Documentary Educational Resources - Filmmaker / Connor, Linda / All Films

The Jero Tapakan series

Wed, 5 Sep 2018 11:07:00 GMT

The Jero Tapakan series
Buy Now: $795.00

Jero Tapakan, a spirit medium in a small, central Balinese village, consults with a group of clients in her shrinehouse. An introduction precedes the main seance, providing a visual impression of a seance and background information on the medium and her profession. The clients wish to contact the spirit of their dead son to discover the cause of his death and his wishes for his cremation ceremony. Jero is possessed several times in the course of the seance: first by a protective houseyard deity who demands propitiary offerings that had previously been overlooked; then by the spirit of the petitioner's deceased father, who requests further offerings to ease his path to the other world; and finally by the spirit of the son. In an emotional scene the son's spirit reveals the cause of his premature death (sorcery) and instructions for his forthcoming cremation. Between each possession the medium converses with her clients, clarifying vague points in the often ambiguous trance speech.

Films in the Jero Tapakan series:

A Balinese Trance Seance

Jero on Jero: A Balinese Trance Seance Observed
The Medium is the Masseuse: A Balinese Massage w/Jero Tapakan
Releasing the Spirits: A Village Cremation in Bali

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Releasing the Spirits

Tue, 28 Aug 2018 08:59:00 GMT

Releasing the Spirits
Buy Now: $295.00

Cremation rites are the most elaborate rites of passage performed by Balinese householders. Poor families may wait years before accumulating enough resources to cremate their dead, who are buried in the meantime. In 1978 many more cremations than usual were carried out because of the great purification cermony, Eka Dasa Rudra, held at Bali's main temple, Besakih, in 1979. Religious officials recommended that all Balinese cleanse the island by cremating their dead, as part of the preparations for the great Besakih ceremony. Villagers of limited means pooled their resources to perform group cremations which greatly reduced the cost for each family. This film is about a group of villagers in Central Bali who cooperated to carry out a group cremation.

The film shows the way they approached this task, as well as the cycle of rituals: the cremation, post-cremation, and casting of ashes into the ocean. It had been 15 years since they last held this ceremony. Most of the narration is provided by four participants, recorded as they were watching videotapes of the ceremonies two years later. Each brings a different perspective to the events documented on the film.

The three voices of the filmmakers also provide different insights. This film is linked to the previous films on Bali because it, too, deals with ritual and possession. Furthermore, the cremation is held in Jero Tapakan's hamlet and she is a central participant.

Other films in the Jero Tapakan series

A Balinese Trance Seance & Jero on Jero: A Balinese Trance Seance Observed

Medium is the Masseuse: A Balinese Massage w/Jero Tapakan

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The Medium is the Masseuse & Jero Tapakan

Mon, 27 Aug 2018 08:57:00 GMT

The Medium is the Masseuse & Jero Tapakan
Buy Now: $320.00

The Medium is the Masseuse: A Balinese Massage with Jero Tapakan

Unlike many spirit mediums, Jero Tapakan practices as a masseuse once every three days, when possession is not auspicious. This film focuses on Jero's treatment of Ida Bagus, a member of the nobility from a neighboring town. Jero has been treating her client for sterility and seizures. She begins work this day with religious preparations and the assembling of traditional medicines. Treatment includes a thorough massage, administration of eyedrops, an infusion, and a special paste for the chest.

The dialogue, which is subtitled, includes a detailed discussion between anthropologist Linda Connor, Ida Bagus, and Jero, about the nature and treatment of the illness, as well as informal banter between Jero, her other patients, and people in her houseyard. In an interview, Ida Bagus and his wife speak about the ten-year history of his illness and a variety of diagnoses.

Jero Tapakan: Stories from the Life of a Balinese Healer

Jero, who know sustains a lively practice as both medium and masseuse, recalls her earlier poverty and despair as a farmer, and how she fled her home and wandered briefly in the countryside as a peddler. After serious illness and mystical visions, she returned to her husband and underwent a consecration ceremony as a spirit medium. Here she talks with Linda Connor about these experiences.

Other films in the Jero Tapakan series

A Balinese Trance Seance & Jero on Jero: A Balinese Trance Seance Observed

Releasing the Spirits: A Village Cremation in Bali

Visit Connor, Linda to see additional products in this category.