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Galungan And Nyepi: A Celebration Of Victory And New Year
2005-02-26
[Balibagus.com]
 March 2005 is probably the busiest month on Bali because there will be many great ceremonies celebrated by the Hindu Balinese. Among these great ceremonies are Galungan (a day to celebrate the victory of dharma or good spirit against adharma or evil spirit) and Nyepi or Sipeng (a day to celebrate the new Caka year) that fall on the second week of March. Both Galungan and Nyepi are rarely fall on the same week because of different calendar systems the Hindu Balinese adopted.
| Galungan
Galungan, which falls on March 9th, based on the lunar calendar system called pawukon and celebrated every 6 months. Galungan symbolizes the victory of dharma represented by God Indra against adharma represented by King Mayadenawa (An evil king that rules Bali).
There are a series of ceremonies before and after the Galungan. The ceremonies before to Galungan include: Sugian or Sugimaniek, Panodolan, Panyekeban, Penyajaan and Penampahan. And the successive ceremony of Galungan include: Manis Galungan, Pemaridan Guru, Ulihan, Pemacekan Agung, and Kuningan.
You can read our previous articles about Galungan from the following addresses:
http://www.balibagus.com/bali_travel_news/detail/22.htm
http://www.balibagus.com/bali_travel_news/detail/42.htm
http://www.balibagus.com/bali_travel_news/detail/43.htm
| Nyepi
It’s likely that when people celebrate the New Year’s Eve they usually have their own party with their friends or families. Balinese Hindu celebrates their new year called Nyepi or Sipeng (which fall on March 11th) in a different way. You will not find any fireworks, balloon, or party during this day. In fact all you will see is “silence”. No body is allowed to go out their home.
People usually do the Catur Berata Penyepian (four attitudes toward self-control): amati geni (no fire), amati karya (no work), amati lelungan (no traffic or travelling) and amati lelanguan (no eat). Some people also do some meditation and practicing yoga depend on their understanding of dharma. Like the Galungan, there are also ceremonies before and after the Nyepi. These ceremonies include Tawur Kesanga (exalting evil spirits) and Ngembak Geni (the Bali’s Thanksgiving Day).
You can read more articles about Nyepi from the following link:
http://www.balibagus.com/bali_travel_news/detail/23.htm
| Conclusion
The celebration of Galungan and Nyepi that fall on the same week remind us how to do good things in our live and always remember to be in self-controlled attitude. Selamat Hari Raya Galungan and Nyepi Caka 1927.
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