In honor of Lord Shiva Pasupati, creator of iron, steel and weapons.

Based on the Balinese lunar calendar, Tumpek (Saturday) Landep (sharpen) is held once every 210 days  precisely on Saniscara Wage Wuku Landep. This year 22nd of March.

As with all important ceremonies, the day starts way before sunrise.  First, the keris of the house temple is thoroughly cleaned and polished followed by the other krises and weapons. They are then wrapped in pieces of new cloth, blessed with handcrafted offerings and sprinkled with holy water. Prayers and offerings are made to ask for Shiva´s help via his manifestation and the manifold benefits it brings to humankind.

In the past, the Tumpek Landep ceremony was solely dedicated to weapons made of steel, such as the Keris daggers, spears and swords, and especially weapons that were vested with magical powers. With the passing of time the ritual was extended to include nearly all objects made of metal such as motorbikes, cars, working tools, and even the laptop I’m using to write this.

The goals of the ceremony are twofold: on one hand, Lord Pasupati is honored and on the other, operational functions are maintained, thus helping day-to-day usage.  Foremost it reminds the Balinese to sharpen their minds and hearts to fight the evil behaviors within the self.