Luh De Suriyani, Denpasar – Residents and members of Denpasar's artistic community have urged the city administration not to ban the ogoh-ogoh festival, held on the eve of Balinese Hindu Saka New Year, or Nyepi.
The city administration has banned the annual event, claiming that it could spark riots between rival political factions given the upcoming election.
"The city administration is looked at the ogoh-ogoh parade through a conflict lenses meaning the artistic work has become an object of paranoia," Mangku Wayan Candra, who established the Gases artistic community, which is considered one of the leading ogoh-ogoh producers, said.
"Please do not sacrifice the artistic work and expression of the youths simply for because of the general elections."
The Denpasar chapter of the Customary Villages Grand Council (MUDP) has banned the ogoh-ogoh parade because it coincides with the campaigning period ahead of the April 9 legislative elections.
While the Bali MUDP has called on other regions to ban ogoh-ogoh parades, so far only the Denpasar city administration has sanctioned the ban. Candra said he was concerned that the ban could lead to a negative reaction.
"The youth could opt to get drunk and make noises on the streets," he said. "It happened when the parade was banned several years ago."
He did not elaborate on which year the riot took place, only saying that the youths stayed up late ahead of Nyepi and took to the streets, causing mayhem along Jl. Sesetan in Denpasar.
Candra said it would be easy to prevent riots and election law violations during ogoh-ogoh by getting each banjar (customary hamlet) leader to sign a written agreement so that each banjar's members would have a reason to behave and follow regulations during the parade.
"There is already a consensus saying that during the parade there should be no drunken people or firecrackers," he said. "The parade is guarded by pecalang (customary security guards)."
One resident, I Komang Gelgel, lambasted the decision to ban the parade because of the general elections.
"What the election has got to do with ogoh-ogoh?" he said. "We young people greatly anticipate this chance to express our creativity and togetherness."
Despite the ban, workers at the Gases workshop have been busy making dozens of ogoh-ogoh, commissioned by residents and a number of hotels. "Some residents and hotels have ordered smaller ogoh-ogoh due to the ban imposed by their banjars," Candra said.
The ogoh-ogoh parade attracts locals and tourists alike ever year, when literally hundreds of effigies are paraded though each banjar's territory.
Generally, ogoh-ogoh takes the form of demons and evil spirits depicted in various Hindu scriptures and Balinese folklore. A monstrous giant with menacing fangs and an intimidating pose is one of the favorite themes among ogoh-ogoh makers on the island.
The ogoh-ogoh, escorted by groups of people carrying bamboo torches and accompanied by a boisterous gamelan ensemble, are paraded around the night before Nyepi.
Earlier in the day, sacrificial offerings are made at homes, along streets and at the city square in Denpasar. The day is known as Pengerupukan, during which Balinese try to simultaneously appease and scare away evil spirits.
Every banjar in Bali has one ogoh-ogoh, made locally or commissioned to someone else.
Nyepi, or the Day of Silence, marks the Saka Balinese Hindu New Year which is 1931 this year and falls on March 26. The campaign period, meanwhile, is from March 16 to April 6.