Dressed in lavish and elaborate Balinese traditional attire, the siblings would symbolically leave their childhood years behind and enter adulthood through this ritual. Led by Hindu high priest, the metatah ceremony is aimed at symbolically eliminating negative human characteristics. The tooth-filing ceremony is a very important life passage for all Balinese and must be completed before they get married. Sometimes, it is incorporated into the wedding ceremony or as an event prior to a ngaben (cremation) ritual.
After the high priest chanted his prayers and offerings were presented to the gods, the people lay down on a low platform surrounded by their parents and relatives, there to give them spiritual support. A traditional dentist, or sangging, performs the actual tooth filing by filing down the canine teeth, which the Balinese strongly believe represent animal-like characteristics in humans.
During the tooth filing, which takes around 10 to 15 minutes for each participant, the sangging places a small piece of sugarcane in the corner of the mouth to keep the jaw open during the process. The upper canine teeth are filed first, followed by the lower ones. This ritual is supposed to prevent humans from having the sad ripu, or six destructive desires. The sad ripu consist of kama (lust), lobha (greed), kroda (anger), moha (anxiety), mada (conceit) and matsarya (envy).
Not all Balinese youth have the same opportunity to perform the ritual as they enter adulthood. The high cost has caused many Balinese families to delay until they have enough money. Finally, the entire family brings all of the elaborate offerings and paraphernalia to be thrown out to sea.
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