Siat Sampian at Samuan Tiga Temple
On Thursday, 4/24/08, a sacred and unique ceremony known as Siat Sampian (war of sampian) was held in Samuan Tiga temple as a part of series of rituals to commemorate the temple anniversary that had been commenced from Sunday, 4/20/08 up to Thursday, 4/24/08.
As its name suggests, Siat Sampian (war of sampian) is a ritual in which the participants armed with a sampian (a decoration made of woven coconut leaves) attack each other accompanied by hysterical shouts and the smile of joy. As a matter of fact, Siat Sampian is a ritual dance in which the dancers enact a battle of good and evil. As this dance the Siat Sampian dance is performed by two groups of dancers, each group consists of hundreds of dancers; the female group known as ‘permas’ (female servants of the deities) with white cloth and black sarong and ‘parekan’ (male servant of the deities) with all white attires.
