Jovi's Photo Essay - Ceremonies of Bali
Melasti Ceremony
Bali, also known as Island of the Gods, has an intensely spiritual culture. Each day, ceremonies and rituals take place on the island. One of the important Hindu ceremonies is Melasti or purification of the Pratima (god symbol). This Melasti Ceremony takes place once a year in conjunction with the big Hindu Holiday called Nyepi Day/ Day of Silence. Depending on local village customs, the Melasti event generally takes place three days before Nyepi Day. At the Melasti celebration, people of the Hindu faith, carrying the holy symbol of the Hinduism, head to the sea to be cleansed. Along the streets, there is a parade of Umbul-umbul and traditional gamelan music enlivens the event.
Odalan Pura Besakih Ceremony
High on the slopes of Bali's Mount Agung sits Pura Besakih, widely referred to as the "Mother Temple" of Hinduism in Bali. Pura Besakih, or Besakih Temple in English, is the largest of the island's 11,000 or so Hindu temples. Its 35 shrines and halls draw devotees from all over Bali in massive numbers each year. In 1963, Mount Agung, a volcano, erupted and destroyed several nearby villages. Besakih was, fortunately, untouched.
The temple is generally agreed to date back to prehistoric times in Bali. It is named for Naga Besukian -- the dragon-god thought by pre-Hindu Balinese to inhabit this, the highest mountain in Bali. But at the beginning of the 11th Century, Besakih became the state temple and has remained the state temple in some form or another ever since and is state supported today.
Please click on the thumbnails to see the enlarged picture.
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