MANUSIA, ALAM, DAN RUANG: PERSPEKTIF KOSMOLOGI DALAM TRADISI MEPASAH DI DESA TRUNYAN, BALI

Abstract

The Mepasah tradition in Trunyan Village, Bali, is one of the most unique funeral cultural phenomena in Indonesia, where bodies are placed on the ground under the Taru Menyan tree without burial or cremation (Ngaben). This study aims to analyze the Mepasah tradition through a cosmological perspective to reveal the relationship between humans, nature, and the spiritual dimension. Using a descriptive qualitative method with an ethnographic approach, data were collected through participant observation and in-depth interviews with traditional leaders in Trunyan Village. The formal object of this research focuses on cosmological analysis as the knowledge system underlying the ritual practice. The results show that the Mepasah tradition is a manifestation of the Homo Religiosus concept, where the Trunyan community makes "The Sacred" a guide (Axis Mundi) in maintaining the harmony of the universe. The Taru Menyan tree functions as a medium of cosmological communication that unites the micro-cosmic element (human) with the macro-cosmic (God and nature). The classification of burial spaces (Sema Wayah, Sema Bantas, and Sema Nguda) reflects a strict ethical-religious structure in viewing the purity of the soul. This study concludes that Mepasah is not merely a practice of body disposal, but a spiritual technology to maintain cosmic integrity and the nobility of the Bali Aga community's traditions amidst the current of modernization.