People of Bali Celebrate New Year

Should you spend your holiday in Bali at the end of this year and would like to celebrate the New Year; you had better not just stay at your hotel. Why not have a sightseeing tour to the corner of Bali to see the people of Bali welcoming the New Year 2004? Lively atmosphere and several art attractions can be found at some places, like at Kuta, Sanur, Lovina Beaches or Denpasar town, and at capitals of other regencies in Bali. However, please be careful on your journey, as it is now the rainy season, street conditions are a bit slippery and the water may stagnate in some places.

ew Year’s celebrations are gearing up. Bali since the tourism developed surprisingly in the 1980s, the atmosphere of yearly change is always merry and full of parties. Not only at hotels do we find such lively atmosphere, but also at other public places like at the beach, square, village hall and many other tourist destinations. Various performances of art are presented, ranging from traditional to rock music that stamps with force, and dangdut music with its erotic swinging of the hips. Many artists of Bali present their contemporary art to express their happiness in welcoming the new dawn.
The party night that takes place all night long at public places, involve youngsters. Those who choose to celebrate the New Year at remote places from their residence usually go out from the afternoon and gather at strategic places at street sides before leaving together by motorbike to entertainment centers. Some of them may go with their lovers and embrace intimately along the journey. The swishing of cold night winds gets them deeply involved in the romantic colour of the New Year. “On celebrating the New Year, I’d also like to experience a new atmosphere in expressing love affection at once,” said I Ketut Suardana who always celebrates the New Year with his girlfriend. An officer of Bali Province Government admitted that he encountered his beloved girlfriend at New Year’s celebration at Kuta Beach three years ago.
For those who do not like to go away from home, usually celebrate the New Year at the village hall. Sekaa Taruna (youth organization at sub village level) habitually holds lawar (traditional dish) party spontaneously. They seem to be cheered up while listening to music that is played through loudspeakers. On New Year’s Eve, various traditional performances are presented, like “joged bumbung” that symbolizes acquaintance dance of youngsters who are falling in love. “Bondres” (a kind of clown) may also be performed, in which the players act funnily. Their dialogues are full of social criticism packed in humor sense. The plot of its story is made in such a way that covers many problems that happened on the previous year, and the nice expectation for the upcoming year. To make the atmosphere more attractive, it is usually completed with a door prize. The party night at the village hall becomes an affordable entertainment and certainly attended by a myriad of participants children, adolescents, youngsters and older people.
Older people, who do not like to join such glamour activities at village hall, make a program of pesantian (holy hymns recital) at the temple or at one’s house to welcome the New Year. At this program, they recite various holy hymns and texts on palm’s leaf manuscripts that are full of ethical teachings and life order in society that is full of affectionate love. They make dialogue the whole night, discuss and make expectation in entering the New Year. Such pesantian programs seem to be serious, so it lacks the youngsters’ attention.
In the town of Denpasar, such entertainment is usually centered at Puputan Badung Square. The government of Denpasar organizes the New Year’s Eve celebration by involving hundreds of artists. The people of Denpasar will flock to visit the square in the heart of Denpasar to see some performances. By midnight, they go down the street while playing paper trumpets and lighting fireworks. The atmosphere is gets happier when they play trumpets and respond to others along the street. Children and adolescences yell loudly and happily. Male adolescences that are in their puberty whistle naughtily to attract girls’ attention.

”Piodalan”
A lively atmosphere is not only seen at New Year, but at most times. The people of Bali possess many special days pertaining to the life cycle from birth to death. Such special days are signed with various rites and socio-religious activities. Everyday, it can be seen that Balinese people are busy doing ritual processions collectively at several sacred places that are called odalan. Meanwhile, the individual ritual procession is done at each household involving their relatives. The scale of piodalan, or ritual, in the household, greatly depends on the economic condition of each person. Gamelan orchestra (Balinese music) that accompanies the procession makes the atmosphere livelier.
According to Balinese tradition, the Balinese people have a special holy day called Nyepi as Isaka’s New Year that falls around March or April. Welcoming the Isaka’s New Year is commenced with a melasti procession to the sea and Tawur Kesanga (exorcism rites) at street intersections. Ritual processions take place merrily as a symbol of universal purification along with its content. Isaka’s New Year celebration is much more lively than that of Christmas New Year. Balinese people enter the New Year with a clean heart and universe.
Happy socio-religious activity can certainly be seen while celebrating the New Year in Bali. Moreover, in this January, Balinese people celebrate Galungan and Kuningan Holidays in a much more exciting atmosphere. Happy New Year 2004 and good luck to you. (Ketut Sumadi, Contributor of Bali Travel News)

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