James Gaston

Ogoh-ogoh

Movement

Ogoh-ogoh parade 27 Mar 2017 Ogoh-ogoh parade 27 Mar 2017 Ubud --

Today was one of the weirdest events l've experienced: the Nyepi eve parade in Bali. On this day each neighborhood council, or banjar, parades its newly-made ogoh-ogoh around town in a ritual said to drive away evil spirits. At the end of the parade the Ogoh-ogoh is destroyed by fire. And then Bali goes into lockdown, for twenty-four hours, in hope that the disoriented spirits will not notice we are here, and they will leave, to find new beings to possess.

The parade of Ogoh-ogohs is accompanied by a hypnotic soundtrack of Gamelan orchestras. They play instruments such as metal drums hit by hammers.

Ogoh-ogoh on Jalan Sri We

I've seen plenty of parades so this sounds straightforward, think floats and musicians marching down the street with an audience held at a distance by barricades and officials. Ha. This is not that kind of parade. It's barely-controlled chaos where anyone can be in the parade and the monsters are coming from different directions, with the Gamelin adding a wonderfully pulsy trance background. Everyone, tourists and locals, some in native attire, everyone is laughing and having a great time.

The taller monsters find maneuvering a challenge in Ubud's narrow streets. The colourful demon sits high on a large bamboo lattice carried by a team of young Balinese. Clearly the builders compete for biggest and most outrageous with little thought to clearing the power lines. So some Ogoh-ogoh are accompanied by fellows with very long poles that they use to manipulate the web of overhead power lines. Yeah, power lines. Some monsters get caught in the lines so it can take a while to maneuver. (I'm told power outages are common). Once they get through a tangle of wires the crowd bursts into cheers to congratulate them.

The monsters are also tasked to rotate three times at each intersection, and this isn't a simple rotation, the large and heavy monsters swerve like an amusement car ride as they turn. At one point I got caught in a packed crowd and thought I was going to get crushed in the mass of people fleeing the swing of the monster. Ok, that was weird.

After the parade the monsters gather in a field where speeches are made. It grows dark. Finally, joined by torch-bearing girls, the Ogoh-ogohs resume their parade, but this time they are destined for their demise. And with that we all get to rest for a day since tomorrow is Nyepi, the day of silence.

With that in mind, here are a few photos from what was a very photogenic day.

Bamboo lattice holds monster

A lot of fellows are needed to support an oogah oogah

Gamelan provides the soundtrack

Almost to the main drag

The ogoh-ogoh is rotated counter-clockwise three times at every T-junction and crossroad. Rotating represents the contact of the bodies with the spirits and is said to bewilder and dispell evil spirits.

Almost to the main drag

Great music

Gamelan is the traditional ensemble music of Java and Bali. It's mostly percussive instruments, the most common being metallophones played by mallets and a set of hand-played drums called kendhang which register the beat.

Great music

Lots of colourful characters

The main intersection in Ubud

I like the streamers

Reminds me of Homer Simpson

Lifting the power lines

Many ogoh-ogohs are too tall to pass under the power lines, so instead of making them shorter—that would be my solution—they lift the power lines up with tall poles. It's harder than it looks, and it can take a long time to maneuver. Plus, the ogoh-ogoh is going to come back down this street on its way out so the process is repeated. No one is in a rush, though, so it clearly doesn't matter.

Lifting the power lines

Ogoh-ogoh

Gamelan orchestra

A small ogoh-ogoh

Smaller ogoh-ogoh are built by groups of children or local artists.

A small ogoh-ogoh

Smaller ogoh-ogoh are built by groups of children or local artists.

A small ogoh-ogoh

Smaller ogoh-ogoh are built by groups of children or local artists.

Didn't see many officials

Nightfall is coming

I like the light

Where's the parade?

I found the parade route confusing and l don't think i'm the only one. A 30-year local described the route but it didn't go the way she described. She also said they change the rules periodically. For example this year they forbid styrofoam in the ogoh-ogohs because of the fumes given off when burned. (Duh!)