Outside Bali, Indonesia’s Hindus celebrate Nyepi in intimate ceremonies
Al Jazeera
The Balinese new year, known as Nyepi, is marked by reflection, fasting and meditation.
Medan, Indonesia – The Raksa Buana Great Temple in Medan is one of only two Balinese Hindu temples in the Indonesian city of 2.5 million people.
Tucked away in a backstreet, it would be easy to miss the carved stone building, which was built in 1978.
While the temple is usually closed to the public, on March 10 its front gates – flanked by two fearsome temple guardians carved from stone – were thrown open for the eve of Nyepi, known as the Day of Silence, and mostly celebrated in Bali, the mainly Hindu island in mostly Muslim Indonesia.
Wayan Dirgayasa, a professor of English at the State University of Medan who leads the city’s Balinese Hindu community, told Al Jazeera that Nyepi is one of the most important holidays in their religious calendar.
“Nyepi is the Hindu new year celebration and we make offerings the night before as part of a ceremony called Bhuta Yajna. Bhuta are considered creatures lower than humans, but they live in our world with us and were created by God. They are negative beings, and we make offerings at the temple so that they become positive. In our world, it is all about balance.
