Key Questions: ● Do you think you would prefer Ngrupuk Parade or Hari Nyepi? ● How do we react to the negative? ● How do we show respect in others' spaces?
Key vocabulary: Hari Raya Nyepi = Indonesian Chinese New Year Festival jam karet = rubber time - things often start late Melasti = Purification ceremony Ngembak Geni = the day after Hari Raya Nyepi Ngupruk parade = Indonesian Chinese New Years Day (1st Feb 2022) ogoh-ogoh = paper mache & bamboo monsters raya = big, great seclusion = being alone, staying away from others
Hari Raya Nyepi has been a national holiday in Indonesia since 1983. Hari Raya Nyepi is the Balinese Hindu New Year, celebrated on the first new moon in March. Several days before Nyepi, a Hindu Balinese purification ceremony and ritual called Melasti takes place. During Melasti, a parade of villagers carry all the sacred objects from their temple to a nearby ocean or lake shore. There the sacred objects are cleaned and purified with the holy water of the sea or the lake.
Ngrupuk Parade According to custom, the Lord of Hell sends all the devils to Bali, who must then be cleared out to purify the island before the new year begins. So the Balinese Hindus have a strategy: scare the monsters away! In Bali, the night before Hari Raya Nyepi is the Ngupruk parade: a parade of monsters! In the weeks beforehand the Balinese make huge bamboo and paper mache monsters called ogoh-ogoh, parading them through the streets.
People then run through the streets of villages and towns, with their faces painted, making as much noise as they possibly can. They bang drums and set off fireworks. They try to be as loud as possible to scare the evil spirits away, and burn the ogoh-ogoh which represent the monsters. After that there is dancing, feasting, drinking and partying! Because of jam karet (rubber time), the parade may start hours later than planned.
Hari Nyepi: Day of Silence
The next day is Nyepi, the day of silence, sometimes known as seclusion day. The start of the Balinese Hindu Saka New Year and the arrival of spring, the day begins at 6:00am and lasts until 6:00am the next day. This is a day for self reflection: anything that might distract or disturb is not allowed. This means no cooking or fires, no entertainment, no travelling and no work of any kind is permitted. Even though it is a Hindu holiday, non-Hindu residence usually also observe the day of silence. No one is allowed on beaches or streets, shops are shut and tourists must say in their hotels. Bali Ngurah Rai airport is closed and radio and Tv stations are shut down for the day. In previous years the internet was also turned off except for hospitals and emergency services, but in 2021 they did not. The day after is known as Ngembak Geni, and as daily routines get back to normal, this is a day to perform religious rituals and ask forgiveness for past deeds to start the new year with a clean slate.