NYEPI THE BALINESE SILENCE
MELASTI, THREE DAYS BEFORE THE BALINESE SILENCE
Every
religion or culture all over the world has their own way to define and celebrate
their new year. For example, the Chinese have the Imlek year and to celebrate
it, have, as they called it in their own language, "Gong Xi Fat Choy".
The Moslem societies have their Muharam year, and any of the people over the
world using the Gregorian calendar, celebrate the New Year on January 1st.
The same thing also occurs in Bali, however the Balinese use many different calendar systems. They have adopted the Gregorian calendar for business and government purposes. But for the endless procession of holy days, temple anniversaries, celebrations, sacred dances, building houses, wedding ceremonies, death and cremation processes and other activities that define Balinese life, they have two calendar systems. The first is the Pawukon (from the word Wuku which means week) and Sasih (which is means month). Wuku consists of 30 items starting from Sinta, the first Wuku and end up with the Watugunung the last one. The Pawukon, a 210-day ritual calendar brought over from Java in the 14th century, is a complex cycle of numerological conjunctions that provides the basic schedule for ritual activities on Bali. Sasih, a parallel system of Indian origin, is a twelve month lunar calendar that starts with the vernal equinox and is equally important in determining when to pay respect to the Gods.
Westerners open the New Year in revelry, however, in contrast, the Balinese open their New Year in silence. This is called Nyepi Day, the Balinese day of Silence, which falls on the day following the dark moon of the spring equinox, and opens a new year of the Saka Hindu era which began in 78 A.D.Nyepi is a day to make and keep the balance of nature. It is based on the story of when King Kaniska I of India was chosen in 78 A.D. The King was famous for his wisdom and tolerance for the Hinduism and Buddhism societies. In that age, Aji Saka did Dharma Yatra (the missionary tour to promote and spread Hinduism) to Indonesia and introduce the Saka year.
In
Balinese Hinduism, the relinquishment is accomplished into several parts of
worship. There are four rules known as Catur Brata Penyepian which guide the
Hindus to refrain a while from worldly and physical activities.
First is the principle called Amati Geni. People are not allowed to set lights
and fire for the whole day, that includes not burning or setting a stove on,
and they can’t cook for meals. Along with this purpose, they abstain from
eating and drinking for 24 hours. In deeper reflection, this symbolizes turning
the fire off in the five senses of the soul, along with any unscrupulous emotions.
It brings up the other sensitivity from within one’s spirit, and it enhances
the quality of life.
The other actions of turning down corporal dealings are; not doing any work
at all which is called Amati Karya, not going anywhere (Amati Lelungan), and
avoiding any entertainment forms (Amati Lelanguan).
The lead upto Nyepi day is as follows:
Melasti or Mekiyis or Melis (three days before Nyepi)
Melasti is meant to clean the pratima or arca or pralingga (statue), with symbols that help to concentrate the mind in order to become closer to God. The ceremony is aimed to clean all nature and its content, and also to take the Amerta (the source for eternal life) from the ocean or other water resources (ie lake, river, etc). Three days before Nyepi, all the effigies of the Gods from all the village temples are taken to the river in long and colourful ceremonies. There, they have are bathed by the Neptune of the Balinese Lord, the God Baruna, before being taken back home to their shrines.
Tawur
Kesanga (the day before Nyepi)
Exactly one day before Nyepi, all villages in Bali hold a large exorcism ceremony
at the main village cross road, the meeting place of demons. They usually make
Ogoh-ogoh (the fantastic monsters or evil spirits or the Butha Kala made of
bamboo) for carnival purposes. The Ogoh-ogoh monsters symbolize the evil spirits
surrounding our environment which have to be got rid of from our lives . The
carnivals themselves are held all over Bali following sunset. Bleganjur, a Balinese
gamelan music accompanies the procession. Some are giants taken from classical
Balinese lore. All have fangs, bulging eyes and scary hair and are illuminated
by torches.The procession is usually organised by the Seka Teruna, the youth
organisation of Banjar. When Ogoh-ogoh is being played by the Seka Teruna, everyone
enjoys the carnival. In order to make a harmonic relation between human being
and God, human and human, and human and their environments, Tawur Kesanga is
performed in every level of society, from the people's house. In the evening,
the Hindus celebrating Ngerupuk, start making noises and light burning torches
and set fire to the Ogoh-ogoh in order to get the Bhuta Kala, evil spirits,
out of our lives.
Nyepi
On Nyepi day itself, every street is quiet - there are nobody doing their normal
daily activities. There is usually Pecalangs (traditional Balinese security
man) who controls and checks for street security. Pecalang wear a black uniform
and a Udeng or Destar (a Balinese traditional "hat" that is usually
used in ceremony). The Pecalangs main task is not only to control the security
of the street but also to stop any activities that disturb Nyepi. No traffic
is allowed, not only cars but also people, who have to stay in their own houses.
