It has been a pretty interesting week. Monday and Tuesday were pretty uneventful. For the most part it was spent in Bedulu at school or hanging out, but I did get pretty far on one of my art projects! Here is the work I've done so far on my wayang puppet!
I chiseled him out of pure cow hide! Now all I have to do is finish his arms, paint him, and assemble him, then I'm done!
On Wednesday we did a ceremonial purification. Bu Ari suggested it because we have been having pretty bad luck in terms of weather and things this semester, and this was her remedy for it. So, after lunch on Wednesday we (who belum datang bulan) got dressed up in our pakaian adat and headed for the temple. The way you become purified is by washing yourself, fully clothed, in a pool with a series of spouts. If you are Hindu you say a short prayer at each one and then dunk your head under the stream (which is pretty strong most of the time) 3 times. There were 15 spouts, so it took us a while to get everyone through. It was pretty fun and refreshing, but it was pretty hard to walk afterwards. We have to wear wrap skirts called serangs, which is usually fairly restrictive, but even more so when they are wet!
On Thursday we only had school for a little bit because Friday was Nyepi! Nyepi, a Balinese holiday (there are a lot if you've noticed!) is the Silent Day. Separate banjars (comparable to neighborhood governments) spend all month making ogoh-ogoh, which are giant bamboo and paper statues. They are made into demonic figures that are representative of evil spirits. The day before Nyepi they parade them around and have a mock battle in the town square to attract the spirits.
On the actual day of Nyepi, Bali is completely silent (no eating, exerting energy, or using electronics, especially lights) to give the appearance of a deserted island so that the spirits pass over it for another year. The ogoh-ogoh festivities lasted from around 5 to nearly midnight, just in time for everyone to get home and prepare for the next day. On Nyepi you aren't allowed to leave your compound (house), so I hung out with my family quite a bit. It was really fun. I played tops with my brother (technically host-nephew, but he's more like a brother because he's 3), and that was really exciting because it's the first time we've interacted for more than five minutes (he used to be scared of me, haha.) I cheated a bit because I ate lunch and dinner since my Ibu did, and I watched a movie in the afternoon. Bu Ari said that realistically Balinese usually use Nyepi as an indulgence holiday because they eat and watch television quite a bit, but you still aren't allowed to go outside. It is meant for meditating and reflecting, because Nyepi also marks the last day of the Balinese year. The next day (today) is spent doing rituals and asking for forgiveness, but many people use it for vacation time :) That is really all that has happened this week. It's been very relaxed, which has been a blessing.
Sampai Jumpa!
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