Asian Geographic - April 2018

(singke) #1

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 Balinese

celebrate, 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

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