bali highlights week 3 march 2018

Last week in Bali was one of the holiest week of all. We witnessed festivities and religious rituals throughout. The week began by Melasati ceremony also known as the purification ceremony. It is also the ceremony that marks the start of Seclusion day. The ceremony is meant to clean every thing from nature and its content so that they can get closer to God. It was followed by the exorcism ceremony at the main villages on the crossroads where the demons are believed to meet. The evening was followed by the Ogoh Ogoh carnival. 

It is celebrated by everyone taking pride in crafting the scariest paper mache giant as adults while kids will enjoy the fun in their own form of Ogoh Ogoh which sometimes can be in form of Spongebob or Spiderman. The Ogoh Ogoh parade was then carried around the village with the beautiful sound of Bleganjur. At the end each house took part in celebrating the Ngerpuk by making noises and lighting the torches to scare the demons away.The peak will be when they set fire to the Ogoh-ogoh as a symbol of getting all evil spirit from their lives.

After all these festivities came the day of silence aka Nyepi. It is also considered as one of the most holiest day of Balinese Religion. Ngurah Rai Airport was closed for 24 hours as a sign of respect as the day is meant to be celebrated in sheer silence. Internet was shut down so were the local businesses. People stayed at their houses following the Catur Brata or four rules. The day in short means to spend the whole day in silence without any fire, light or entertainment of any sort.

Saint Patrick day was also on 17th march however most places and resorts decided to celebrate it on 18th instead in respect to Nyepi day.