It’s 3:00 in the afternoon, still early, but I’m impatient. The air sizzles with excitement, and the methodical background of gamelan holds a promise of things to come. I grab my camera and head for Hanoman. I’ve been told the ogoh-ogohs are already lining up there. Last year I had no idea what to expect so I found a cafe by the street and waited for the parade to come to me. Not this time. I want to be at the starting line. I want to catch the action from its inception and merge with it, lose myself in it’s ferocious intensity.
Nyepi, the Balinese New Year, is a celebration like none other. For weeks leading up to Nyepi Eve, in villages all across Bali, young and old work feverishly creating mosters of enormous size and hideous countenance. Artistic genius is unleashed to create it’s worst nightmares. In parks, garages, and banjars a framework appears first. The next day it has a penis or two immense breasts clinging to it’s skeleton. Every night the gamelan players whip up a frenzy of sound to cheer on the workers. They have already done a full day’s work at their real jobs, but the driving music propels them to slave feverishly on into the night, building a fiend that will storm through the streets at dusk, restoring a peaceful balance to the energy of the island.
As I turn the corner from Dewi Sita onto Jl. Hanoman I catch sight of the first ogoh-ogoh.

Suckling pigs are used as offerings for the more auspicious Hindu ceremonies. This particular dark spirit looks hungry!

Notice the man standing to the left. Once the framework is hoisted onto the shoulders of an army of Balinese men, these statues do battle with the utility wires that span the streets.

The mammoth boar comes complete with sound effects. It’s either a recording or a human inside who may not be able to talk again for a week!

This team puts on a show! They twirl thier monster, dipping and swaying. They run forward then side to side making their diabolical looking golden buddha appear to be very much alive.

King Cobra is even more stunning after dark. His head and entire body are outlined in lights. His eyes flash red and his mouth glows green.

Ogoh-ogohs surround the field that is filled with curious onlookers. Notice the mysterious little orbs floating about. My camera does not have a dirty lens. These only seem to appear when I’m taking photos in temples or at ceremonies. ?!
By dusk the teams and their ghouls have all arrived. Now it’s time for the real cacophany to begin hearalding the march to the cemetery where ritual burning of these sinister entities will ensue. One by one the gamelan that accompanies each team plays a frenzied percussian as their group exits the field. The crowd roars its approval while the players hammer out the complex sycopations. Just when I think it can’t get any better than this, the next gamelan begins, racheting up the volume, pulling out all the stops until the roar of the crowd and the ecstatic pounding beat drowns out the memory of anything else.
It is glorious. I walk home through streets, deadly quiet, contemplating the immensity of the moment. All of that, the pageantry, the noise, the hours of preparatory labor, is a grand performance to maintain the balance between good and evil. The Balinese don’t just make offerings to the high spirits. The eve of Nyepi is meant to wake up both the benign and the malignant so they will see the abundance presented on their behalf and be at peace for another year. It feels primal, and right for this place that sits so close to the equator that dark and light, both literally and figuratively, are in balance here.
The next morning I awake to the sounds of Ibu. I shuffle, sleepy-eyed, out of the bedroom, then scurry back for my camera. She has outdone herself. The offerings on this day are heaped with fruits and flowers.
She piles them on top of one another, sumptuous and bountiful. She is elegant in her temple clothes, but I know she has crossed a river where there is no bridge, and walked through the jungle to bring these gifts and bless my house today. The incense drifts lazily in fragrant swirls. There are no planes overhead, no cars or motorbikes in the streets. Bali rests like a quiet green jewel in the blue sea. Any spirits who might be looking to make mischief will assume there are no inhabitants here and pass by.
People who spend any time here will tell you that Bali is like nowhere else in the world. If you have any doubt, come for Nyepi and see for yourself. I find it irresistable, and the longer I stay the harder it is to imagine life anywhere else.
Mar 14, 2013 @ 12:28:41
Great post!
LikeLike
Mar 14, 2013 @ 20:32:21
Maybe someday you will witness it yourself. It’s a great time of year to leave Minne-snow-ta!
LikeLike
Mar 14, 2013 @ 14:04:17
JUST WOW and love
LikeLike
Mar 14, 2013 @ 20:32:46
It is ‘just WOW’!
LikeLike
Mar 14, 2013 @ 19:01:36
Beautiful photos Sherry and a wonderful and informative running commentary. Reading it I felt transported to Ubud and the eve of Nyepi.
However, one thing puzzles me. Why was Ibu leaving her house, crossing a river and coming to work on Nyepi? I thought everyone had to stay at home?
LikeLike
Mar 14, 2013 @ 19:32:32
Thanks for the question, Lottie. She came because she wanted my house to be blessed for the new year. Only she knows the appropriate ceremonies and offerings for each day, and on this very special day, that was more important to her than staying home. Since she didn’t have to go on any public roads she assured me it was okay, tidak apa apa! And you know what? I don’t argue with Ibu!
LikeLike
Mar 14, 2013 @ 20:22:24
I vote for the cobra, especially in the year of the sake. Very cool.
LikeLike
Mar 14, 2013 @ 20:31:20
Good point. I’m going with the cobra.
LikeLike
Mar 14, 2013 @ 20:59:05
I am so moved. The familiar street names. Seeing theses amazing ogoh oghos in progress before leaving. How I wish I had been able to stay and experience what you did. I feel it at a distance and yearn for the “in-time” experience. You did an awesome job of helping me/us have this experience and also think words cannot describe these deep and amazing two days. I believe you and and your new “over-the-bridge-and-through-the-woods” helpmate have mutual blessings to share. Thanks sherry.
LikeLike
Mar 15, 2013 @ 06:44:21
Start planning your next trip, Sharon! The month of March has Nyepi, Galungan and Kuningan. I don’t think there is any other months with three major ceremonies.
LikeLike
Mar 14, 2013 @ 21:00:02
P.s. I vote for the big-boobed woman ogoh ogoh
LikeLike
Mar 15, 2013 @ 06:42:03
She’s a looker!
LikeLike
Mar 15, 2013 @ 03:53:38
What amazing works of art! And the Balinese all seem to be treasures. How lovely.
LikeLike
Mar 15, 2013 @ 06:41:33
The Balinese I have met are treasures. And they all seem to have the creative gene!
LikeLike
Mar 17, 2013 @ 08:52:10
Beautifully written
LikeLike
Mar 20, 2013 @ 10:15:43
Fabulous, Sherry!! It is such a treat to experience Bali and her customs through your writing and photos. I hope to experience it first hand one day! Beautifully written! The Balinese are truly artistically talented people! Thanks for transporting me through this experience!
LikeLike