beers, so I went to Grand Lucky and bought a few Tinnies, oh how wrong could I have been, it’s a prayer party and wifey has invited a LOT of people to come and pray for me, I cannot ask my mates to come and pray for me, still I can always drink the beer myself, so a word of warning when your Indonesian wife is planning something, really inquire as to what she is planning to avoid any embarrassment
 

Users who viewed this discussion (Total:0)

Follow Us

Latest Expat Indo Articles

Latest Tweets by Expat Indo

Latest Activity

New posts Latest threads

Online Now

Newest Members

Forum Statistics

Threads
5,966
Messages
97,420
Members
3,036
Latest member
stats
Back
Top Bottom