印尼游记（四）
Travelogue in Indonesia 04

两天来终日在巴厘岛上东奔⻄跑，游览名胜古迹，选取角度入画，体力，精神消耗不少，感觉疲惫不堪，所以决定六日整天留在丹巴刹作画，绝不远跑。

六日晨，我们大队人⻢，浩浩荡荡地到模特儿家里去人像，那是在丹巴刹近郊的一 个小村镇里。我们首先去订购了烧猪，然后围在烧猪旁大绘其画。大家都开玩笑地说：「老朱火葬！」庆光并不生气，他也附和了一阵愉快的笑声。画过烧猪后，开始画模特儿。这一家是专⻔为外地画人介绍模特儿的。主人玲娜是个舞蹈家，到她家里来学舞蹈的人很多，虽是低矮的陋室，却是满壁名画。室内堆满了画架画框，充满了一股浓厚的艺术气息。

我们请的模特儿名叫苏加妮Sukerni。体格健美，面庞丰满，她那婀娜的姿态，显得格外妙曼动人。她真是一位熟练而且⻛采动人的模特儿啊！我们的摄影机至此乃忙，大家打开镜箱，先行摄取镜头，然后开始作画。起初每十五分钟换一姿态，以后再十分钟换一姿态。到十二时，大家都画了成叠的画稿了，已觉饥肠辘辘，放下画笔，就开始吃烧猪。一只恁么大的烧猪仅售价四百盾，约合叻币二元二角，十几人都无法 把它吃完，真是太便宜了!大家吃完，都喊着：「值得！真是太值得了！」

今天恰逢是火葬日 Har Pembakarn 火葬礼定於下午二时举行。据说火葬礼在巴厘岛并不常⻅，因为所需的费用很贵，一般平民，因负不起这笔高昂的费用，所以当家人死了，只好祷告一番，草草入土了事，有的用药物将尸体涂过，装在石板棺中，暂时搁置在殡仪馆里。等到凑足了钱，经过大家的同意，就定下了日期，举行集体火葬典礼。所以能够单独为死者当场举行火葬礼的，那只限於上层社会经济充裕的家族了。

这次，参加火葬礼的有百余户，他们之中，有的从土里把尸体挖出，有的从殡仪馆里的石棺中将尸体拿出，分别用布把尸身包好，或用香蕉树干三截，挖成空心、把尸体捆扎好，然后就一个个地放上十多尺高的高架上，这些装尸的高架，都彩结得非常美丽， 若是真尸就有真人坐在架上，若尸已腐化只剩骨骸的，尸架上就不坐人。由六人或八人抬着尸架走。行列中除送殡者千余人外、还有舞蹈、奏乐 ，参加舞蹈的全是男人， 头戴尖帽，手执⻓干，身披⻓衣，轻旋纵跳，谓之捉邪。这样边歌边舞，行列竟⻓达两英里。 真是一种奇特的宗教仪式，我们这次竟能躬逢其会，总算不虚此行了。

街头市尾，早就布满人群，观者麇集，不知是来自何处;人山人海地簇拥着，浩浩荡荡地走向火葬场。才一会儿，火葬场又挤满人群了一一驻足翘企的攀登高处的，摩肩接踵地挤得喘不过气来。尸身抬至火葬场后，各将各的投放在场中木架上，祭司叽哩咕噜念了一遍咒语，死者的家属也当众念念有词， 大概是祷祝死者平稳地步上天堂吧？我心里这么猜测着。

火化开始了，满场浓烟烈焰，隐隐地闻到尸臭的气味，据说在这一百多个的尸体中，仅有一个是刚死的，其余的有死去四五天的，也有死了一星期或两个星期，一个月的，甚至两个月都有。肉身已腐化，气味难闻，在所难免。我不径至场内，只在⻋上远眺 ，完成了一帧火葬全景。

晚上请了两个模特儿到旅馆来作画 ，我辛苦了 ，与子平先睡。（四）

For the past two days, we have been tirelessly exploring the east and west of Bali, visiting famous landmarks and choosing angles for our paintings. It has been physically and mentally exhausting, and we are feeling thoroughly fatigued. Therefore, we have decided to spend the entire sixth day in Den Pasar for painting and avoid long journeys.

On the morning of the sixth day, our large group headed to the home of models in a small village near Den Pasar. Our first task was to order a roast pig, and then we gathered around it to sketch. Everyone made jokes about it being "Old Zhu's cremation!" but Ho Kwang, the roast pig's owner, didn't mind and joined in the laughter. After sketching the roast pig, we started drawing the models. This family specializes in providing models for visiting artists. The hostess, Lina, is a dancer, and her house, though small and humble, is filled with paintings. Inside, there are numerous easels and frames, creating an atmosphere steeped in artistry.

The model we hired is named Sukerni. She has a strong physique and a plump face, and her graceful postures are particularly captivating. She is indeed a skilled and charming model! Our cameras were busy capturing images, and after taking photos, we began to draw. Initially, we changed Sukerni's pose every fifteen minutes, and later, every ten minutes. By noon, everyone had stacks of sketches, and hunger pangs began to set in. We put down our brushes and started to eat the roast pig. A pig of that size cost only 400 rupiahs, equivalent to 2.20 Straits dollars, and it was so abundant that even with more than ten people, we couldn't finish it. It was incredibly cheap! After finishing the meal, everyone exclaimed, "Worth it! It's truly worth it!"

Today happens to be a cremation day, known as "Har Pembakarn," scheduled for 2 o'clock in the afternoon. Cremation ceremonies are not common in Bali because they are expensive. Most common people cannot afford the high costs, so when a family member passes away, they usually perform a simple burial. Some even use medications to preserve the body and temporarily store it in a stone coffin in a funeral home. When they gather enough funds and obtain consent from the community, a collective cremation ceremony is scheduled. Therefore, conducting an individual cremation ceremony on the spot is limited to wealthy families in the upper social strata.

This time, over a hundred households participated in the cremation ceremony. Among them, some dug up bodies from the ground, while others took them out of stone coffins in funeral homes. They wrapped the bodies in cloth or split banana tree trunks into three sections to create a hollow space, securing the bodies inside. Then, one by one, they placed these body carriers on high platforms. These platforms were beautifully decorated; if a real body was placed on them, it would seem as if a living person were sitting there. If the body had decomposed to just bones, no one would sit on the platform. The carriers, carried by six or eight people, made their way through the procession.

Apart from the mourners, more than a thousand people participated in the procession. There were also dance performances and music. The dancers, all men, wore pointed hats, held long poles, wore long robes, and spun and leaped gracefully. This dance, called "catching evil spirits," was performed with singing and dancing, and the procession stretched for two miles. It was truly a unique religious ritual, and we were fortunate to witness it.

The streets and markets were already crowded with spectators, and the crowd continued to grow. People were jostling and climbing to higher places, struggling for breath. After the bodies were brought to the cremation site, each was placed on wooden racks in the field. The priest recited incantations, and the deceased's family members also recited prayers. Perhaps they were praying for the deceased to ascend peacefully to heaven? That's what I speculated.

The cremation began, and thick smoke and flames filled the area. The unpleasant smell of decomposition was faintly discernible. It is said that among the more than one hundred bodies, only one was freshly deceased, while the others had been dead for four or five days, or even one or two weeks, a month, or even two months. Their flesh had decomposed, and the odor was unavoidable. I didn't go into the field but observed from the car, capturing a panoramic view of the cremation.

In the evening, we invited two models to the hotel for painting. I was exhausted, so I went to bed early with Tze Peng.