A Swiss couple has gone viral with a video of their Balinese-style nuptials.
What makes this couple so different than any of the hundreds of other foreigners getting married on the island incorporating Balinese customs or style each year, is that the wedding, officiated by a Balinese Hindu priest, does not take place in Bali, and neither of the people getting married happen to be Balinese, let alone Indonesian. And neither of the people, Swiss nationals, Claudio and his now wife Margareta, live in Bali as expats, so it’s not like they were so taken up with Balinese culture from living on the island, according to reports.
The marriage ceremony, conducted in the alpine town of Unterwasser, Switzerland, was led by Romo Ida Sri Bhagawan Kanjeng Panembahan Jawi, from Griya Agung, Ubud on Friday morning, according to Tribun Bali.
Ida Kanjeng confirmed that he conducted the ceremony with Tribun.
“This is extraordinary, because the Balinese Hindu marriage is accepted by the people there.”
Although it sure seems like cultural appropriation from over here, (Swiss people playing “dress up” with Balinese clothes and customs), the Balinese priest sees it as the universality of Balinese Hinduism and as a compliment to the religion. At least they seemed to have done their due diligence and hire a Balinese priest and carry out all the proper steps in their ceremony.
“Gayatri Mantram was also sung in a Swiss style by the singer Seriosa Febio. So, Balinese Hinduism becomes universal and can adapt to another culture,” said Kanjeng, who is apparently member of PHDI, Indonesia’s leading authority on Hinduism.
The ceremony was held just as it would be with a Balinese couple in Bali said Kanjeng, but the Swiss couple had to obtain a legal civil marriage prior to the Hindu ceremony.
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