Bali Ceremonies
Nyepi: The Balinese Day of Silence
Nyepi is the day of the year where Balinese tradition comes into direct conflict with the 21st Century. During Nyepi Day, all usual island functions stop, no one allowed outside including tourists. Thankfully most foreigners look at Nyepi as a once in a while things and a part of life in Bali. Here’s Wikipedia’s analysis of Nyepi.
Date: March 18th, 2007 |
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Bhuta Yadnya: Balinese purification ritual
The Bhuta Yadnya is a ritual which is intended to neutralize the evil power of bhutakala (evil spirits) that often bring misfortune, chaos, sickness and even death. Therefore, before performing a ceremony or any other ritual activity, a bhuta yadnya, called a mecaru is always performed. This ritual can be classified into some levels, according to the importance of the upcoming activities. The simplest event being a segehan, that consists of a little boiled rice, in 5 colors, with a small slice of ginger and onion, a drop of arak, a drop of rice wine or brem, and incense cinders. The higher level ones are caru ekasata, caru pancasata, caru panca kelud, and tawur kesanga.
Date: January 25th, 2007 |
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Cockfighting spurs in Bali
Cockfighting is part of Balinese life, at least for the men. Traditionally, blood has to be spilt for certain ceremonies, so a cockfight is taken seriously, both for entertainment and culture. Anyone who has been to a cockfight will speak of locals gathered round a pit, waving and shouting. Its part of the betting protocol, which I do not understand. Actually the pre-game show is more fun than the actual fight, which consists of 2 birds taking it in turns to fly up in the air and flick the other with their claws. Most times after a flurry of activity and feathers, one of the birds reveals a cut, being unable to continue. The device that delivers the cut is a razor attached to the other bird’s leg. BaliWWW has an excellent article on the cockfighting razor, called a taji.
Date: February 7th, 2007 |
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Manusa Yadnya: A Balinese ritual for babies
The Manusa Yadnya is a rite towards human beings, which is intended to purify one’s self from leteh (unholiness and misfortune), as well as to avoid temptations, causing disaster and death.
Date: January 25th, 2007 |
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