Bahasa IndonesiaOgoh Ogoh Parades – the evening before Silence Day
During Nyepi Eve, Bali’s streets will be filled with parades of the well-known Ogoh-Ogoh statues, accompanied by loud sounds and gamelan music.
Visitors and tourists are welcomed to observe and enjoy the magical creatures.
The Ogoh-Ogoh, usually made of papier-mâché, is placed on a bamboo frame serving as its base. The young people of a banjar (local community) create these oversized statues in the likeness of demons, evil spirits, and other fantastical figures from Hindu mythology. Some statues reference current issues and may resemble real people known for cruelty, greed, or injustice.
As a symbol of all the bad things that might happen in life, the Ogoh-Ogoh are burned afterward to make room for good energy that can bring peace and prosperity in the year ahead.
The Ogoh-Ogoh statues are a very important part of the Nyepi celebrations marking the start of the new year in the Balinese calendar. On the night before Nyepi, communities create and parade large, colorful Ogoh-Ogoh statues through the streets.
The statues represent demons and negative elements believed to threaten the balance of the universe. Their parade and burning symbolize the banishment of negative forces and the purification of the community in preparation for the new year. The Ogoh-Ogoh parade represents the victory of good over evil and the triumph of spiritual values over materialism.
What happens at an Ogoh-Ogoh parade?
The Bhuta Yajna ceremony is held the night before Nyepi and is the second ceremony of the Nyepi festival. Men from villages across Bali use bamboo grids to support statues that may reach up to 30 feet in height as they are paraded through the streets to the sound of gamelan music.
The Balinese youth community often spends many months building these statues. It is a vital part of community life and a way of keeping traditions and rituals alive.
The Balinese bring torches to neutralize their homes and surroundings, creating loud noises in preparation for the parade. At each intersection, the Ogoh-Ogoh is spun counterclockwise three times to confuse bad spirits and prevent them from harming humanity.
At the end of the parade, the statues are burned at graveyards or designated areas. These torch-bearing festivities last late into the night on the eve of Nyepi.Nyepi in Bali
