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{{short description|Hindu festival of silence in Bali, Indonesia}}
{{More citations needed|date=April 2025}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2025}}
{{Infobox holiday
| holiday_name = Nyepi
| type         = hindu
| image        = Sanur Beach.JPG
| caption      = A deserted Balinese beach during Nyepi
| nickname     = Day of Silence
| observedby   = [[Balinese Hinduism]]
| longtype     = Hindus, cultural
| begins       = 06:00
| ends         = 06:00 the next day
| date         = Hindu [[Balinese saka calendar|Balinese Saka]]<br />1 Kedasa
| observances  = {{hlist|Prayers|religious rituals|[[fasting]]}}
| celebrations = Perform ''tapa brata penyepian''
| date2025     = 29 March
}}

'''Nyepi''', also known as '''Day of Silence''', is a [[Balinese people|Balinese]] holiday held every ''Isakawarsa'' ("new year") according to the [[Balinese saka calendar|Balinese calendar]], and it can be traced as far back as 78 A.D.<ref name="indo.com">[http://www.indo.com/culture/nyepi.html Nyepi: Bali's day of Silence] Culture, Bali & Indonesia (2009)</ref>

The observance includes maintaining silence, [[fasting]], and meditation for [[Balinese Hinduism|Balinese Hindus]]. The following day is celebrated as New Year's Day.<ref name="Hogue2006-03-24">{{cite news|title=In Bali, a holiday for the ears|last=Hogue|first=Thomas|date=24 March 2006|work=[[The New York Times]]|location=[[New York City|New York]]|issn=0362-4331|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/24/opinion/24iht-edhogue.html|access-date=7 March 2011}}</ref><ref name="Onishi2011-03-06">{{cite news|last=Onishi|first=Norimitsu|author-link=Norimitsu Onishi|title=Silence Befalls Bali, but Only for a Day|date=6 March 2011|work=[[The New York Times]]|location=[[New York City|New York]]|issn=0362-4331|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/07/world/asia/07indonesia.html| access-date=7 March 2011}}</ref> After Nyepi, youths in the village of Sesetan in southern Bali practice the ceremony of [[omed-omedan]], or "kissing ritual".<ref name="Travel Asia">{{cite web |title=Upacara omed-omedan: Ritual Ciuman Unik Khas Bali |trans-title="Omed-omedan ceremony: Bali's Unique Kissing Ritual" |url=http://www.travelesia.co/2014/04/upacara-omed-omedan.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140606215157/http://www.travelesia.co/2014/04/upacara-omed-omedan.html |archive-date=6 June 2014 |accessdate=6 June 2014 |publisher=travelesia.co |language=id}}</ref>

==Rituals==
{{Original research section|date=March 2025}}

Observed from 6 a.m. until 6 a.m. the next morning, Nyepi is a day reserved for [[self-reflection]], and anything that might interfere with that purpose is restricted.{{Citation needed|date=March 2025}} The main restrictions are on lighting fires (and lights must be kept low); no working; no entertainment or pleasure; no traveling; and, for some, no talking or eating at all.{{Citation needed|date=March 2025}}

The effect of these prohibitions is that Bali's usually bustling streets and roads become empty, there is little or no noise from TVs and radios, and few signs of activity are visible inside homes. The only people to be seen outdoors are the [[pecalang]], traditional security men who patrol the streets to ensure the prohibitions are being followed.{{Citation needed|date=March 2025}}

Although Nyepi is primarily a Hindu holiday, non-Hindu residents and tourists are not exempt from the restrictions. Although they are free to do as they wish inside hotels, no one is allowed onto beaches or streets, and the [[Ngurah Rai International Airport|only airport in Bali]] remains closed for the entire day. Tourists who violate these rules can face deportation.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Erviani |first=Ni Komang |date=27 March 2023 |title=Two Polish nationals deported from Bali for ignoring Nyepi strictures |url=https://www.thejakartapost.com/indonesia/2023/03/27/two-polish-nationals-deported-from-bali-for-ignoring-nyepi-strictures.html |access-date=22 May 2024 |work=The Jakarta Post}}</ref>

On the afternoon and evening before Nyepi, accessibility on roads is limited. Many local roads are closed for evening parades, making it difficult to navigate by car or motorcycle. Most local restaurants close early, and many ATMs are switched off, with cash removed until the day following Nyepi.<ref>{{Cite web |title=We Visited Bali During Nyepi: Here's Everything You Need To Know |url=https://baliuntold.com/culture/nyepi/ |access-date=22 May 2024 |website=Bali Untold}}</ref> Electricity remains operational, however.{{Citation needed|date=March 2025}}

