The Hindu New Year, also known as Hari Raya Nyepi,
happens every March and can be traced all the way back to 78 AD.
Not only do the Balinese celebrate the coming of the new year,
but they also use this time to banish the evil spirits from the land
and to lay a path to the good.
There are 4 rules to follow during Nyepi:
no working, no traveling,
no light and no cooking.
But the entire New Year holiday consists of 3 main events:
Melasti, Pengerupukan and Nyepi,
happening over the course of around 5 days.
In this video, I'm going to explain to you all 3 stages in depth,
and share with you my experience as I take part in them.
I'll be attending Melasti in Canggu,
Pengerupukan in Denpasar,
and I'll finish off with spending Nyepi at home taking in the silence.
Melasti happens within the days leading up to Nyepi.
It's a ritual performed to cleanse the world from all the sin
and bad karma that might have built up throughout the year.
Okay, so I'm at Melasti on Batu Bolong beach in Canggu.
As you can see behind me, everyone is wearing their formal dress, the Bali Madya.
During this ceremony, the local banjir will parade down the streets
to the sea or to a local spring, like a holy spring,
and there will be local women carrying offerings on their head, something that's called a mapeed,
and there'll be men carrying Pratima shrines on their shoulders.
Others will be holding Balinese umbrellas and penjors,
that are symbols of a fight against evil.
And in the background, you'll hear the Balinese gamelan orchestra going
while everyone is here to purify themselves and the objects that they brought with them.
These people are gathered here today to perform the ceremony Tirta Amerta,
or the "water of life",
and come to purify religious objects and themselves
from negative spirits before Nyepi in 3 days.
Once arriving at the coast for Melasti,
the Balinese lay the Pratima shrines in the line on the sand close to the ocean.
The priest will begin to pray and chant, flicking holy water and ringing prayer bells.
At this point, the Balinese people made their way to the ocean's edge.
While I was standing at the edge of the crowd,
I could see people dipping their hands into the sea water,
and flicking it over them or touching the water to their faces.
The aim of the Melasti ceremony is to purify the Banjar and its deities
of all the bad things of the past and throw them into the ocean.
It also works to purify oneself from similar negative energies and spirits.
This is because, in Hindu belief, the sea is considered the source of life,
holding the essence of everlasting life.
The Balinese belief of ruabineda means that opposing forces of good and evil
are equally important to balance the world.
Therefore, not only are negative elements brought here to be purified,
but religious objects that belong to the temple are also cleansed in the water.
It's also during this part of the Melasti ceremony that multiple people start to go in a trance-like state
that could be akin to a former spiritual possession.
While I was watching, people were laying on the sand
or having to be propped up by others while they entered this state.
Piercing screams and yelling could be heard up and down the beach.
This trance happens because spirits enter the bodies of people willing to let them in.
It's times like this that the Balinese Hindu feel the closest to the spiritual world,
and the spiritual and physical world boundaries become blurred.
This trance is an important shamanistic ritual in the Balinese religion and culture.
For me, this is the part of the ceremony that was most intense, but also the most intriguing.
Pecalang, the traditional Balinese security,
oversaw Melasti to make sure spectators don't get in the way and that events move along smoothly.
After the cleansing ritual finishes, everyone retreats back from the sea and sits down on the sand.
During this calm, a lot of people actually opened up umbrellas to shield themselves from the sun.
While waiting, groups of people would come forward at their own discretion
and present their offerings to the ocean.
I'm not entirely sure what the contents of the offering symbolise,
but they tend to be made up of banana leaf, rice, incense and other such objects.
While I watched, a group of 3 men also made their way forward.
One walked to the ocean to collect a container of sea water.
They then used this sea water to purify their offerings.
Participants of Melasti are all ages.
There are plently of children around also taking part in the ceremony.
Towards the end of the ceremony, at the direction of the priest, the crowd prays in harmony.
There was something incredibly beautiful about this part of Melasti.
Once more, the Balinese will be blessed with holy water
before the procession makes its way back to the temples
with the Pratima shrines closing out the ceremony.
Melasti occurs across the island at the coast, or holy springs,
usually within 3 days of Nyepi beginning.
