Gili’s ritual entertains tourists

(News Terupdate) - Dozens of turtles were released back to the sea along with offerings prepared for the Mandi Sapar bathing ritual to cast away bad luck at Gili Islands in West Nusa Tenggara.

Hundreds of residents and tourists have been showing up for the ritual since Wednesday morning at the popular tourist islands, comprising three small islands — Gili Trawangan, Gili Meno and Gili Air — also known as the Gilis.

Tourists participated in the parade, led by North Lombok regent Ridwan Hidayat, carrying offerings.

At the peak of the ritual, the main offerings, put in a miniature fishing boat, were cast off to the sea along with turtles bred by residents.

It was also the sign for residents and tourists to head to the beach for the bathing ritual. Those who tried to escape getting wet would be chased and splashed wet.

“It’s amazing, the beach is great and the culture and the people are wonderful,” said Cecilia, 24, a tourist from Europe.

Community leader Ibrahim said their ancestors had started the ritual to cast off evil spirits and disasters.

He said the Mandi Sapar bathing ritual was originated by Sulawesi’s Bugis people, believed to be the first inhabitants on the islands.

The ritual is conducted every last Wednesday on the Safar Islamic month. In the local Sasak language, the tradition is called rebo bontong, or last Wednesday.

The three Gilis were previously named using Bugis’ Mandar language. Gili Trawangan was Gili Tarawang, meaning turtle-hatching place, Gili Meno was Gili Teno or salt production site, while Gili Air was earlier named Gili Kasik, which meant white sandy Island.

Now the Gilis are home to 3,517 people or 800 families coming from different regions.

“The Mandi Sapar bathing ritual is one of the things that unite all residents in the Gilis,” Ibrahim said.

Religious figure Hasan Basri explained the ritual was not described in the Koran but the Jauhurah Mahab scripture cited that the last Wednesday on the Safar month was the best time for self-introspection.

“In the scripture, it’s written that on the last Wednesday of the Safar month, Allah passes on 12,000 disasters to take place in the world for the next year. The moment is also the right time to pray, cleanse ourselves and hope to be freed from disasters.”

The ritual was also given a modern touch, as a local band entertained tourists, who could also savor local delicacies prepared by residents.

The Gilis attract at least 200,000 foreign tourists visiting the North Lombok regency in a year along with some 40,000 local tourists.

“Last year, we had 200,000 foreign tourists and 40,000 local ones,” head of North Lombok tourism office.

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