Having recently returned from another month in Bali, I will gladly share my observations with anyone who is interested.
Nyepi was a great experience. I had the honor of participating with a group from Bunutan who's Oga Oga was a prize example of the essence of Nyepi celebrations of the past. Oga , Ogas are beautifully made representations of the evil spirits that are summoned to Bali on the eve of Nyepi, only to be confounded by the absence of human presence the following day. The idea is to attract these evil beings to Bali on Nyepi eve, only to be follwed the following 24 hour period by no human presence, so that the evil spirits leave Bali, not to return for another year.
This tradition is long lived in Balinese life, but has been for many years forbidden under the Soeharto regime as there was a fear that that the oga ogas would be politcially based and therefore be a slander to those in power in Jakarta. This was the second Nyepi where the Balinese felt comfortable bringing on the Oga Ogas without fear of reprisal or at least, bad manners. The competition in Denpasar was highly competitive, as many of these creations obviously were reflective of many weeks of creative production. I must say that upon personally confronting one of these demons, lit only by the light of hand held torches, bamboo bombs firing all around, the smell of black powder and screams of hundreds of people, I was very much impressed and felt certain that the evil ones would indeed be attracted to Bali.
This year's rainy season has been a remarkable one. The predictions are even for a wetter than normal dry season....good news for the Balinese rice harvest. The rain was relentless and torrential, but somehow, it didn't matter as after all, it was a refeshing respite from the heat and a necessary ingredient of the cycle of Balinese life.
All around Bali, depending on where you are, the political scene is dominated by either the PDI or Golkar party. The Balinese are not normally caught up in politics, but this election has struck the cords of many Balinese, particularly the young, in a manner not seen before. Village upon village either is a bastion of PDI support with brilliant red flags with the raging bull symbolizing the PDI, (Megawati's Party) or the yellow flags of the Golkar (Habbie) party. There is total calm right now and it would be hard to imagine anything else in Bali...no matter how intense the political issues may become.
If I can report anything of use to you, all I can say is that after many years of travelling to Bali, and staying month upon month, Bali is the same and in my view always will be. For me, it will always be the supreme mystical land, a paradise, unparalleled in this world and forever an enigma I will endeavor to understand.