Story of Bali, Indonesia

To a Balinese, Bali is filled with gods. It is primarily the super-natural phenomena that are at the core of many activities of daily life, ceremonies, rituals, dances, plays, trance, physical and mental illnesses, and healing. These include demons, witchcraft, black magic, and leak or spirits. Evil spirits are often present for example; one should not start a journey at. midday or dusk because it is believed that evil spirits come out then and are more likely to disturb one at these times. These spirits are the focus of treatment by balian. Physicians and psychiatrists who practise Western techniques need to know about the supernatural and of the work of the balian in order to be effective in Bali.

Leak (pronounced, 'lay ack' and often spelled leyak or lejak) are witch-like spirits or creatures that are transformations of real people who live in the community. Some persons in a village are generally regarded as leak and others are believed to be leak by individuals. Almost any disliked acquaintance presents a potential danger because of the possibility that he/she may be transformed into a leak at any time. Leak can practise black magic and thereby initiate illness of any sort, and they can even poison people, thus causing death. They generally come out in the night and are likely to frequent cemeteries. According to the beliefs of the people, Halloween-like activities occur the goddess of death meets at midnight to dance and feast on the living blood of the dead brought back to life; entrails hang in trees, cauldrons catch dripping blood, and the roots of trees wind in and out of the skulls and bones

It was perhaps a week later that I awoke again, late in the night; with the same strange feeing that someone had called. It was an unusually warm night, and I went outside onto the veranda. I could not believe my eyes.

Across the valley, halfway down the hillside, a row of lights glowed with a soft pure brilliance. They seemed to move ever so slightly, floating up and down as though anchored. Suddenly they went out, as suddenly went on again, but now to shine in a perpendicular line, one above the other. They merged slowly, until only the central one remained, which now began to float slowly up the valley. All at once it vanished. But within a minute the lights were shining in a row once more, far to the north.

I went to rouse Durus and Sampih, who were sleeping in the next room. Look! I said. What lights can these possibly be? They are too pale for lamps, and besides, there are no paths where they are moving.

The leaks, said Durus, softly almost inaudibly. They must be from Bangkasa (the villageacross the valley) or from somewhere into the north, he added after a while.

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