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THE BULL RACES AT NEGARA
Time is a universal commodity

If there was going to be any firebathing, this Nyonya was not going home until I saw it.



Besides, it now appeared I could go into the temple, where already attendants were briskly moving offerings and clearing a large area in front of one of the bales. Busy brooms quickly removed all traces of food dropped from offerings, while bus3 'hands carried in scores of split coconuts and built them into two tall pyramids in the cleared space.
Now the temple gamelan commenced playing a haunting melody and the eight boys and eight girls, identically dressed, solemnly filed in and arranged themselves in two rows beside the centre bale. A priest (pemangku) followed, seated himself in front of them, incense was lit, and the seated figures began an eerie, moaning chant. The gamelan reached a crescendo, temporarily blotting out the chanting, the music faded and the moaning burst forth.

For some time it continued thus, while the air whitened with incense. One final outburst of moaning and then the group slowly rose to their feet. In a close line they quietly followed the priest up the steps and into an adjoining bale.

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Attendants now hastily cleared all onlookers out of the courtyard. The tall pyramids of broken coconuts stood alone in the centre of the square. An attendant approached, touched a match to fibre, and the coconuts leapt into two blazing pyramids of fire. Attendants now circled the pyres, stoking the flames with long poles. Boiling oil bubbled out of the shells and formed a dark ring on the ground around the flames. The attendants continued their prodding. Slowly the flames began to flicker and die.

An ancient woman ran barefooted into the square, her skeleton-like arms. held high above her head, her hips swaying to some inward rhythm, and -commenced a macabre dance around and between the dying bonfires. An attendant hurried forward, caught her, led her away and held her, arms pinioned against a wall, while the ceremony continued.

An expectancy settled over the temple. The priest and his group in the bale were silent; the burning coconuts had settled into mounds of glowing oil-soaked coals.

The eight boys were handed long spears. The priest passed a rope of white cotton among the girls-and commenced leading them down from the bale towards the firey heaps. One of the girls, her face contorted, her eyes rolling, threw back her head and began screaming. Another, and another, and yet another joined her.