Travelogue/ Nyepi - the Balinese celebration, before the New Year arrives, tomorrow. An unforgettable day... It's 1948, tomorrow 1949
I am located near a village in Northern Bali.
They have crafted monsters, with great artistry, and later, through intense drumming, smoke, fireworks and loud voices, they take them around the central square of the village, 3 times each monster/demon, until they remove them to the cemetery, where they burn them! Wow, I know... It is their way of hindu animistic tradition, to "send the bad spirits home" as a local explained to me. And clear the space for the New Year to come.
And me, working and painting demons lately, was watching in awe and speechless.
The ceremony begun hours earlier with us seated on the ground and praying amongst psalms, flowers and holy water... Watching the demons ridiculed like that, I was feeling some kind of sympathy for the monsters. I know how it is to stand out, to be misunderstood and sometimes that result to being made into a monster. But the local guide told me how, they don't burn some of them, because they have invested such a long time in making them and they are so good. That got me!
I have enough time to reflect as tomorrow, the 1st day of the Balinese year, it is forbidden by law to go outside your house. People stay in, in silence. Government closes the wifi. No lights are allowed to be turned on from 6am until 6am the next day. Time to reflect...
I love the variety of this Life <3 I am so grateful to be here and to be experiencing all these...
In the last picture I am standing in front of the cathartic fire. What a moment…what a celebration I found myself into! Thank you Bali
Thank you for the insights into their culture and traditions. I also like the idea of one day a year to turn everything off and meditate and reflect. Your pictures are awesome!
@SageWanderer you can do so tomorrow and sync with here! :)) thank you, some pictures are mine, some of a local guide that took me there. He was so kind, he took me to his family, and we stayed together throughout the ceremony, seated for hours, praying, then standing for long, watching the monsters parade, then walking to the cemetery until he brought me back. A sweet local guy with good English.
@Boeing Today we also had the cultural New Year in India, Only Hindus celebrate it. Only few still consider it as new year. I had the fast today, as many Hindus also had it. We celebrate it by worshipping Mother Goddess Durga. We celebrate it for 9 days starting with first day of Chaitra(Hindu lunisolar calendar month).
Both are Hindu celebrations based on the Saka lunar calendar. Nyepi is a Balinese Hindu Celebration. And I guess it's only celebrated in one/few island of Bali where Hindus are in considerable numbers.
