Stillness

Bali Blog Part One:

Have you ever taken the time to turn off all your electronics and take a look at what nature and the world has to offer you?

March 7th, 2019 was Nyepi day in Bali. This is when Bali shuts everything down for 24 hours. No one is to be outside on the streets, the beaches or even driving a car! They even shut down the airports. It is a holiday that the Balinese celebrate to bring in a New Year. It comes around in the spring and with that being said, it means "Day of Silence".

What is the purpose of Nyepi day? It is "Bali’s biggest purification festival, designed to clean out all the bad spirits and begin the year anew. The cultural reasoning behind Nyepi is to fool evil spirits into thinking Bali has been abandoned so they will go elsewhere" (Berkmoes, R, V.).

The Balinese have four strict laws that need to be obeyed during the time of Nyepi Day:

1. No Fire

2. No Activity

3. No entertainment

4. No travel

(These rules do not apply to hotels, but you cannot leave the hotel or you could get escorted back by the police.) (Best time to go to Bali).

I was able to witness some of the rituals that the Balinese celebrate before "Day of Silence". I was able to see the Ngrupuk parade with the Ogoh-Ogoh statues (these statues are built for the Ngrupuk parade which takes place on the night before Nyepi day. These statues help to ward off the evil spirits.) Once the parade is over the statues are burned! (I was not able to see that happen, but was able to see the statues being carried and then getting messed up, while I was in the Canggu area for a holiday/vacation).

The "Day of Silence" is a day for you to catch up on sleep, meditate and reflect about the year you had. I was able to reflect back on my year!

Stay tuned for blog two on Bali's Travel Photography and a Balinese Wedding!

References:

Berkmoes, R, V., & Skolnick, A., (2013). Bali and Lombok. Lonely Planet Book. PDF. Pg. 1383-1385. Published by Lonely Planet Publications Pty Ltd.

Best time to go to Bali. (2019). Nyepi 2019. Retrieved from https://rove.me/to/bali/nyepi on March 6, 2019.