Nypei

Many aspects of Bali would never fit in American culture. Laws state that buildings cannot be higher than the coconut trees and that one day of the year, no one is allowed to leave their houses. The streets are patrolled in the cities to enforce this, and in addition, you are not allowed to make any loud noises: no TV, no music, no screaming or yelling. The island is silent, as if for one day, all of the people just up and left. Which is exactly the point.

This day, called Nypei, is the traditional Balinese New Year. On the night before Nypei (which we will call ogoh-ogoh night), the entire island makes a racket, rousing up all of the demons from their hiding places to join in the festivities. On Nypei, the island goes silent, in order to trick the demons into thinking there are no humans on the island, so this way they get bored and go away.

The Balinese lure the demons out by parading around homemade statues, called ogoh-ogoh, which are anywhere from 8 feet to two stories tall. Some are traditional demons, with large, frightening faces, teeth, and hands, while others take a more modern approach. (I saw a couple punk rocker ogoh-ogoh as well as a Spongebob Squarepants likeness.) The ogoh-ogoh are carried on bamboo bases by anywhere from 12 to 20 men or boys, depending on the size. The carriers make the ogoh-ogoh dance in the streets to loud gamelan music which basically sounds like a lot of drums and gongs smashing together. The ogoh-ogoh are shaken and shaken during the dance, and when they lose heads or arms or break altogether the crowd cheers. With the music, the darkness, and the ogoh-ogoh, it is easy to believe that demons are flying about, joining in the festivities. In the darkness, fireworks boom and flash, and the atmosphere seems exactly like a demon’s cup of tea.

The of day of Nypei seems a little less straight forwards than ogoh-ogoh night. I was originally told that on Nypei, people are not allowed to do anything. I thought this meant that I would get to sleep in, and that there would be no cooking, cleaning, using electricity, and talking above a whisper. But it seems that the rules here at the orphanage are pretty lax. (Of course, living in a Christian orphanage is not exactly the most traditional way to experience this holiday.) I woke up at 7 (Yes! I got to sleep in an extra hour!) and ate a freshly cooked breakfast, read, and basically sat around.

I definitely expected a different few days than what I ended up experiencing. I thought that on ogoh-ogoh night, we would all stay out late and be loud, and I thought we would get to light the ogoh-ogohs on fire. I thought that on Nypei, we would all be silent and bored. Instead I ended up watching a parade and having a pretty normal, if quiet day (ahh, the absence of motorcycles…).

Regardless of my expectations, I still had an amazing experience, sitting on the street, the pavement still warm with small pieces of gravel sticking into my legs, and watching a green ogoh-ogoh dance above torches to the sound of gongs, drumming, and singing. I looked up into the stars (Nypei is always held on the new moon) and saw the Orion constellation. For the past few weeks, I have begun to see Orion as a connection to home, but I looked up, and instead of seeing a ancient Grecian warrior, I saw a Balinese demon, dancing across the night sky.