The only exceptions granted are for [[emergency vehicles]] responding to life-threatening conditions and women going into labor.<ref name="pelak">{{cite web|title=Pelaksanaan Hari Raya Nyepi di Indonesia|url=https://www.babadbali.com/canangsari/hkt-hari-nyepi-pelaks.htm|publisher=Babad Bali|access-date=17 March 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=The Balinese Day of Silence|author=Greg Rodgers|url=http://goasia.about.com/od/Events-and-Holidays/fl/The-Balinese-Day-of-Silence.htm|publisher=About.com|access-date=30 July 2015|archive-date=2 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160402095250/http://goasia.about.com/od/Events-and-Holidays/fl/The-Balinese-Day-of-Silence.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref>

On the day after Nyepi, known as ''Ngembak Geni'' ("relighting the fire"), social activity picks up again, as families and friends gather to ask forgiveness from one another and to perform religious rituals together. Fires and electricity are allowed once more, and cooking resumes.{{Citation needed|date=March 2025}}

[[File:Tawur Kesanga in Samarinda.jpg|right|thumb|''Tawur Kesanga'', a ritual procession on the eve of Nyepi. Children carry lit torches that are used to light bonfires to burn ''ogoh-ogoh'' statues.<ref name="indo.com"/><ref>{{Cite web |title= Bali Travel Stories |website= lonelyplanet.com |date= 15 February 2013 |url= https://www.lonelyplanet.com/indonesia/bali/articles |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20131104002535/http://www.lonelyplanet.com/indonesia/bali/travel-tips-and-articles/76348 |archive-date= 4 November 2013}}</ref>]]

* The '''Melasti ritual''' is performed 3–4 days beforehand, within [[Pura (Balinese temple)|Hindu temples]] near the sea and beaches. It is meant to purify the sacred objects ''[[Murti|pratima]]'', ''arca'', and ''pralingga''{{Clarify|date=March 2025|reason=It should  be clarified with these terms mean.}} and to acquire [[Sacred waters|sacred water]] from the sea.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Thousands flock to Bali's beaches for Melasti purification ritual – National |url=https://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2019/03/04/thousands-flock-to-balis-beaches-for-melasti-purification-ritual.html |access-date=12 March 2024 |website=The Jakarta Post}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=28 February 2022 |title=What Is Melasti? The Hindu 'Purification Festival' Celebrated Ahead of Balinese New Year Nyepi Day |url=https://news.abplive.com/lifestyle/what-is-melasti-the-hindu-purification-festival-celebrated-ahead-of-balinese-new-year-nyepi-day-1516021 |access-date=12 March 2024 |website=news.abplive.com}}</ref>
* The '''Bhuta Yajna ritual''' is performed in order to vanquish negative elements and create balance with God, humankind, and nature. It is also meant to appease [[Batara Kala]], with offerings of live animal sacrifice. Around sunset, the ''pengrupukan'', or ''ngrupuk''<ref>{{cite web |title= Ogoh Ogoh Museum Mengwi |website= bali.com |url= https://bali.com/places/ogoh-ogoh-museum-mengwi/ |access-date= 28 May 2024 }}</ref> ceremony begins inside houses, with noisy banging of pots and pans and bamboo tubes along with burning of dried coconut leaf torches to drive out demons.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Nyepi in Bali – Experiencing the Balinese Day of Silence |url=https://bali.com/bali/travel-guide/culture/nyepi-balinese-new-year/ |access-date=13 March 2024 |website=Bali.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author=  Roxanne Hoorn |title= Meet the creatures and creators behind Bali's parade for banishing evil spirits. On the night before the Balinese New Year, villagers bring monsters to life — and then burn them |website= atlasobscura.com |date= 1 May 2024 |url= https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/bali-new-year-monster-parade-ogoh-ogoh |access-date= 28 May 2024 }}</ref>

[[File:Ogoh-Ogoh---Ubud Football Field-Red one with kids.jpeg|thumb|The last day of the year includes processions of ''bhuta'' (demons, above), followed by Nyepi, the festival of silence.]]

