Nyepi and Ogoh Ogoh Parade
I have to apologise for the lateness of this post because Nyepi was actually on March 16th but I’ve been rather busy lately so I hope you’ll forgive me.
Nyepi is Balinese New Year. The Balinese calendar is very different from the one we use in the west and determines the dates of ceremonies which happen in various overlapping cycles. The Balinese calendar is 210 days long and so most major ceremonies are held every 210 days but Nyepi is every 420 days. The year in Bali is now 1932.
On Nyepi the whole of Bali shuts down. The airport is closed, tourists aren’t allowed out of their hotels and the whole island basically seems deserted. The idea is that when bad spirits travel over Bali they will think that nobody lives there and go away. Strictly you’re not supposed to cook or use lights or anything either but I think most people bend the rules a little, although they did block the TV signals this year.
The night before Nyepi everyone makes a lot of noise in their family compounds, banging pots and pans and shouting to chase the bad spirits out. Also the whole village goes out to watch the Ogoh ogoh parade. Ogoh ogoh are big statues that are made from about a month before hand and paraded around the village the night before nyepi before they’re burned. They’re usually in the shape of monsters but creativity has no limits and there were a couple shaped like Upin and Ipin from the Malaysian cartoon down the road from us. The ogoh ogoh parade usually involves a fair amount of drinking beforehand and then probably a fight or two as us is usual when you mix a lot of young Balinese men and arak. My brother was here visiting during Nyepi and he helped carry one of the ogoh ogoh with Made and his friends (although from what I hear Made was standing on top of it most of the time rather than helping to carry it).
The boys prepare for hard work
Bali boys the next generation in training
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