The great clenched fist of Baruna, the Hindu God of the Sea, crushes an excavator in its palm in a warning to proponents of Benoa Bay reclamation efforts that the wrath of the Gods will be upon them. The giant hand was carried through the streets of Abianbase village in Denpasar on Tuesday evening, during a parade of ogoh-ogoh (giant effigies) held the night before Nyepi, the Hindu Day of Silence.

Created by the Basegreen youth group from Abianbase, the ogoh-ogoh were a call to the provincial administration and central government to halt the proposed 700-hectare reclamation of Benoa Bay, which the youth group believes would cause widespread flooding in their village on Denpasar'€™s outskirts.

'€œThe story of our ogoh-ogoh is the fist of Baruna flattening heavy machinery that digs up Mother Earth and destroys the natural environment. He does not want Mother Earth to be quarried and used as a landfill,'€ said Wayan Gede Suparka, the leader of the Basegreen group, via text message.

His father, Wayan Ardana, supported the group, which has joined the Tolak Reklamasi (Stop the Reclamation) movement that is rapidly gaining traction among Bali'€™s youth.

'€œWe will keep Baruna'€™s fist here so people can see that we seriously reject the reclamation of Benoa. I am afraid Abianbase will be inundated if this goes ahead. We are surrounded by sea here and also Bali is a small island,'€ Ardana said ahead of the ogoh-ogoh parade.

An escalation in awareness of the proposed Benoa Bay reclamation has also led other youth groups to create ogoh-ogoh with a theme of blocking the reclamation. They used the event to inform their communities of the looming disaster that they believe could be wrought by such a dramatic change in Benoa Bay'€™s topography.

Denpasar'€™s Tanah Abu youth group crafted a giant Baruna effigy rearing over a suited mouse-like human with one hand represented by a bulldozer and the other a fistful of money. Rising above both of these figures was the master of black magic, Liak.

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The head of Tanah Abu, 28-year-old Pipette, said the ogoh-ogoh symbolized corruption and the anger of the gods at the earth'€™s destruction.

'€œLiak is laying black magic on investors to cause them illness and to wake them up from what they plan to do to Bali. Baruna is angry that the waters of Bali will be damaged,'€ he said.

His youth group planned to place the effigy at Benoa Bay '€œas a warning to investors'€. The group has long made politically charged Nyepi monsters, including of tax thief Gayus Tambunan, convicted corruptor Angelina Sondakh and the infamous Bali bomber Amrosi.

In Kerobokan, youth groups from three neighboring villages also made anti-reclamation ogoh-ogoh to protest the multi-million dollar chain of islands proposed for Benoa Bay.

Gus Cemon, an older youth member of Anak Kerobokan (Anker), said young people in the three villages had agreed to support the anti-reclamation efforts by making the ogoh-ogoh to express their sentiments.

'€œIf reclamation happens, the sea level will rise and water will flood many areas. And there is also the erosion of beaches. Flooding is already happening even without reclaiming the bay,'€ said the 24-year-old.

Assisting in the creation of the ogoh-ogoh for Kerobakan Gede village was 16-year-old Cahaya Merta. His village created ogoh-ogoh Ganesh because of the belief that the elephant god holds the world together.

'€œThe reclamation of Benoa would have a very big impact on Balinese communities. I believe our culture and religion will be lost if this goes ahead,'€ Cahaya said.

Nearby in Kerobokan Kancil village, a group of youngsters watched over their village'€™s ogoh-ogoh. Again, the sea god Baruna was featured at war with a bulldozer.

'€œWe are against the reclamation for our grandchildren'€™s sakes. If the reclamation is allowed there will be no Melasti ceremony there, all would be lost. All Bali'€™s beaches would be affected,'€ said youth group member Gede Putra.

The community'€™s voice against the proposed reclamation is growing louder. Even youngsters such as 9-year-old Komang Tristawan have an opinion and are proud to see their ogoh-ogoh taking up the challenge.

'€œYes, we kids think about this. If there is reclamation, the impact will be bad for Bali,'€ Komang said.

Meanwhile, 13-year-old Bayu Hari feared the Bali he knows will be lost. '€œI am interested in this topic. We need to make Bali safe from destruction,'€ he said.

Parent and former youth group member Kadek Arianto said he was happy to see youngsters in his village stepping up to voice their opposition to the bay'€™s proposed reclamation.

'€œI am very proud of these Anker members. This is like a duty for them and I agree totally with them. God made Benoa a sacred place for our Melasti ceremonies. Even without reclamation, we have suffered from flooding. After reclamation, we could be drowning,'€ said the 38-year-old.

These monsters with messages will be kept safe in their villages for viewing, with one also to be placed at Benoa Bay.

'€” Images by JB Djwan

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