Nyepi (Silence day) celebration
Balinese will commemorate Nyepi day or known as Silence day that this year to be held on 5th March 2011. Nyepi day is the celebration that held annually in Bali to commemorate the new year of Caka’1933.
Different with other celebration that loud with noisy sparkling fire works, the Balinese celebrated the silence day with no light, no fires, no noise and not allowing for outside of their houses for 24 hours since the morning fall until following morning.
Nyepi in Balinese is meant to restraint the desire of inside of human needs for a day and prefer of doing meditation and confined their needs so that they will feel reborn as new human being.
Prior to Nyepi day, Balinese usually make effigies from hair raising form of Styrofoam monsters that are made for almost than two months and involving minimum of 10 men depending of the size of the monsters.
One day before Nyepi (Balinese called it Pengrupukan), in the afternoon time, Balinese are bringing the Kulkul (Bamboo bells) or other household cooking equipments and they will walk around their houses to make loud noises, in meaning of all of those unseen will be running away before they will start the meditation during the Nyepi day. After the sunset, all of those effigies are to be carried by the men of the hamlets and performed at the front of the crowd of people that has waited to watch those effigies passed their roads.
Usually with the power of 20 to 30 men, sometimes they are dancing while carried over the effigies (or Ogoh Ogoh in Balinese) around their respective hamlets.
The road can be difficult to access since all roads in Bali to be blocked by the
crowds of spectators and effigies that to be carried over by the villagers. However, during this performance, it is so exciting can be seeing of those effigies to be carried with lots of people that watch that can be a unique moment to experience during staying in Bali.
For those who first time to come to Bali, it is suggested that you should stay in your resort and confine yourself from all activities of traveling outside of the resort area. Inside the resort, you could do the swimming or walking around the resort area. No loud noises are advised during the stay.
