ogoh ogoh and nyepi

ogoh ogoh is the celebration of frightening away the evil spirits from bali in order to bring in the new year without them! it is done for the last 20 years in a modern "float parade" version instead of the original gamelon band parade that would exorcise them in former times. so now, each "clan" which is a neighborhood, makes one of the images from the famous ramayana tales at least 10 feet high and made from paper mache and foam rubber and prepared by the teenagers for the month preceding the celebration. along with the huge impressive images are all neighborhood bands with hand made bamboo instruments, beating out known rhythms as they march the 10+ kilometers down the main road, ending up at the cemetery and burning them.

it was fascinating watching how the images progressed over the past month, from mere skeletal wire concoctions into magnificent elaborate detailed huge images, that were headless until the last day, when the prepared but hidden heads, were connected to the bodies, after all the suspense leading up to it! each of the clans also bought group t-shirts for the event.

all of this is only men and boys..no girls are involved in any of this, in general, you never see boys and girls together, at any age....the boys hang out on the streets with big speakers blaring out electronic western music as the big moment approaches, drinking beer and being stupid. the girls are nowhere to be seen.

i asked mitha if she would take me on her motorbike to the beginning of the parade so that i could walk along with them from the start. she agreed, and even though she is not yet 13 she was driving very well the motorbike, even though the legal age is 16! she is very cautious and confident. the police never really stop anyone, even though you are supposed to have a license and be 16 and be wearing a helmet...

as we drove along the main road i saw the groups of men and the blaring music every 500 meters or so...and i wondered what will happen to bali in the next 10 years?! how will these traditions and ceremonies be carried on by this next generation that is so enhanced with the western world? the float i liked best was one of a punk that was made in the neighborhood nearby me. i would stop and admire it as it was built each day, and when it was done, i was so impressed, i asked the young 20(?) year old artist that had worked on it most of the time if he would stand next to it so i could take his picture. he refused, (without any words since he doesn't know english) and no matter how much i begged him, he just smiled and sat in place, so in the end i photographed him separately, but you can see the resemblance of his image and the one he made.

i wanted mitha to leave me at the beginning, but it was so far, and she felt responsible for me, and even though i tried to convince her how much i love walking and the fun of it all, she just sat on her motorbike, not saying a word, but refusing to leave me. no matter how much i explained to her that i can walk long distances and that i will be fine and she can drive home alone and thank you etc...she just sat their, knowing that she is not going to let me do this absurd inappropriate thing...eventually i am the one that gave in...admiring her silent power, a 13 year old! and got back on the bike and said "okay, we do it your way" and she smiled and drove me back to her house where we waited a few hours for the parade to begin. all along the way we had seen people giving offerings and priests doing cleansing ceremonies for the new year. when we got back to her house her younger sister came home and handed a little plastic bag with a few tablespoons of water in it with something orange that looked like a baby goldfish, floating in it, to her mother. i asked what it was and she said holy water to bless the house with. what? a goldfish is holy water??! and then they showed me it was an orange petal of a flower and that even though they don't have enough money to give the real offering to the temple, their niece sent over some of their holy water which will be sprinkled on the 2 huts and grounds as a purifying rite for the new year.

in bali every person will tell you something different, no matter about what subject, whether religion, timetables, laws, customs...so not wanting to miss the beginning of the parade, we set off by foot at 6 as the gardener had told me, even though her father said it will only reach the village at 10...he was right! and we just walked and walked and walked until we finally met up with the parade, as it began. the good thing was that there were no crowds where we were, and as we joined in with them as they approached the village center, the crowds were 5 people deep and it was hours later...and i had seen enough ogoh ogoh for this year...so i walked home, before it ended at midnight.

the following morning at dawn (6 a.m.) the 24 hours of silence began. all electricity in the country was closed down (but i heard that in the south where there are so many tourists they make exceptions). there are 4 rules for nyepi:

-no fire, electricity
-stay inside, no walking or sitting outside your house
-fasting from dawn to dusk
-no work

so i looked forward to this day of silence. and stayed inside my room, and meditated a few times during the day, my bed has a big beautiful high mosquito net around it in white, and when i wasn't meditating i was either looking at a big board filled with magazine photos that i made with my latest vision for life, or laying on my bed and allowing random thoughts to come... it was very special..i kind of felt like in a cocoon on the bed, and the beautiful colorful butterfly that
will soon shed the cocoon and spread her delicate wings would soon be born.

before dusk nicole and jochan and i had a small meal before it was too dark to see anything, on my way back to my room, since any use of flashlights etc, is strictly forbidden, unless of emergency. and since it was also the "dark moon", which means the day before what we call the new moon, the sky was pitch black, other than the many stars, but since we were supposed to stay inside, all there was was total blackness. the night went on forever, for me, since 7 was already dark so i went to bed, but just tossed and turned and awoke about 20 times . many of the balinese have a real fear about the dark, i am grateful that my fear of the dark which went on until the age of 42 had ended, and i could just appreciate the pitch black darkness of the forest and the sea around my room. At dawn i heard a fisherman rev up his motor and it was exactly 6. and the new year had begun, and hopefully the evil spirits did not find the island of bali at night, since it appeared like no one was home! and thus starts the new year!