--> Skip to main content

Posts

Showing posts from March 3, 2011


Burning of Demons during Bali Hindu New Year – Ogoh Ogoh Ceremony during Nyepi

The second day of Nyepi celebrations in Bali in Indonesia is known as Tawur Kesanga or burning of huge demons known as Ogoh-Ogoh. This ceremony is on March 10, 2024. Nyepi, the Balinese Hindu New Year, is on March 11. On the Tawur Kesanga day, evil or Bhuta Kala is burnt. Huge demons are made using paper, bamboo and other inflammable materials. These huge demons are known as Ogoh-ogoh and they represent the evil. In a carnival atmosphere in the evening, Ogoh-ogoh is burnt in the street corner. It is a sort of warding off the evil and also a cleansing ceremony. This ceremony is similar to burning of Holika or Holika Dahan before Holi in  India . In India there is no fanfare and creative demons. The Ogoh Ogoh ceremony attracts thousands of people. Symbolically, it represents the burning of all evil, hatred, jealousy and all that is inauspicious before the New Year which falls on the next day.