Flags across the world are symbols of identity or purpose. Be it for countries, cities or organisations, the colours and icons featured on their representative flag will be deliberate, meaningful choices. Here in Bali, there are flags used for ceremonial purposes called kober, which are among the vibrant paraphernalia often seeing during ritual processions.
Kober are most commonly seen during a melasti ceremony, specifically during the long processional walks (mepeed), when pratima effigies are carried from the temple to the sea or river for ritual cleansing. One will see many decorative accoutrements as part of this long journey, including the tedung umbrellas that shade the effigies, lelontekan (or umbul-umbul) banners, and the special kober flags. These are not merely aesthetic additions to a procession, they are sacralised items, integral to the sanctity of the ritual itself.
The kober flags are mounted onto special spears, showcasing different imagery upon the flag face. Most common is that of the mythical figures Hanuman and Garuda, seen at the front of processions as ritual guardians. But then there is the sacred ‘set’ of kober flags, symbolising the nine directional gods of Bali, otherwise known as Dewata Nawa Sanga.
As part of the Balinese cosmology, or view of the universe, the nine gods each govern a cardinal direction (eight directions and a centre). This is often depicted as an eight-petalled lotus flower, plus its central space, with each god and direction also assigned its own weapon and matched to a colour, number, day of the week, and even part of the body. As such, the Kober Dewata Nawa Sanga, will feature elements of this: a depiction of the deity, with its associated colour as the background, and the spear tip will be adorned with the weapon of the respective deity too.
Dewa Wisnu (black), Guardian of the North, wielding the cakra sudarsana; Dewa Sambhu (grey-blue), Guardian of the North-East, wielding the trisula; Dewa Iswara (white) Guardian of the East, wielding the bajra; Dewa Maheswara (pink), Guardian of the South-East, wielding incense (dupa); Dewa Brahma (red), Guardian of the South, wielding a mace (gada); Dewa Rudra (orange), Guardian of the South-West, wielding the moksala; Mahadewa (yellow), Guardian of the West, wielding the nagapasa; Dewa Sangkara (green), Guardian of the North-West, wielding the angkus; Dewa Siwa (multicoloured), Guardian of the Centre, wielding the lotus (padma).
