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Bali Honors 'Nyepi' - The
Day of Complete Silence on April 2nd.
(Photos
here)
his
holiday marks the start of the new lunar year in the Balinese calendar:
Nyepi - which literally translates as to remain quiet. It
is a day of island-wide mandatory silence and introspection separating two
saka years.
Nyepi falls on Wednesday, April 2, 2003, commencing with the
sunrise and ending 24 hours later. A day of complete physical inactivity,
Nyepi, as observed by devout Balinese Hindu's, forbids the
consumption of food and drink, human speech, and the lighting of any fires
or lamps for 24 hours. In many villages across the island, pecalang
or local community police, patrol the empty streets ready to fine any
house seen to be emitting light or making any noise during the 24 hour
period.
Similarly, all of Bali comes to a complete standstill on Nyepi day:
shops are closed, traffic is barred from all streets, and while hotel
guests are generally allowed free use of hotel grounds and facilities they
are prohibited from leaving the hotel premises for that entire day.
Service staff working at local hotels during the Nyepi period, and
unable to travel the roads between their homes and their jobs, are
required to stay at their hotels throughout the period.
Airport Closed on April 02
Bali's Ngurah Rai International Airport will also be closed from 6AM on
Wednesday, April 2, until 6AM on Thursday.
The airport authority will allow airplanes to make transit and refueling
stops during the 24 hour Nyepi celebration, but will not allow
aircraft to arrive or leave during the 24 hour period. How's that for
peace and quiet. Can you imagine anyplace in the whole world that would
be able to shut down it's international airport every year for a full
day? This only takes place in Bali. It's a totally Balinese holiday.
The rest of Indonesia is open as usual!
Emergency Services to be Maintained
While traffic is barred from streets across the island, police will allow
emergency vehicles to travel the streets. Hospitals and major medical
centers will be staffed and operating throughout the traditional day of
silence marking the beginning of the Saka year 1925 on the Balinese
Hindu calendar.
Ogoh-ogoh Processions
A real highlight for visitors to Bali during the annual Nyepi
celebrations is the chance to participate in the ogoh-ogoh
processions found in every village across the island.
In a night that is a cross between Mardi gras, Halloween, and New
Year's Eve celebrations, the evening of April 1st will see
virtually every village banjar in Bali launch
giant floats to be paraded through local streets. The floats, almost
always in the form of giant effigies of traditional demons or comic
caricatures of well-known celebrities, are carried through the streets on
the shoulders of young men wishing to prove that their physical endurance
and float-making capabilities exceed those of any neighboring group. For
weeks prior to Nyepi you can see the village banjar halls
busy every evening with groups of young men designing and building their
ogoh-ogoh float.
This year I was in Ubud on the night before Nyepi to observe the
process. At about 4PM the processions started. Monkey Forest Road was
closed as 4 large ogoh-ogohs were carried down the street to the
soccer field. Each was a wooden frame covered with bamboo strips to which
were attached either paper-mache or foam rubber sheets. These in turn had
then been spray painted in garish colors. All the more to scar away the
evil spirits. The entire creation was attached to bamboo cross beams and
then carried by anywhere from 15 to 30 villagers. Even the kids got
involved. Of course, their ogoh-ogohs were smaller and lighter,
but they still had the same fierce look about them. The kid’s
ogoh-ogohs were usually about 6’ tall or less, while the adult ones
were from 12’ to 25’ tall. The limit being how low were the overhanging
wires across the street.
The whole idea of Nyepi is to scare away all the evil spirits
for the night. Loud noises and fireworks accompany the ogoh-ogohs.
Then in the morning when all the evil spirits try and return to Bali, it
is said, that they will look down and not see or hear anything and thus
conclude that ‘nobody is there’, so they head to Java for the next year.
After the procession of 4 ogoh-ogohs, the street was re-opened
for a while. About 5PM the really large ogoh-ogohs started their
trek. Eventually all were brought to the soccer field to be viewed by
everyone. There must have been a crowd of over 3,000 villagers and a few
tourists there to see the 25 ogoh-ogohs. After the sun set, the
ogoh-ogohs were lit. Not set on fire as I had heard, but many had
electrified eyes or other lights that at night made them seem even more
fierce. About 7PM fireworks were set off, many loud bangs were heard and
rockets were shot up into the clear night air. After this each
ogoh-ogoh was marched back up the street to be taken back to their
villages to be admired for weeks by all.
I think the best part of the whole celebration for me was watching the
little kid’s eyes while all this was going on. Fear, glee, admiration,
excitement, and amusement filled their eyes. It was like seeing a kid see
Santa for the first time.
The next day was totally quiet in Bali. From my house I could not see
anyone walking around; could hear no motorbikes, children, people, or even
dogs. That night it was pitch black. Not a single light could be seen
anywhere from my house.
What a fun time of year!
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Click on the Image for full size!
Typical ogoh-ogoh
Bali
...Well, it's there
somewhere above Australia and below Singapore...
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