Stealing Becomes An Annual Tradition In Bali?

Stealing is a bad action that can even be categorized as a criminal act that harms many people. But theft still happens in various countries in the world with various motives. One of them occurred in Indonesia, a country in Southeast Asia precisely in Bali. Many people in the world know that Bali is a beautiful island with many tourist attractions that are worth a visit. Then how can be a stealing tradition in Bali?

This happens in a traditional village located in the eastern part of the island. This village well known as Tenganan Pegringsingan, a small village surrounded by hills. Every year, the Tenganan Pegringsingan community performs a ritual called Ngusaba Sambah as a tribute to the God Indra (God of War) and in this ritual, the famous pandan war (Mekare-Kare) tradition takes place.

A few days before performing the Mekare-Kare tradition, local community usually held a Maling-Malingan ritual where the theft took place. A local boy will steal meat, then chased by some villagers until caught. When he get caught, he would be dressed up strangely and paraded around the village, visiting every resident's house to apologize.

A lesson the community wants to give to young generation is do not steal. A philosophy firmly held by the Tenganan Pegringsingan people is that they will try to fulfill people's requests even if they do not have them. So people do not have to steal, because by just asking, they may can get what they want.