TABANAN ~ A Nangluk Merana ceremony was held in Tabanan Regency this week to try to put an end to a plague of rats that has been destroying hundreds of hectares of ricefields.

The ceremony, which was attended by the King of Tabanan and Ida Cokorda Anglurah, was said to be a success as the rat attacks decreased after about three days.

The head of Kebontingguh village traditions, Agung Mastika, said that before that ceremony, farmers were distressed because they had not been able to stop the rats with any of the usual methods.

As a last resort, the community decided to hold the ceremony, which included carrying the tenth Cokorda of Tabanan to the ricefields, where he sprinkled holy water and prayers in the Khayangan village temple.

“In 1960, our village took part in the same ceremony and was successful in chasing the rats away,” Agung Mastika said.

The ritual was to give hope to the farmers who had suffered tens of millions of rupiah of losses, he said.