Brilio.net/en - While the whole world was excited about the Total Solar Eclipse, people in Bali are performing their penance on the Day of Silence, otherwise known as Nyepi. But a day before the total silence, the whole island takes to the streets to celebrate the Pengrupukan Day. On this day Hindu people are asking The Gods Sang Buta Raja, Buta Kala and Batara Kala to not disturb the humans.
After the Mecaru ritual, Pengrupukan ritual follows. The ritual consists of spreading rice and ammunition powder in the house yard, heating all corners of the house, and beating all things to make noises. The purpose of doing this is to drive Buta Kala (the evil spirit) away from the neighborhood. Only in Bali, the Pengrupukan is celebrated with the Ogoh-Ogoh parade, which depicts the embodiment of Buta Kala. The Ogoh-Ogoh will be paraded around the neighborhood, and then burnt, as a symbol of the defeat of evil spirits.
Each Banjar (Balinese neighborhood association) makes at least one Ogoh-Ogoh for Pengrupukan day. Ogoh-Ogoh is a statue made out of resin or gypsum, and shaped as monsters or other forms of demons. The statues are usually made 1-3 meters tall, decorated with Balinese ornaments and standing on a bamboo base that can be lifted by up to 20 people. You will be amazed at the details they put in creating these monsters, but as we already know Bali is famous for their art and crafts.
The monsters of Ogoh-Ogoh are usually taken from a scene of epic Balinese stories, of which the most famous is Calonarang of Medang Kingdom. The other favorite evil characters are Rahwana, Rangda, Buta Kala and Goblin, while for the heroic side people still adore Pandawa warriors and Hanoman as the protagonists in the scene. Sometimes they make their own modernized versions of the characters, but most still prefer to stick to the classic.
This is my third time watching Ogoh-Ogoh parade and this time I started from Lapangan Puputan, the Balinese monumental field where the Dutch army once invaded Bali and thousands of people lost their lives in defending their kingdom, including the king and his whole family. Today, the green field is used as recreational park, where people like to have family picnics, do some sports or eat from hawker food stalls.
Last night, the field was again packed with thousands of people, but this time it was not for war. Hawker food sellers, toy sellers and household appliance sellers held their sales since afternoon on both the field and pavements of Puputan. People stood alongside the Jalan Udayana main road, watching the parade that came from Jalan Gajah Mada, heading south.
The parade started after sunset, to give a more dramatic effect on the monsters. Each Banjar gives their best effort to make Ogoh-Ogoh and paraded in groups. Men and women would wear T-shirts combined with traditional fabrics and headbands so the atmosphere is the mix between casual and traditional. Even children want to participate by parading their own tiny monsters.
They turned in circles on the crossroads to give 360 preview to all audiences. About 15-25 men pushed and carried the Ogoh-Ogoh, while the women walked before them, opening the way. Behind the monster is the music group, as each Banjar presents their own background music to the monster. Some group performed live traditional gamelan while some others had DJ playing newest upbeat music.
As the parade crowd was slowly fading, I moved to Kuta at 9 p.m. to see more Ogoh-Ogoh. The parade in Kuta is different than in any other areas, for they have this formal contest with judges and live broadcasting on Kuta TV. The parade group consists of not only the monster statues and music group, but also dancers who performed the entire scene dance. Here, as also in Nusa Dua, people take the Ogoh-Ogoh contest seriously and the performance lasted until midnight.
After this, the winner was announced on the same night (which would make people stay until the end of the contest) and all of the Ogoh-Ogoh are burnt and released to the sea, as a symbol of letting go of the evil. Nowadays, as the celebration finished by midnight, the burning is usually done on Ngembak Agni day (also known as Ngembak Api or Labuh Brata), after people are greeting each other and sharing well wishes of a happy new year and asking forgiveness for the past mistakes.
If you are planning to go on vacation to Bali next year, make sure you will be around during the Nyepi day to see the parade and experience the full 24-hours of silence. The whole holiday series is truly a unique experience; youll see why its the most awaited event of the year for the Balinese. The upcoming Nyepi celebrations will be on March 28, 2017 and March 17, 2018. So mark your calendar and book your flight now!