Sunday 6 March 2011

Ogoh Ogohs and Nyepi

The eve before "Nyepi" -Bali's day of silence before the New Year of the Balinese calender - "Ogoh -Ogoh" statues -representing mystical beings and monsters are being paraded in a "Ngrupuk" procession around the villages. At every T-junction and cross road the statues are being turned three times anti clockwise to confuse the spirits and make them leave the island for the beginning of the New Year.
The statues are being built by the boys and men of the villages and carried on bamboo constructions -and at the end of the night most statues will be burned. However nowadays some might be spared the flames as they are quite expensive in the making and some are actually up for sale.
The following day Nyepi is being observed -a twentyfour hour period -with silence,no entertainment,no traffic, no visible lights and for some very strickt Hindus meditation and fasting...Even the airport is closed and tourists are also obliged to stay in their hotels and adhere to the customs in moderation.