Author: AFP
Publication: China Post
Date: March 8, 2008
URL: http://www.chinapost.com.tw/asia/2008/03/08/146165/Hindu-majority.htm
The normally vibrant Indonesian tourist destination
of Bali came to a standstill Friday as the island's Hindu majority celebrated
the start of the Hindu new year.
The Day of Silence, known here as Nyepi, saw
Balinese confined to their homes, unable to work, play and -- for some --
even talk or eat.
The island's international Ngurah Rai airport
was closed while shops were shuttered and streets deserted apart from the
presence of traditional guards tasked with enforcing the silence.
Tourists who had on Thursday been hitting
beaches and shopping streets were also made to spend the day inside their
hotels out of deference to the holiday.
The strictly enforced silence -- which started
at dawn and will continue until dawn on Saturday -- is intended as a time
of spiritual contemplation for Balinese Hindus, whose unique brand of the
religion incorporates many practices found only on the island.
Friday's hushed tones were in marked contrast
to the day before, which saw the island's close-knit communities buzzing with
activity as the devout sought to atone for sins and as young men completed
striking papier mache effigies.
The effigies, known as Ogoh-Ogoh, represent
evil spirits and were noisily carried through the streets at nightfall and
then burned before sunrise to symbolize renewal and the cleansing of evil
from the island.
Despite the fact that Balinese Hindus make
up a small minority of the general population, Nyepi is observed as a national
holiday in Indonesia, the world's largest Muslim-majority country.
