Yesterday I wrote to explain what Nyepi is and today I want to tell you about our experience as expats. Sorry, I can't get photos on here, so it's a lot of writing!
Friday we didn't have school; the morning felt like any weekday morning except for the large ogoh-ogohs in front of the temples. Then around lunch time all the shops closed and the roads were deserted. We drove to our friends' house so we could go to the parade together. They were told by people in their banjar to come to the temple before the parade. Three of us put on sarongs and we all headed up to the temple to find all the women in white kabaya with a sarong. So we turned around, put on white tops with a sash and Michael put on a sarong too.
Take two! When we got to the temple, the women were sitting in front motioning for us to come pray with them. They were so genuine and welcoming. We sat and talked for about an hour before the ceremony began; I struggled through with the little Indonesian I know. Usually in a sarong women sit on their knees- it's best to kick off your flip flops and rest the tops of your feet on them. This was a long ceremony so some of the ladies were sitting cross legged like the men.
Then it was time to pray. Fortunately, I've participated in ceremonies before, so I wasn't too lost! The lady beside me shared her flowers and incense. Michael sat in the back with the men and prayed with them. There is a bell ringing and each time it stops, it signals the next step. Sometimes your hands are open, sometimes closed on your forehead and other times you hold a specific flower in between your fingers. At the end, holy water is sprinkled on your head, then three sips are put in your hands and one more to put on your head. Last you take wet rice and stick it to your forehead and chest. I wish I knew what each part of the ritual is for but I thank God for such a beautiful experience.
After the ceremony we went to see the parade. It was about a mile walk to the street corner. If you can imagine the exact opposite energy of the very peaceful ceremony-that was the parade! Loud music, yelling, excitement, scary Ogoh-ogohs, flashing lights, and fireworks-it was wild! Then we went to the big intersection. This parade had larger and more detailed Ogoh-ogohs, music and narrators telling the story of dancers. Each banjar had a full 5-10 minute show. By the time we left it was 10:30 and there were still five more to go.
The next day was the day of silence. All I could hear was birds, insects and the occasional dog, no motorbikes, cars or people. We didn't do any work but we did watch a couple of shows, read and worked out. We have an outside kitchen, so we cooked breakfast and lunch really quietly and ate indoors, then prepped for dinner knowing it would be too dark once the sun went down. At night we pulled both curtains in the bedroom and just turned on a dim lamp. We had to be careful getting things from the refrigerator, because the light was so bright! When it was really dark, we had a glass of wine and looked at the stars which were stunning!
It was a lovely day-something I don't think we would ever be able to experience at home! Can you imagine Walmart shutting down 24 hours?? : )
Friday we didn't have school; the morning felt like any weekday morning except for the large ogoh-ogohs in front of the temples. Then around lunch time all the shops closed and the roads were deserted. We drove to our friends' house so we could go to the parade together. They were told by people in their banjar to come to the temple before the parade. Three of us put on sarongs and we all headed up to the temple to find all the women in white kabaya with a sarong. So we turned around, put on white tops with a sash and Michael put on a sarong too.
Take two! When we got to the temple, the women were sitting in front motioning for us to come pray with them. They were so genuine and welcoming. We sat and talked for about an hour before the ceremony began; I struggled through with the little Indonesian I know. Usually in a sarong women sit on their knees- it's best to kick off your flip flops and rest the tops of your feet on them. This was a long ceremony so some of the ladies were sitting cross legged like the men.
Then it was time to pray. Fortunately, I've participated in ceremonies before, so I wasn't too lost! The lady beside me shared her flowers and incense. Michael sat in the back with the men and prayed with them. There is a bell ringing and each time it stops, it signals the next step. Sometimes your hands are open, sometimes closed on your forehead and other times you hold a specific flower in between your fingers. At the end, holy water is sprinkled on your head, then three sips are put in your hands and one more to put on your head. Last you take wet rice and stick it to your forehead and chest. I wish I knew what each part of the ritual is for but I thank God for such a beautiful experience.
After the ceremony we went to see the parade. It was about a mile walk to the street corner. If you can imagine the exact opposite energy of the very peaceful ceremony-that was the parade! Loud music, yelling, excitement, scary Ogoh-ogohs, flashing lights, and fireworks-it was wild! Then we went to the big intersection. This parade had larger and more detailed Ogoh-ogohs, music and narrators telling the story of dancers. Each banjar had a full 5-10 minute show. By the time we left it was 10:30 and there were still five more to go.
The next day was the day of silence. All I could hear was birds, insects and the occasional dog, no motorbikes, cars or people. We didn't do any work but we did watch a couple of shows, read and worked out. We have an outside kitchen, so we cooked breakfast and lunch really quietly and ate indoors, then prepped for dinner knowing it would be too dark once the sun went down. At night we pulled both curtains in the bedroom and just turned on a dim lamp. We had to be careful getting things from the refrigerator, because the light was so bright! When it was really dark, we had a glass of wine and looked at the stars which were stunning!
It was a lovely day-something I don't think we would ever be able to experience at home! Can you imagine Walmart shutting down 24 hours?? : )
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