© 2023 Dr. M. Sheppard
The followed immediately after the Fire Walking. In this part of the Ceremony the Officiant blesses first the Clairvoyant and his family and then the Audience.
He started by taking up a large lighted torch from the Toran , rekindling the smaller one, and then to the drumbeat, he danced in a swaying fashion In front of the Toran. He took some bulat leaves out of the Toran and then he danced over to the Clairvoyant and his family sitting on their mat by the edge of Performance Area. First he held the bulat leaves over the flame of the torch, then he rubbed the leaves over each of their foreheads. After blessing the Clairvoyant and his family, he then moved around repeating these actions over each of the audience. There was an accompanying drumbeat throughout. To each person he said "Ayobuan"( -
Next the offering basket was brought to the side of toran whilst the clairvoyant watched over the boiling pot. Then the drummer started a new drumbeat. Then the officiant who was sitting on a chair placed in front of the toran, started singing. He held a large sharp panga ready to split the coconut placed on the ground in front of him. At the right moment he split the coconut neatly in half so the omens were good. The pot was still coming to the boil. Then the officiant got up and went to the back of the toran, he was still grasping the panga. He touched the shrines etc with it and then to the drumbeat with shuffling dance steps, he left the Performance Area and circulated outside around the yard then he returned to the the Performance Area. The pot had not yet boiled.
He then prayed over the Offering Basket that the Clairvoyant had replaced on the chair.
Then a new drumbeat sounded and he started a new song -
You Tube Video Links
Devol Madua Part 8 Blessing and Protection
https://youtu.be/YVHA6g3PZQ0
Blessing
By now dawn was breaking
He then returned to the Toran where he donned the pink shawl while he sang about what he was doing. Then he took up the blue cloth and the bracelets. He then danced around the Performance Area whilst he was singing. Then he moved towards the clairvoyant and family and waved the articles over them whilst singing to the accompanying drum beat. He then started a new song whilst continuing to “address” the area by the family. In the meantime an assistant returned with some large fresh banana leaves presumably -
The Officiant then returned to the Toran where he replaced the bracelets and the blue cloth, and took up a clay pot of purified water with a coconut leaf “whisk”. He had also placed the pink shawl around his shoulders.
Then the clairvoyant was called forward and was instructed to place the water from the clay pot into his hands and then onto the burning torch on the right of the toran until all the contents of the pot were finished. This extinguished the torch. The officiant and the drummer were singing throughout. Then the clairvoyant was instructed to take up the freshly cut banana leaves from the chair by the toran and he left the Performance Area carrying these into the house where the meal would be served.
In the meantime the clay pot of coconut milk was being boiled in the toran which the clairvoyant and assistant oversaw. Then the clairvoyant on instructions from the officiant placed offerings which were covered with a white cloth into one of the shrines in the toran and then lit a lamp in this part of the toran where he had placed the offering with the white cloth.
Next the Head Tovil Dancer sprinkled the family and audience with “medicated” water from the clay pot using the coconut leaf “whisk”. This was to remove any residual problems from the family, the household and the audience.
When it boiled the clairvoyant returned to his place on the mat and the officiant continued, focusing his dance and offerings towards the shrine on the left of the toran. (Towards the end of this part both the drummer and officiant were served with cups of tea that they drank whilst drumming and singing!)