A letter from Rebecca Young in Indonesia
March 5, 2011
“A Day of Absolute Stillness”
Dear Friends in Christ,
Because Hari Nyepi fell on a Saturday, no one had work or school the next day and most spent the day at the beach. Sanur, Bali, March 6, 2011.
Indonesia never ceases to amaze me with its variety of cultural and religious practices. Recently I had the chance to observe one special event that I’d heard about but never before had a chance to witness. On the weekend of March 4-6, I went to Bali to observe the Hindu new year’s celebration, referred to as Hari Nyepi. For people who are interested in language, here’s a quick lesson in Indonesian: the word sepi is an adjective meaning quiet and is changed to a verb by switching the “s” to an “ny.” Hari means “day,” so Hari Nyepi is “day to be quiet.” It is also the first day of the new year for the Balinese.
The Balinese have a very lively New Year’s Eve celebration, which this year fell on Friday, March 4. For several weeks before the date, neighborhood groups designed and built paper-maché statues of the ugliest figures they could imagine. They also made effigies of people who have been recently caught in various kinds of corruption or other antisocial behavior. Walking around one small town in Bali, I saw statues exhibiting all kinds of funny exaggerated facial expressions and stances — scowls on the faces, evil looking eyes, unkempt hair and fingernails, arms extended in threatening gestures or waving an oversized bottle of beer. Some are also made into statues of two men fighting, usually an evil character overpowering a good character. The statues are slightly larger than life, seven to eight feet tall.
A more artistic, Balinese style figure of evil. Sanur, Bali, March 4, 2011.
On the afternoon before New Year’s Eve, the statues are placed on a frame of bamboo poles so that young men can lift them and carry them around the neighborhood. Starting at 8:00 p.m., the statues are lugged to main roads and together form a huge parade. People line the streets to jeer at the despised figures. The idea behind the statues and parade is that the evil spirits who antagonize the people of Bali will be attracted to these despicable characters, following them to their demise as the statues are destroyed in a huge bonfire at the end of the parade. It thereby serves as a symbolic purging of the evil that has disturbed the tranquility of Bali during the past year.
The parade is extremely lively. The people carrying the statues in groups of eight to ten move nimbly along, frequently running around in circles and shaking the statues so that they begin to fall apart long before their fiery demise. The crowds cheer as heads, arms and legs tear loose from the statues and eventually fall off. Meanwhile an amplified voice seems to come from out of nowhere to provide narration for the parade, describing what each figure represents and what neighborhood is responsible for its creation. The last of the statues traipse past at around 11:00 p.m., and the crowd heads home to be with their families in the last hours before the new year.
One of the evil statues ready for the evening's parade. Jimbaran, Bali, March 4, 2011.
The actual new year begins at 6:00 a.m. the next morning, when the official “day to be quiet” begins. The Balinese take the idea of being quiet quite seriously. For a full 24 hours, i.e., until 6:00 a.m. the next day, everyone must stay inside. No one is allowed out except the Day of Quiet Police Squad, who stealthily patrol the streets and shoo all disobedient wanderers back home — their primary target being tourists who can’t understand why they aren’t allowed to leave their hotels.
All of Balinese society and its institutions are shut down as well. The international airport closes with no flights allowed for the entire 24 hours. All internet networks are turned off, as are the television channels, both cable and local stations. As a tourist sitting on the terrace of my hotel, it was sheer bliss for a day in paradise. The only sounds to be heard were those of nature: the birds, the crickets and gentle lapping of the ocean waves. That an entire island of five million people voluntarily and unanimously agrees to pull the plug and be quiet for 24 hours is an amazing feat in the context of our plugged-in, media-crazed world.
The reason behind their silence is deeply religious. Their new year’s day resembles the Jewish Day of Atonement. Having purged the evil forces out of their lives the previous night, each person is meant to spend the day being quiet in their home while fasting, praying and meditating with their family. They use the time to reflect on their past year’s sins, to ask forgiveness to God and their fellow human beings and to vow to be better in the year to come.
A group of young boys ready to carry an evil statue in the parade. Sanur, Bali, March 4, 2011.
From a cosmic perspective, the Balinese with their Hindu faith believe that this world is filled with both good and evil spirits. On their New Year’s Eve, they have purged the island of bad spirits. On New Year’s Day, many other bad spirits pass over the island looking for a place to land where they can tempt and aggravate humankind. As long as no one is to be seen for 24 hours on Bali, they will not land on the island. Even at night they are fooled into thinking the island is empty. No one is allowed to use lights except inside with the shades fully drawn. Without street lights illuminated, the entire island falls into darkness.
At 6:00 a.m. as the sun rises on the second day of the new year, the Balinese awake and go back out into the world for a whole new beginning to their lives, refreshed and renewed by their day of absolute stillness. I was duly impressed by this annual societywide practice of repentance, forgiveness and rejuvenation. God bless the people of Bali in their efforts to be faithful people throughout the coming year.
Peace to you and yours,
Becca
The 2011 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 138
