BALI NYEPI DAY

BALI NYEPI DAY IS BALINESE HINDU NEW YEAR CEREMONY AND THEY OPEN NEW YEAR WITH DAY OF SILENCE

Balinese Hindu Nyepi Day , 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. Nyepi is very important for Hindus on the island of Bali, because according to the belief of Hindus in Bali, they worship and keep Gods (manifestations of Ida Sang Hyang Widi Wasa) in their organs, and receive inspiration and instructions. His instructions to navigate a new page of life.

All you need to know about Nyepi

Calendar for Count Nyepi Day

Nyepi is a big holiday for Hindus in Bali, it can be a new year for Hindus, because in Bali still uses the Balinese calendar system which contains 1 month for 35 days, and at the end of the year is Nyepi which Hindus call it as Saka year. So if the Nyepi day is based on the national calendar, the fall of Nyepi Day will not be the same every year, because the current calendar system uses 30 days as a benchmark to measure the length of 1 month, while Nyepi is calculated using the 35 day calendar. 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.

Function of Nyepi Day

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 society, initiation ceremonies are generally performed on during the transition period, both in humans (bhuana alit) and in nature universe (bhuana agung). This is because the Balinese people Seeing the transition period is a sensitive thing, an easy time bring danger or things that are not desirable so that During the transition period, an initiation ceremony is required. The function of Nyepi Day is a very important moment that is, because of what has been felt, done, and experienced in the previous year is remembered, pondered and reconsidered on Nyepi Day. From here Hindus can find out their strengths, weaknesses, and mistakes as well as the plans that can be made need to be implemented in the future. With awareness for all the mistakes that have been felt, experienced, or done So on Ngembak Geni Day, the next day, there's an opportunity to forgive each other.

Ritual Process Before Nyepi Day

The Hindu community in Bali includes people who have very complex religious ceremonial activities, one of which is the Nyepi ceremony. The Nyepi ceremony which is celebrated once a year according to the calculation of the Hindu calendar in Bali contains the symbol and very complex meanings. As for the process before welcoming Nyepi, there are stages that must be carried out before Nyepi Day, while the stages of the Nyepi Day process are as follows:

1. 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.

2. 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.

3. 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.

4. 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).

As mentioned above, the implementation of a series of Nyepi ceremonies, especially the Pangrupukan ceremony, functions deeply

1. For cleansing (shrinking) the five maha bhuta elements that make up the universe as well as human beings from disturbances and bad influences caused by bhuta

2. For cleansing (insulting) the bhuta at that time, with the aim of eliminating the bad qualities that is in him so that his good nature and strength can be useful for the welfare of mankind and the universe

3. To increase the standard of living of bhuta kala and animals used as caru/sacrifice, because the degree of life of bhuta kala and animals is lower than humans

4. To perform the obligations as indicated by the teachings of the Hindu religion. From point four it can be revealed that the more often you perform the ritual, the more ethical rules you will realize.

Therefore, the implementation of the Pangrupukan ceremony can increase the sense of religious sentiment among Hindus.

Religious and Philosophy Nyepi Day

From the religious and philosophy point of view, Nyepi is meant to be a day of self introspection to decide on values, eg humanity, love, patience, kindness, etc., that should kept forever. Balinese Hindus have many kind of celebrations (some sacred days) but Nyepi is, perhaps the most important of the island's religious days and the prohibitions are taken seriously, particularly in villages outside of Bali's southern tourist belt. Hotels are exempt from Nyepi's rigorous practices but streets outside will be closed to both pedestrians and vehicles (except for airport shuttles or emergency vehicles) and village wardens (Pecalang) will be posted to keep people off the beach. So wherever you happen to be staying on Nyepi Day in Bali, this will be a good day to spend indoors. Indeed Nyepi day has made Bali a unique island.