Thirty hours after the midnight start of Nyepi, Bali gets back to its usual idyllic state, thankfully free of demons. I plan to lounge around my silent hotel and read a book so I can avoid all temptation. They’ll get bored and go off to Java or Lombok or Detroit. If spirits do come by on this day of enforced silence, they’ll see that nothing is going on, that there’s no havoc to wreak. The best hotels in Val dIsere, chosen by our expert, including luxury hotels, boutique hotels, budget hotels and Val dIsere hotel deals. This is, in part, to hide from any evil spirits that might be tempted to come back … or from those attracted to clamor. Locals must stay in their homes, tourists in their hotels. At midnight, Nyepi begins and the island closes down. The dizzying, madcap mix of noise, flames and music is supposed to exorcise the demons. The ceremony ends when the ogohs are set on fire with the torches. As I get swept up in this cavalcade, I imagine myself high above the island seeing similar fiery, torch-lit streaks winding serpent-like across the landscape, chased by gangs with gongs. It’s as if they’ve been carved from the nether regions of the Balinese religion. I watch as several fiendish-looking ogohs pass, held aloft on bamboo platforms and surrounded by torches.
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Eyes protrude threateningly saber-like fangs jut out from intimidating mouths creepy hair, feathers and wildly colored skin give the figures a fierce and daunting aspect. The ogohs emerge straight from the badlands of human imagination. We start to bang on things and shout the demons out. I feel a carnival-mob mentality begin to take root, rippling down the sidewalk from person to person. The sound seems a living thing, its cacophonous tendrils reaching down alleyways and swirling around temples as it precedes the ogohs. The ogohs are heralded with wild torrents of raucous timpani-centered music coming from traditional gong bands, pots and pans - whatever can be found to frighten away resident demons and to attract passing ones (this ceremony is a flytrap of sorts for passing demons). The ogohs are kept under wraps until sunset, when the men and boys of the town, who built these symbolic beasts, carry them through the streets. In case you’re not up on your evil-spirit lore, these places are where the wicked minions gather. I’m here to do my bit for my fellow man.Īt sunset on the day of Tawur Kesanga, which is the day before the Balinese New Year ( Nyepi), these ogoh-ogohs are paraded through towns throughout Bali to a main square or crossroads. Required tasks include cleansing sacred statues and symbols with water and, of course, the expulsion of demons, like the one currently looming over my head. The people are devout Hindus and are always preoccupied by an endless procession of odalan, or holy days, such as the ritual purification of the island, which helps prepare for the New Year.
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