It’s as hot as Hades in the typically sleepy
village, and a massive bonfire of coconut husks
and dried palm leaves crackles and hisses, its
orange glow illuminating a tiny but crowded
community square. Men are gathered around
the blaze, clad in nothing but checkered
sarongs, whooping and screaming with their
hands in the air. Fists pound bare chests
glistening with sweat.
It’s almost Nyepi. It’s time for the fire war.
Perang api is one tradition few Balinesecelebrate, and fewer outsiders know about.
While the practices associated with the Hindu
New Year’s Eve are well documented – a day
of enforced silence, fasting and meditation –
this little-known ritual takes place at 6pm in
a handful of neighborhoods in central Bali on
pengrupukan, the day preceding Nyepi.
Tonight,
Nagi’s locals
are unusually
riled up.
Text and Photos Lester V. Ledesma
left Their bodies
covered in sweat and
ash, the men of Nagi
village in central Bali
start the customary
Nyepi parade after
concluding their ritual
fire fights