Nyepi

We arrived into Bali on the eve of Nyepi so that Adrien could get back to Jakarta ASAP.  Her tour of Europe showing off her film at numerous film festivals required her to be present for Visas and what not.  Satyavan, Jasmina and I were put in charge of shopping for fresh fruits and veggies for the weekend; everything is closed during Nyepi.  We ended up at a mart, reminded me of Sam’s Club, where they had EVERYTHING!  Instead of shopping carts, you had to pull around a trolley.  We loaded up on fruits and greens, many of which I have never seen before, relaxed with a coffee and ice cream (ice cream is always the first thing we get after arriving in a new port, after a week with nothing cold, it tastes SOO GOOD!), and haggled with cab drivers.  Luckily a couple from LA offered to give us a ride home!  They were very kind, and so we gave them a tour of Mir, very excited to see this part of Bali and get on a boat. 

A few of us walked into town to view the eve of Nyepi celebration.  Nyepi is a Hindu celebration, the start of a new year.  You remain at home, no work, no lights, just reflect on the past year and all the evil you have done.  During the day, as the evil spirits pass over, they do not see you because you are in a state of self reflection; they simply leave you to start a new year clean and pure.  The night before Nyepi, the communities make large statues, ogu ogus, to represent the evil spirits from the past year.  They are put on display in front of the hindu temples, and when darkness sets in they parade them around town.  Fireworks are launched from the streets, a procession of fire torches leads the way, followed by the ogu ogus, and announced by a crew beating on drums and gongs bringing up the rear.  The roads are closed, the cars and motor bikes are made to wait.  As the procession made its way down the street and out of sight, we decided to follow and be part of the action.  We ended up joining at the back of the parade, only to realize they were turning around a few kilometers down the road.  We walked back along side the dancing spirits hoisted high above the heads of the masses.  Now waiting at the original intersection, we spoke with many happy, friendly Balinese, learned that the spirits would travel down the streets in the 4 directions, and then be carried to the harbor and tossed into the sea or burned!  While we were waiting for the spectacle, we grabbed a quick bite to eat at a tasty Warteg and saw spirits arrive from other parts of town.  Eventually, they completed their route, lined up and lit off a dozens of roman candles and flares, dancing each spirit through the smoke.  The drums picked up intensity, and one by one, the spirits ran into the middle of the intersection and the children jerked them from all sides, shaking and rattling them until they fell to pieces.  Many were made so their heads would fall off.  The pieces were thrown down the street leading to the harbor, and after each one was dismantled, they were kicked and beaten before the children would run off with souvenirs of heads or arms or serpents.  We then followed the remnants as they were carried towards the harbor.  We watched as they were piled up and the Styrofoam was lit on fire!  We continued down the road and stopped at our new friend Agus’s place for Indonesian coffee.  It was a spectacular evening!

The day of Nyepi was reserved for catching up on sleep, which we had all been depraved of the past couple of nights, meeting with each other, catching up on work/emails, and simply enjoying the peace of the day.  It was so quiet, no lights were turned on; I have never experienced anything like it in a city!