Ni Ketut Sami, an 80-year-old woman who went missing from her village in Gianyar for several days last week, was found dead over the weekend.
After evacuating her body, villagers performed the ngeplugin ritual (calling for a missing soul) so that the deceased could find her way home in the afterlife.
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Ketut Sami’s body was found in a water tunnel by Komang Bodo, who was among the search party from the village.
Payangan Police’s Crime Unit Chief Second Inspector I Gede Ardika Pramarta said there were no signs of foul play in Ketut Sami’s death. The victim, according to preliminary investigation, was likely to have slipped and drowned in the water.
“The victim was quite old and could not overcome the current,” said Gede Ardika.
Last week, Ketut Sami’s son I Ketut Pasti and other villagers went searching for the matriarch after she did not return on Tuesday afternoon after going out searching for offerings for rituals.Three shamans suggested that Ketut Sami’s soul was still near the village and the locals played traditional gamelan music, which is believed to be able to retrieve missing souls hidden by spiritual beings, locally known as wong samar.
