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Picture
Perfect
Faces of
Ngrupuk
Not just a showof artistic
talents, the ogoh-ogoh in
Bali, Indonesia, represents
spiritual aims inspired by
Hindu philosophy.
A
year has passed since my
visit to Bali for Nyepi, the
Balinese day of silence,
but the artistic endeavour
found in the different faces
of the ogoh-ogoh lies fresh
in memory. These incred-
ible statues built for the Ngrupuk parade that
takes place on the eve of Nyepi normally
come in forms of mythological beings, mostly
demons despite the pop of colours.
During the Ngrupuk parade, these ogoh-
ogoh in various sizes – some as tall as a
building – are carried using human force
on a pad built of timber planks and bam-
boos. According to a local, the ogoh-ogoh
is rotated counter-clockwise three times at
every T-junction and crossroad of the village
throughout the procession. The rotating
process represents the contact of the bodies
with the spirit, intending to mystify the evil
spirits so that they go away and stop harming
human beings.
Accompanied by orchestral music per-
formed by the youth and the creative use
of flares, the procession journeys around
the town, before the ogoh-ogoh is finally
burnt to ashes in a cemetery as a symbol of
self-purification.
Nyepi is commemorated every Isakawarsa
(Saka New Year) and this year, it will be
taking place on March 31.
W o r d s & I m a g e s :
N i c o l e t t e N g