Coming Soon to Our Neighborhood

Hari Nyepi--the Balinese day of silence--will fall this year on the 17th of March, only a couple days away. On this day, all people must stay in their house, make as little noise as possible, and cease from using any sort of electrical device, including lights. It is meant to be a time of meditation and self-denial. The Balinese cultural police, the Pecalong, are tasked to make sure no one is breaking the rules, to which end they patrol on foot, looking for any sign of light and listening for any disturbance. The person who is found willfully transgressing the rules may actually be carted off to the Pecalong prison.

The demands of tourism have over time exerted some modifications. Foreigners in hotels, for instance, may go outside, and may even swim, sunbathe, and so on, as long as they are quiet. They may also conduct parties within the hotel itself, minus loud music, of course.

For myself, however, living in a house in a local neighborhood, silence and darkness is the rule. Which means that I will need to turn down the sound on my laptop when I watch movies, or simply wear earphones. One is not supposed to cook anything, so I will provide some ready-to-eat food for myself. Probably lots of it, and of the less than healthy sort. I'm thinking chocolate covered marshmallow cookies.

Many, if not most, of the younger people here have little use for Nyepi. It is more like the day of dread than the day of silence--because young people, you know, tend to be rather active and often quite allergic to silence. They gather with friends, they stock up on food and beer, and so on. It is a day, a tradition that will likely fade away over time, as life nowadays, even in third world countries, is all about entertainment. Every year, we hear that broadcasting channels will be closed down, internet providers will be inactive--but I have yet to see this actually happen. It's kind of like an urban myth, a scary story.

On the other hand, Nyepi has become an actual attraction for a certain segment of tourists--you know, the spiritual sort. Bali is the only place in the world, as far as I know, that has a day of silence, and so they come for the unique experience, to meditate, to seek enlightenment, and so on and so forth.  

Although I myself don't look forward to Nyepi with great anticipation, either as a participant or as a victim, I must admit that the day is not much different now from any other of my days. Nyepi or no Nyepi, I will for the most part of the day be in the house anyway, reading or writing or watching something on the laptop or, indeed, sleeping.  It will be dark of course at night, but for that, I have my candles. And the flashlight on my iPhone. And in the event that we have a clear sky at night (one can only meditate and pray), I will be able to see all the millions of stars that are generally blocked out by the light of the city!