Photos of what appeared to be a wedding ceremony between two men in Ubud rapidly sparked controversy this week, but the management at the ceremony venue says the pictures are not depicting what you think they are.
The management for Four Seasons Bali is emphasizing that the photos were not of an actual wedding ceremony, but rather of a “karmic cleansing ritual,” reports Tribun Bali.
After the photos were made public, Bali’s governor, the Bali Wedding Association, and other local organizations were quick to demonstrate their intolerance by chastising the men and the apparent Hindu priest in the photo, demanding further information about the photos and insisting that gay marriage is illegal in the Hindu faith.
But now that the venue has been identified as Four Seasons, Ubud, the general manager of the Bali Four Seasons resorts, Uday Rao, apologizes for the controversy and says the resort wouldn’t dare to step outside legal boundaries.
“We obey the law and will provide any necessary information and answer all the officers’ questions. This was purely ceremonial, we did not anticipate or know there would be a response from outside,” Rao said, as quoted by Tribun Bali.
“We respect local wisdom. We will respect it and will always obey it. If this is the reaction of people people, then we apologize,” he continued.
Rao is reportedly of the opinion that the resort violated no rules by conducting the ceremony and says he promises to learn from what is being considered the resort’s mistake.
