Ancient rites survive on Indonesia's Bali island

Bali's rapid development as a tourist destination has transformed the island's culture, but in the isolated village of Trunyan the dead bear witness to centuries of unbroken tradition.

The proud people of Trunyan don't cremate or bury their dead like other Hindu Balinese -- they lay them out to rot under a sacred banyan tree believed to be the earthly form of a sky goddess.

Nestled beside Lake Batur in the shadow of Mount Abang about 50 kilometres (31 miles) northeast of Denpasar, the village was only accessible by boat until 2006 when an asphalt road was built to connect it to neighbouring settlements.

Traditions dating back at least 800 years survive here while in other parts of Bali they have been forgotten or changed by history.

"All our traditions and ritual practices are inherited from our ancestors," said I Ketut Jaksa, a deputy to the village chief.

"If we violate even a small thing it will cause mishaps like sickness or even death. That's why nobody here in Trunyan dares to change or disobey these practices. That's why we continue to follow these rituals."

A short boat ride north along the shores of the vast lake is the village cemetery. At its centre is an ancient fig tree, considered the sacred incarnation of a goddess who descended from the sky and married a Javanese prince.

Bodies are placed on the ground under the tree, protected from dogs and wild animals by bamboo enclosures.

"These two people died about a month ago," said Jaksa, describing two corpses adorned with umbrellas and a canopy of tasseled white satin.

The remains, two women, are the freshest in the cemetery and lie exposed to the air except for their bamboo cages and some colourful burial cloths.

The face of one of the dead women is clearly visible, her hair long and black and her eyes closed peacefully. The other's has rotted and her skull is exposed. Strangely, there is no smell of decay.

Other skeletons and bones lie deeper in the shadows of the sacred fig. At its base, dozens of skulls have been placed on top of an altar-like stone.

The cemetery, or Sema Wayah, holds no more than 11 bamboo enclosures for individual bodies. If someone dies, the oldest body will be removed to make way for the new corpse, and its skull will be placed on the stone.

The cemetery contains only the bodies of married people who died of natural causes -- others are buried in another cemetery nearby.

Bamboo baskets contain personal items like dinner plates, drinking glasses, a radio and a comb.

"We have to bring the dead's favorite belongings here for them to use in the after-life," Jaksa said.

The Trunyanese claim to be descendants of the original Balinese, or Bali Aga.

They follow a form of Hinduism that pre-dates the influence of the powerful Majapahit empire that ruled neighbouring Java for 200 years from the late 13th century.

Village chief I Ketut Sutapa told AFP that the goddess embodied in the banyan tree married a Javanese prince, but their babies died because of a perfume from the goddess's body.

Desperate for an heir, the prince forbade the villagers from burying their dead in the hope that the stench of rotting corpses would negate the goddess's scent.

"Since then, the dead are laid out on the ground under the Taru Menyan tree, which means 'fragrant tree'," the chief said.

Trunyanese people strongly believe that the huge banyan tree neutralises the odor of death.

"It's really unbelievable," said a 39-year-old Indonesian tourist from Bangka Belitung province on Sumatra island.

"I think this is the only place in the world where the dead aren't buried and don't produce any stench."

With the new road, more tourists have started to explore this relatively untouched corner of Bali.

Many locals welcome the business they bring, but remain resolutely committed to preserving their community's ancient rites and rituals.

"Any violation, no matter how small it is, will cause a fatal impact for all of us here in the village," Jaksa said.