Most Balinese villages make ''[[ogoh-ogoh]]'', demonic statues made of richly painted bamboo, [[papier-mâché]], cloth, and [[tinsel]], symbolising negative elements, malevolent spirits, or even characters from Hindu mythology. After the ''ogoh-ogoh'' have been paraded around the village, they are burned in the cemeteries, although many are displayed in front of community halls for another month or more and sometimes even purchased by museums and collectors.{{Citation needed|date=March 2025}}

[[File:Nyepi2012.jpg|250px|thumb|A deserted street during Nyepi]]

* The '''Nyepi rituals''' are performed as follows:<ref>{{Cite web |last=Media |first=Kompas Cyber |date=1 March 2022 |title=4 Pantangan saat Nyepi di Bali |trans-title=4 Taboos during Nyepi in Bali |url=https://denpasar.kompas.com/read/2022/03/01/184202978/4-pantangan-saat-nyepi-di-bali |access-date=13 March 2024 |website= denpasar.kompas.com |language=id}}</ref>
** Amati Geni: No fire or light, including no electricity
** Amati Karya: No working
** Amati Lelunganan: No travel
** Amati Lelanguan: No revelry/self-entertainment
* The '''Yoga/Brata ritual''' starts at 6:00&nbsp;a.m. and continues until 6:00&nbsp;a.m. the next day.
* The '''Ngembak Agni/Labuh Brata ritual''' is performed for all Hindus to forgive each other and to welcome the new days to come.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Tradisi Ngembak Geni dan Maknanya Bagi Umat Hindu |trans-title=Ngembak Geni/Agni Tradition nand Its Meaning for Hindus |url=https://www.suara.com/news/2021/03/15/192823/tradisi-ngembak-geni-dan-maknanya-bagi-umat-hindu |access-date=13 March 2024 |website=suara.com |language=id}}</ref>
* The '''Dharma Shanti rituals''' are performed after all the Nyepi rituals are finished.<ref name="pelak"/>

==Dates==
{| class=wikitable
! [[Common era|CE]] year
!Balinese<br />year
!Nyepi date
|-
|  2024||1946 || 11 March
|-
|  2025||1947 || 29 March
|-
|  2026||1948 || 19 March
|}

In 2024, the ''ogoh-ogoh'' parades were cancelled due to the [[2024 Indonesian general election|general election]] being so close to the date of the festival and the regional government fearing that the parade may be used to convey political themes. Only villages, in particular traditional ones, were allowed to hold parades.<ref>{{cite web |title= Tourists Disappointed There Will Be No Ogoh-Ogoh Competitions in Bali In 2024 |website= thebalisun.com |date= 16 January 2024 |url= https://thebalisun.com/tourists-disappointed-there-will-be-no-ogoh-ogoh-competitions-in-bali-in-2024/ |access-date= 28 May 2024 }}</ref>

==Related festivals==
Nyepi is related to festivals observed by Hindus in the [[Indian subcontinent]], although the dates are not the same, due to the use of different calendars. For example, the Hindus of [[Maharashtra]] term their new year ''[[Gudi Padwa]]'' (in [[Marathi language|Marathi]]: गुढी पाडवा); [[Sindh]]is celebrate the beginning of their calendar year as ''[[Cheti Chand]]''; [[Meitei people|Manipuris]] celebrate [[Sajibu Nongma Panba]]; and Hindus of [[Andhra Pradesh]] and [[Karnataka]] celebrate ''[[Ugadi]]''.

==Security==
Security is provided by [[hansip]], while the [[pecalang]] are redirected into security roles from their usual tasks such as traffic coordination; both types of security forces report to local village heads.<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://jakartaglobe.id/news/balinese-hindus-to-parade-7000-giant-puppets-ahead-of-nyepi-celebration/ |title = Balinese Hindus to Parade 7,000 Giant Puppets Ahead of Nyepi Celebration}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Indian New Year's days]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* {{Cite news|url = http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2008/03/05/nyepi-search-silence-within.html|title = Nyepi, in search of the silence within|last = Juniartha|first = I Wayan|date = 6 March 2008|publisher = [[The Jakarta Post]]|access-date = 13 January 2009|url-status = dead|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090207125954/http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2008/03/05/nyepi-search-silence-within.html|archive-date = 7 February 2009}}

{{Hindu festivals}}
{{Public holidays in Indonesia}}
{{New Year by Calendar}}

[[Category:March observances]]
[[Category:New Year celebrations]]
[[Category:Public holidays in Indonesia]]
[[Category:Observances set by the Balinese saka calendar]]
[[Category:Festivals in Indonesia]]
[[Category:Silence]]