We planned on leaving Ubud on the 14th but we decided to stay for The Caka New Year (Nyepi or Silent day) celebration.
The festivities begin several days – if not weeks – in advance as each community group builds a papier-mâché effigy called ogoh-ogoh (evil and destructive figures.) Some are smaller but most are huge, upwards of 10-12 feet tall.
The day before Nyepi there is parade of ogoh-ogoh, prayers and offerings at the temples. In Ubud the festivities were carried out at and around the Ubud Palace, very close to where we were staying.
Later the same day, around sunset, all of the ogah-ogah figures, placed on top of the bamboo frames, carried on the shoulder of 50 plus men, women and sometime children, arrive at the large soccer field in the village. Richard and I were told to arrive early and we are glad we did. Within an hour of our arrival the almost empty soccer field was filled with 30 plus ogah-ogah’s and 1000s of locals and tourists. Our guess is that 30,000 plus people were enjoying the festivities.
After an hour of music, and proclamations, over the microphone (not sure what as we could not know the language), one by one, the ogah-ogah’s were carried out of the stadium, the same way they arrived, this time, the crowd, including us, following the figures, to the space prepared at Ubud Palace, a distance of about ½ mile.
Richard and I lucked out again by being very close to where the ogoh-ogoh’s would arrive and one by once get destroyed by being shaken hard and steady. The idea is to get rid of all of the evil and the bad things as they enter the Balinese begin their new year. This is year 1940.
After all the noise, excitement and hard celebration, at 1 am the next day, Nyepi or silent day begins and it ends at 1 am the following day. During this day, the entire island of Bali goes into hibernation while the Balinese people follow the ritual of the four Nyepi prohibitions; no fire, no travel, no activity, and no entertainment. All shops, restaurants, everything is closed, no one can walk in the street, there is no lights on in the homes and no entertainment or electronics. The gate to our hotel was shut closed but the few staff working provided us with food, snacks, and everything else we need. Our internet and cell phone access were cut off though. A good thing J
To learn more about this event, you may wish to read the one-page flyer posted on the photo link.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/0fcwmFbKjw7Pxi3A3
If you are interested in seeing ALL of our photos visit this link which will be updated with new photos of our adventures:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/58VvbXOH5ZMBNQsn1
“The earth is but one country” 