Form, function, and meaning of Balinese scripts on the kajang cloth used in Balinese Ngaben ceremonies
Keywords:
Ngaben, Kajang, Balinese ScriptAbstract
In the ngaben (cremation) ceremony in Bali, a piece of white cloth is used to cover the deceased; it is inscribed with Balinese characters considered sacred, which are believed to assist the soul on its journey toward the realm of the divine and facilitate its union with God. This white cloth, known as kajang, features sacred Balinese scripts: ekaksara, dwyaksara, tryaksara, pancabrahma, pancaksara, sangaksara, dasaksara, and sodasaksara. These sacred Balinese scripts have specific forms, functions, and religious-magical meanings, aligned with the socio-religious context of Bali's Hindu community.
Downloads
References
Duranti, A. (1997). Linguistic Anthropology. United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press.
Duranti, A. (2001). Linguistic Anthropology A Reader. Oxford: Blackwell Publishers.
Foley, W. A. (1997). Language and gender. Anthropological Lillguistics: An Introduction. Oxford: Blackwell Publishers.
Gardan, N., & Gardan, Y. (2003). An application of knowledge based modelling using scripts. Expert systems with Applications, 25(4), 555-568. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0957-4174(03)00096-4
Giora, R. (1999). On the priority of salient meanings: Studies of literal and figurative language. Journal of pragmatics, 31(7), 919-929. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0378-2166(98)00100-3
Halliday, MAK. 1978. Language as Social Semiotic, The Social Interpretation of Language and Meaning. London: Edward Arnold Publishrers
Hymes, D. H., & Kroeber, A. L. (1964). Language in culture and society: A reader in linguistics and anthropology (Vol. 7). New York: Harper & Row.
Kadyanan, I. G. A. G. A., Er, N. A. S., Karyawati, A. A. I. N. E., Putra, I. G. N. A. W., Gunawan, I. M. S., Budiantari, N. M. J., & Octavia, H. C. (2025). Balinese text-to-speech dataset as digital cultural heritage. Data in Brief, 60, 111528. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dib.2025.111528
Martinich, A.P. (1996). The Philosophy of Language, Third Edition. New York: Oxford University Press.
Ogden, C.K., & Richards, I. A. (1923). The Meaning of Meaning: A Study of The Influence of Language Upon Thought and of The Science of Symbolism. New York: Harcourt, Brace & World, Inc.
Palmer, G. B. (1996). Toward a theory of cultural linguistics. University of Texas Press.
Suweta, I. M. (2006). Scripts on the Kajang in the Ngaben Ceremony of the Hindu Community in Bali (A Study in Cultural Linguistics) (Dissertation). Denpasar: Postgraduate Program, Udayana University.
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
Copyright (c) 2026 International journal of humanities, literature and arts
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Articles published in the International Journal of Humanities, Literature & arts (IJHLA) are available under Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivatives Licence (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0). Authors retain copyright in their work and grant IJHLA right of first publication under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. Users have the right to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of articles in this journal, and to use them for any other lawful purpose.
Articles published in IJHLA can be copied, communicated and shared in their published form for non-commercial purposes provided full attribution is given to the author and the journal. Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgment of its initial publication in this journal.