But before Nyepi, we have another traditional ceremony to experience,
and I’m going to take you along for the ride.
Pengerupukan is an absolutely fascinating festival
that’s held the evening before Nyepi around sunset.
It involves a lot of dancing, music, smiles and fire.
During Pengerupukan, each banjar will perform the Bhuta Yanja ritual,
which banishes negativity and evil from the island and its inhabitants
in line with Hindu belief that humans are responsible to balance the world.
For this ritual, the younger generation from the Banjar create Ogoh-Ogoh.
So, I'm here at Banjar Anyar Anyar at the parade of the Ogoh-Ogoh,
and what are Ogoh-Ogoh, you might ask me?
Well, they are these big statue-like creatures
the different Banjars across Bali make out of bamboo, styrofoam and papier-mâché,
and they're made to look like demons and other evil creatures.
The Ogoh-Ogoh are then paraded around the Banjar, around the streets,
and during this time it's thought that they will absorb any negative energy
that's built up over the year, and any negative energy from the spectators that are watching
or any sins that they might have built up will then be sort of absorbed and transferred to the Ogoh-Ogoh.
The finale of the parade is taking the Ogoh-Ogoh to a field, where it will be burned,
and during this, the negative energy that is absorbed through the parade
will then dissipate and burn along with the Ogoh-Ogoh
as they go into the new year just before Nyepi, which is tomorrow.
This creates a balance between God, nature and men,
and it's thought that the bonfire also satisfies Batara Kala, the god of the underworld.
Ogoh-Ogoh are designed to be ugly.
They represent the evil spirits and aim to attract negative spirits and energy into them
as they're parared around the community.
My friends and I were invited by Banjar Anyar Anyar to join in with their parade around the village.
We turned up fairly early and watched them as they prepared.
Even the younger generation was helping out.
All of the percussion instruments of the Gamelan were blessed with holy water before use.
It was around 7:30 p.m., the parade lined up out front of the banjar,
and Ogoh-Ogoh was brought forward.
At the front of the parade, there were 2 lines of women holding bamboo torches.
This is followed by the Ogoh-Ogoh and the Gamelan orchestra brought up the rear.
As we were parading around the streets, there was one guy designated to lift the overhead cable,
so that the Ogoh-Ogoh could pass through.
While it was passing under the cables, the Gamelan would create tension using music.
It was funny, very funny.
Lining up the edges of the street were spectators,
and some of the families even had little mini Ogoh-Ogohs at the front of their houses.
It didn't take long until we reached the halfway mark.
Alright guys, we just made it to the halfway point of the parade
and it just started raining and everyone is starting to go nuts.
Everyone's trying to find places to hide.
Hopefully it doesn't get much harder than this.
It just got much harder than this.
Oh dear, alright. Let's see what happens.
So, we found some shelter for a little bit,
and hopefully the rain passes, I don't know.
I don't know what's gonna happen if it doesn't.
But probably just get on with it.
The roads have absolutely cleared out.
Back on the road, I was really getting into the spirit of the event and decided to join in.
We paraded up until we met up with 4 other banjar and their respective Ogoh-Ogoh.
At a crossroad, each banjar had the opportunity to show off their creation in dance form.
Banjar Kutuh West was up first
with their reclining dad bod Ogoh-Ogoh.
Once they finished, the banjar's kids also wanted a piece of the action.
Next up was our friends at Banjar Anyar Anyar
and their horned beast tht looked like he never skipped a leg day.
They've done a really great job and I'm very proud of my adopted banjar.
The last ones we watched were these guys in red.
I'm not entirely sure what banjar they were from,
but they were carrying a demonic-looking elephant thingamabob.
After this dance, it was already 11 p.m., so we decided to call it a night.
Unfortunately, this banjar didn't burn the Ogoh-Ogoh as the time had gotten too late.
I won't miss it next year, and I'll have to go back to see the burning.
Early at 6 a.m., on the morning of Nyepi,
residents across the island will hear the sound of Kul Kul being hit,
signalling the start of the next 24 hours of silence.
This was a far cry from the party and the music seen at Pengerupukan.
There are four rules when it comes to Nyepi:
Amati Geni means there will be no light for 24 hours.
