Welcoming the Saka New Year in Silence (Nyepi in Bali)

The Balinese celebrate the end of the Hindi Saka calendar with the epic Ogoh-Ogoh parade.

Last month I managed to squeeze in a 3 day vacation amid the hecticness that is my research roject in Indonesia. Escaping the craziness of Jakarta, I went away to stay at my parent's little piece of heaven for the long weekend of Nyepi in Bali. Nyepi Day (Silence Day) commemorates the New Year in the Saka (Hindu) calendar. This was actually my first time being in Bali for Nyepi and it was such a treat!

Similar to Javanese traditions, the Balinese life is also full of rituals. With the largest Hindu population in Indonesia, the celebrations for Nyepi start with a number of religious events from three days before the actual Nyepi Day, to purify the souls before welcoming the new year.

The celebrations culminate with the traditional Ogoh-Ogoh parade on the New Year's Eve. Throngs of giant wooden figures (Ogoh-Ogoh) are carried and paraded along the streets of Bali by groups of dancing young men and women. Each village (Banjar) in Bali must build an Ogoh-Ogoh and must be represented in the parade. The figures traditionally represent evil characters in Balinese folklore, which will be ceremoniously burned at the end of the night, ridding of all the bad luck of the past year. However, this has taken a modern twist in recent days with some villages opting to build cheeky figures of controversial politicians and movie stars.

Ogoh-Ogoh in Bali

On Nyepi day, everyone must stay indoors to meditate and reflect on the coming new year. Traditionally, not even lights and electricity can be used during this day. Everyone (including tourists and non-Hindus) are expected to respect this sacred day by staying in their houses or hotels. The airport shuts down, TV stations stop broadcasting (even cable TV!) and no vehicles are allowed on the road except for emergencies. It is quite an eery feeling, especially at night. However, these days tourists are allowed to switch on a number of small lights in their rooms and hotels organise in-house activities to keep them occupied.

During the 24 hour period, groups of traditional police called "Pecalang" are the only ones allowed in the streets. Their job is to keep a look out for non-abiding citizens and curious tourists who try to sneak outdoors. So those caught outside of their homes are punished and are put on cleaning up duty in front of the whole village!

A group of Pecalang walking the streets during Nyepi making sure everyone observe the "Silence Day"