On Sunday, 8/5/2016, there was a major celebration in Ubud, Bali – the cremation of Cokorda Putra Widura, a  prince from the Ubud palace who was barely in his thirties when was struck by a severe asthma attack.

After several weeks of preparation, the Plebon (name given to a high chaste ceremony, opposed to Ngaben for the common people) took place, gathering many thousands of locals and tourists.

The visible part of the ritual started with the placement of the mortal remains on a Bade (towering structure), which was then paraded, along with the stair and a black bull effigy (Lembu) along 1.5 km to the cemetery. Then the remains were taken away from the Bade and placed inside the Lembu, which was cremated.

Many people were in grief, some in trance. It was an unexpected and intriguing mix of feelings and states of mind, in the crowd. Here are the images: