The monsters, or Ogoh-Ogoh, are large sculptures made of a bamboo frame and paper mache. They are part of the upcoming Nyepi celebrations. Nyepi is the Balinese day of quiet. It is a day of reflection, when no activity is supposed to occur. No one is supposed to leave their house, and no games or work is allowed. Even the airport closes down; Indonesia is the only country in the world that shuts down one of its international airports for a full day.
We decided to postpone our Spring break trip to Australia to stay in Bali for Nyepi. Sitting inside all day with nothing to do doesn't sound like much fun, but we've been told that Nyepi is not to be missed, for the excitement of the Ogoh-Ogoh and the absolute quiet and peacefulness of the silent day.
The night preceding Nyepi is a raucous one. The Ogoh-Ogoh are out in full force, carried by men fortified with alcohol, and accompanied by troupes of musicians playing frenzied music. The Ogoh-Ogoh attract the evil spirits who then inhabit the sculptures. The Ogoh-Ogoh are carried in a procession through the village, spun frequently to disorient the evil spirits, and then set aflame and burnt to ashes to purify the village of the evil spirits.
Whether by inspired design or lucky accident, the construction of the Ogoh-Ogoh is entrusted to the teenage boys of the village. This keeps them occupied and out of trouble, gives them an honored role in the community, and provides them an outlet to express their grotesque imaginings, which often involve super-sized yet realistic body parts.
Alexa's class is making its own Ogoh-Ogoh at school. We're looking forward to seeing all the finished Ogoh-Ogoh. We're not quite sure what to expect at the Ogoh-Ogoh procession in Ubud which will packed with men carrying heavy 10 to 20 foot-high structures, crazed by the evil spirits roaming around them.
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| Banjar Silungan - ten minutes south of Ubud |
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| One of the artists - a chatty guy who spoke English quite well |
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| Banjar Taro, home of the Elephant Safari Park |
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| Banjar Pinjul, a small, remote village northeast of Ubud |
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| Banjar Padang Tegal - a relatively wealthy neighborhood in Ubud |
March 19th Update
With the Ogoh-Ogoh procession just around the corner the Ogoh-Ogoh are nearing completion.
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| Adding hair, in Nyuh Kuning village |
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| In Padang Tegal, on one of the busiest shopping streets in Ubud |
These Ogoh-Ogoh provide more examples of the ubiquitous artistry one sees in Bali, and are evidence that even the young are highly accomplished.
ReplyDeleteThat they collaborate in the creative work and then can celebrate the destruction of such laboriously produced creations echoes your previous post about emphasis on community rather than focus on the individual.
(But Nat - the 2nd video clip currently won't run, says it's private.)
I like the idea of day in which everything closes and nobody works. Too often in the U.S., holidays just mean that professionals get to take a break but service workers don't get the chance to be with their family. It sounds like the day of Nyepi might be an eerie experience. It makes me think of when we arrived back at National Airport on Inauguration Day, in the midst of Obama's speech, and drove home on roads with not a car in sight, as if Arlington had been abandoned (partly because most people were across the Potomac on the Mall, and partly because the bridges into D.C. had been closed to vehicular traffic, so no one was using them). Other than that, our only experience of complete shutdowns have been during blizzards -- but even then we were able to hike through the snow to the Safeway, where some people were working.
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