Street lights are turned off, houses extinguish their interior lights,
even the use of candles or fire is forbidden.
The idea of turning all the lights off means that the island is completely dark,
and all the spirits that have been attracted to the island the day before during Pengerupukan
will think that no one's here and they will have nowhere to go,
which means they will then leave the island.
A benefit of this is the night sky on Nyepi is beautiful,
free from any light pollution.
Unfortunately for me, there was a storm and rain,
so I only managed to see a couple of stars very briefly.
Then there is Amati Karya, or no work.
For 24 hours, not a single Balinese on the island will take part in any form of work.
Amati Lelungan means no travel,
so leaving your house or wandering the streets is illegal.
If you're caught on the streets during Nyepi, the Pecalang, or traditional security,
will arrest you and escort you to the banjar, where you will most likely receive a fine.
In the older days, Balinese people caught on the streets would have to pay a fine of 500 Pis Bolong,
old coins that used to be used as currency here on the island.
Amati Lelanguan means no cooking or self-entertainment.
To eat on Nyepi means that you either consume raw food throughout the day,
or you cook food the day before or the night before,
prior to the Kul Kul being rung at 6 a.m. in the morning.
On Nyepi, a lot of people also choose to fast for 24 hours.
Alright, so it's the 3rd of March,
it's Nyepi today, the silent day of Bali.
This means that I cannot go anywhere today.
Originally I was planning to spend Nyepi at Besakih temple, the mother temple in Bali,
but I had such a late night last night at Pengerupukan,
I didn't really want to spend 2 nights sleeping on the solid floor,
so instead I've come back home and I'm spending it at home instead. So,
let me show you where I can to today, so I can start. This is my room.
I'm allowed in my room, and then I can go out the front to the communal area of the guest house.
Let's go.
So if I go out of my room,
this is the communal area to the guest house.
The downside of having...
air con is steaming up lenses when you leave the room.
Okay, let's try that again. So, if I leave my room...
this is the communal area out here.
I can go in the pool.
All the way around here, this is Will's room.
Over here is the kitchen. You're not supposed to cook on Nyepi, so...
You have to pre-make food, but yeah.
And if we go over here...
This is big man.
Say hi to big man.
This door, if I go out this door, that's when it becomes illegal,
so we're not gonna be leaving there until 6 a.m. tomorrow morning.
And that's it.
That's where I'm allowed today.
So from 6 a.m. today to 6 a.m. tomorrow morning,
I will just be chilling it out, relaxing, reading a book, maybe watching a bit of TV,
and just taking the day off.
On this day, phone data is turned off, so you cannot access the Internet via SIM card.
Because nobody is working, this means everything is shut,
including the airport, shops, the beaches, everywhere.
Nyepi is a day for peace, quiet, self-reflection and meditation.
A lot of Balinese use Nyepi to return to their Banjar and spend time with their family and loved ones.
I spent a lot of the time outside reading my book, just enjoying the sound of the leaves rustling
and hearing the odd rooster call.
So today is the day after Nyepi,
and the day after Nyepi here in Bali is New Year's day.
So happy New Year!
Here in Bali, on the Balinese calendar, the year has just gone from 1943 to 1944,
so I really hope that the Bali 1944 is better than the one we had in Europe.
Today is a day when Balinese families come together and ask each other for forgiveness,
and to look forward to the days that are to come in the new year.
I think it’s a great way to round up to what is an incredibly wholesome and inclusive few days,
and a way to give thanks, gratitude and forgiveness
after a 4 day of self-reflection and inner peace.
When I was researching for this documentary,
I was talking to a local friend of mine who was telling me about Nyepi
and she was saying how the West could probably take a page out of Bali's book in this sense,
and maybe just take one day a year where you sit down,
you reflect on what the year has been, you think about everything you're grateful for,
and you stop taking things for granted that you probably really shouldn't,
and really appreciate life a little bit more.
But that's the end of the video. In the meantime,
follow me on Instagram and Twitter, I'm always active over there.
I hope you really enjoyed this, I've put a lot of work into it,
so if you can leave a like and a comment and subscribe to the channel, that would also be great.
And I will see you again in the next video.
Peace.