Seasonal rites
Tawur Kesanga
The great offering to the powers of the earth on the day before Nyepi, when Bali is cleared before a day of silence.
Presented by ClearTrust Customs described as customs, free to read.
Tawur Kesanga is a large offering made on the eve of Nyepi, the Balinese new year of the Saka calendar, on the day before the new moon falls in March or April. It is held at crossroads and village centres. The aim, as Balinese Hindus describe it, is to give the bhuta kala, the powers of disorder, a share so that the island can enter the new year in balance.
This is an outline of a custom, said as belief and practice. It is not instruction, it does not say that the rite works, and it is not medical advice.
What goes into it
- Caru offeringOfferingFood and woven palm-leaf work set at the crossroads.
- Holy waterSubstanceSprinkled by the priest.
- Ogoh-ogoh figureObjectA large demon figure carried at dusk.
- TorchesToolLight the parade.
- Gamelan and drumsToolFill the streets with noise.
- CrossroadsSpaceWhere the powers of the earth are said to gather.
- Offering
- Substance
- Object
- Tool
- Space
Each part has an equal wedge. The ring shows what goes into the rite, not how much. Colour is the part's role.
The steps, drawn
Each drawing shows the kind of act in that step. Details differ from place to place, family to family and practitioner to practitioner.
Step 1: Gather Prepare the offerings and the ogoh-ogoh before the new moon. Step 2: Circle The priest sets the offerings at the crossroads. Step 3: Speak Prayers and mantras ask the powers to accept their share. Step 4: Light After dusk the figures are paraded with torches and noise. Step 5: Cast The figures are burned or set aside to end the night. Step 6: Rest The next day, Nyepi, the island keeps silence.
The offering and the parade
A priest leads the offering, called caru, of food and palm-leaf work, with scale and content varying by community and, in some larger ceremonies, including animals. After dusk young men carry the ogoh-ogoh, towering papier-mache and bamboo figures of demons, through the streets with drums and torches, and the figures are burned or put away at the end. The noise and the figures are explained as a way to show the dark powers they are seen and then sent on their way.
Silence
The next day, Nyepi, brings a day of silence: no lights, no travel, no work, with the airport closed and the sea and streets empty, under the watch of village wardens. Both Hindus and non-Hindu neighbours have come to take part in some form. Scholars read the cycle of noise, burning and silence as a rite of clearing and starting again.
What it is for
- Clear the island before the new year
- Give the powers of the earth their share
Who does it
Related entries
Also part of it, and being written: Balinese Hinduism (The religion of the rite.).
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Sources and further reading
Original text and drawings by the EveryJaadu desk, written with AI assistance and checked against the sources above. Closed or sacred detail is left out. If we have something wrong, tell us.
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Ogoh-ogoh: Simondodit, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Nyepi: Matt Croxson, Public domain, source