The plaintive chants from 35 pemangku, or Hindu priests, on a wooden boat marked the Hindu celebration of Nyepi in Jakarta on Monday night.
The chants became deeper as the boat rolled to a gentle stop in the middle of the sea and some of the priests raised glowing red incense sticks toward the sky, while others started to fill small plastic jerry cans with holy water.
“Melasti is about ritualistic cleansing. We use water from the sea to symbolize the cleansing of ourselves and the universe,” said Nyoman Udayana Sangging, a Balinese Hindu living in Jakarta, explaining the ritual performed on Sunday night at Pura Segara, Cilincing, North Jakarta.
Being miles away from their ancestral land, did not stop Nyoman and many Balinese Hindus living in Jakarta from practising their cultural traditions.
Celebrating Melasti and other rituals leading to the New Saka Year, also known as Nyepi, does vary slightly in Jakarta as the celebrations have to be adapted to the bustling metropolis.
“In Bali, people can walk to nearby beaches, but here we use cars because the sea is far away. Yet, the ceremonies are essentially held in the same way,” said I Wayan Buddha, a member of Pura Aditya Jaya, from Rawamangun, East Jakarta.
Gusti, with the help of two friends made a 3 meter high ogoh-ogoh that weighed approximately 200 kilograms.
“It took me about three weeks to make the ogoh-ogoh. We used wood and wire for the inner structure, styrofoam and painted cement paper for the body and material on top for decoration,” said Gusti.
Gusti said the ogoh-ogoh represented the Bhuta Kala, a symbol of nature.
Melasti rituals, such as the ogoh-ogoh, are a very important to Balinese Hindus, even those that live in Jakarta.
The ogoh-ogoh were later taken to the National Monument (Monas) where a grand Tawur Agung Kesanga ceremony was held on Monday.
“Monas will represent Jakarta and through Monas, we would like to rid Jakarta of its negative energies that could upset the condition of the city,” added Wayan.
I Gede Jamang, from Bimas Hindu, said a total of 11 ogoh-ogoh from 24 Balinese Hindu temples in Greater Jakarta were carried in the parade. The parade was held to represent the culture of the 198,000 Hindus living in the area.
Nyepi fell at midnight on Monday, a few hours after the end of the parade, which was also celebrated with various traditional dances.
“Nyepi is the peak event whereby Hindus observe catur brata nyepi or fasts, which include no fire, no traveling and no pleasure,” said Brahmacari Bargawa, a head priest at Pura Aditya.
Brahmacari Bargawa said that Nyepi in Jakarta was less strict than in Bali, as Bali had guards to enforce the traditional values. (gzl)
Happy New Year: Members of the Central Jakarta Youth Association carry torches during a parade with ogoh-ogoh (giant papier-mâché puppets) on the eve of the Hindu Day of Silence and Hindu New Year (1932), at the National Monument (Monas) Park in Central Jakarta on Monday night. A dozen or so ogoh-ogoh as well as lion dances (barongsai) and giant Betawi puppet performances (ondel-ondel) were part of the show. JP/P.J.Leo
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