Light is kept to a minimum or not at all, the radio or TV is turned down and,
of course, no one works. Even love making, this ultimate activity of all leisure
times, is not supposed to take place, nor even attempted. The whole day is simply
filled with the barking of a few dogs, the shrill of insect and is a simple
long quiet day in the calendar of this otherwise hectic island. On Nyepi the
world expected to be clean and everything starts anew, with Man showing his
symbolic control over himself and the "force" of the World, hence
the mandatory religious control.
Ngembak
Geni (the day after Nyepi)
Ngembak is the day when Catur Berata Penyepian is over and Hindus societies
usually visit to forgive each other and doing the Dharma Canthi. Dharma Canthi
are activities of reading Sloka, Kekidung, Kekawin, etc.(ancient scripts containing
songs and lyrics).
The other actions of turning down corporal dealings are; not doing any work at all which is called Amati Karya, not going anywhere (Amati Lelungan), and avoiding any entertainment forms (Amati Lelanguan).
On
Nyepi Day, the Hindus stay at home, but they are not supposed to listen to the
radio, watch TV, speak to each other, answer telephones, or take in guests.
Instead, they should lay and meditate in darkness, or have prayers at their
own pura called merajan (little house-shrine in the front part of the home)
to work out on the inner part of their spiritual life.
It is very quiet on the street and it is impossible to go anywhere even for
other communities who are exempt from the rite. The Ngurah Rai International
Airport and all harbor accesses to Bali are closed. The airport will only allow
overfly flights, transfer, or emergency landing, while public services such
as hospitals and transportations for the sick and other emergency cases will
be on the restricted judgment of village chiefs.
As a lot of visitors could not do anything else in the island, they will have
to stay in the hotel and find their own activities day.
The Hindus in Bali are strongly religious. All ages, except babies seem to be
wholeheartedly bound to the observance of the prayer. Women wear kebaya and
have their hair twisted while men appear in white with udang (traditional headdress)
on their head. They will march under golden yellow sunshades which are meant
for ritual ceremonies.
To set up the execution of Catur Brata Penyepian, all figures of worship and
sacred utensils must be cleaned up to the oceans in Melis or Melasti ceremony.
Upon the cleaning, Melasti is aimed to wash up human soul from dirt and sins.
The Hindus believe that it is the power of nature that will take all the agony
and refresh the soul. It is important to sip something from the ocean, that
ocean is full of waves, just like the world life, where humankind should find
the essence of life from within.
The procession itself is a rich and special eye-catching event for the tourists,
especially before the D-day blackout. Bali could be fussed with traffic jams
up to a day before Nyepi. In grand puras, women flooded the shrines bringing
offerings on tall baskets on their head. Some people walk stretching out a long
sheet of yellow and white cloth known as “The Bridge of God”.
Gamelan (brass musical instruments) and barong (kind of Balinese mystical puppet)
are also the sacrosanct figures to scour on the beach. The gamelan bands march
and play along the street, escorting barongs, fruit, rice, and natural food
transported in garnished carriers, heading to the head-waterfront puras such
as Tanah Lot, Goa Lawah, or Kuta. After prayers and rituals confronting the
sea, preachers will splash all the equipments with the holy water, and bless
them to the next use for the following year.
And one day before Nyepi, there is the Tawur Kasanga ceremony. The ceremony
is held in every place of the island, from the front yard through the city pura.
Every house has merajan to adorn with Panca Warna offerings. Sanggah cucuk of
bamboo cane are positioned against the door to display colorful gifts of sacrifice,
such as ‘ketupat’ (cooked rice in square of coconut leaves), tumpeng
(cone rice), chicken and other food, and rice wine, liquor, and water presented
under the bamboo.
This Tawur Kasanga is aimed to please the natural environment, to inspire the
Hindus to always care for the ecosystem, as that’s what a balance in life
should be like. According to Wiana in his book Yadnya and Bhakti, tawur means
to return or to pay on something; that people should also give nature a sincere
present, as human beings seem to take so much from the environment all the time.
Hindus are taught to let go of the materialism and avarice but to make it simple:
to take but also to give.
In parts on cities, tawur will continue with Ngrupuk as the sun goes down. Here,
every member of the family has his and her own ritual to start noise around
the house bringing torches and sprinkle rice over the alleyways.
In cities and bigger villages, people parade a huge sculpture called ogoh-ogoh,
a colorfully clad wooden scary face representing the supernatural giant Bhuta
Kala or the power of evil. The giant will be danced in the vibrant gamelan music
and soared around the village for a while. To the end of the rite, they will
blaze it on fire to get rid of the wicked power represented by the giant figure.
Then the next day, when the tranquility comes, Nyepi is really a solitude day.
A day renouncing from the normal clamor is meant for looking through a more
advanced quality in the future life. If one could see it through, he or she
will be able to let go of the wrong, penetrate the peace into his or her mind,
and start the dharma, something that most people dream of a new life.