Taken from ‘Bungklang Bungkling’, ‘Balian’, a column by I Wayan Juniartha, as published in Bali Post, Sunday 28th March 2010. Translated by Putu Semiada
Balian (Shaman)
The local election is coming soon. And as a shaman (balian), I Wayan Uyah Sere alias Abhiseka Batu Gulitan (I Wayan ‘River Stone’) is getting famous because many major electoral candidates/politicians pay him a visit.
Formerly all of them used ‘billboards’ for their campaign. They tried to use billboards as much as possible. Finally, they realized that everyone did the same. All ‘billboards’ had the same messages; smiling faces, to make impression as if they are good people, in spite of their habit of visiting ‘karaoke’ and ‘prostitutes’. They ‘hide’ behind their traditional costumes.
When they are tired of ‘billboards’, they start campaigning with their programs. But they contain the same messages as well: free medical treatment, free allowance for the poor, etc.
Next, they try to get blessing or support from ‘unseen world’ (niskala) or the gods by giving donations to temples for ceremonies or temple renovations. The problem is that the gods are ‘unseen’ so they can not ask the gods to ‘sign’ a Memorandum of Understanding and choose a certain candidate. So far no candidate has been chosen by the gods.
That’s why they change their strategy. Now they visit shamans to get ‘spiritual’ supports. They are called ‘spiritual advisors’.
“Wayan knows how to take a business opportunity. Everywhere he goes, he introduces himself as the best ‘political’ shaman, says I. Made Saru Gremeng (Much Talk But No Meaning).
Everyone laughs. They know that Wayan is a ‘fake’ balian. He becomes a balian by coincidence.
“He was fired from his office and his wife left him — so he is stressed. He often goes into trance and claims that he gets his magical power from the God Betara Dalem Weten.
He claims that he is able to heal all kinds of sicknesses that are due to black magic. As a matter of fact, most of his patients coming to him do not get better, they even get worse. Not to mention that he is afraid of going out in the dark.
Wayan then realizes that dealing with black magic is a difficult job: That’s why he has changed his ‘specialization’. He tries to become a shaman specializing in marriage consultancy. He offers his service on how to make a good relationship between a husband and a wife, and how to use ‘magic’ to help ‘attract’ someone you like easily, and how to prevent your husband/wife from ‘making an affair’ with others.
Unfortunately he doesn’t do his job very long. Instead of doing consultation, he does more sexual harassment of his female patients.
His reason is that something must be ‘inserted’ to your body to make the magic work; many of his patients believe that, including the high ranking officials’ wives.
Next Wayan changes his specialization again. Now he helps politicians or high ranking officials on how to raise their careers easily. And he has changed his name to Abhiseka Batu Gulitan Nyem lalah Galaktika I.
Wayan is quite successful in his new job, as many politicians and high ranking officials come to him for help. He offers magic oil. And he charges different prices depending on who is his customer. The richer the customer, the more he will charge. And he explains that if the oil is scrubbed on the voting booth, the voters will only see the picture of the candidate who buys the magic oil from Wayan and they choose him.
“The problem is that all candidates buy magic oil from Wayan. The voters may get confused.”
