Melasti is a Hindu Balinese purification ceremony and ritual, which according to

Balinese calendar The Balinese observe (besides the Gregorian calendar) two completely different and not synchronized calendars: *The Balinese pawukon calendar, a numeric calendar of 210 days per year *The Balinese saka calendar The Balinese saka calendar is one of ...

is held several days prior to the ''

Nyepi Nyepi is a Balinese "Day of Silence" that is commemorated every ''Isakawarsa'' (Saka new year) according to the Balinese calendar (in 2023, it falls on March 22). It is a Balinese celebration mainly celebrated in Bali, Indonesia. Nyepi, a publi ...

'' holy day. It is observed by Hindus in Indonesia, especially in

Bali Bali () is a province of Indonesia and the westernmost of the Lesser Sunda Islands. East of Java and west of Lombok, the province includes the island of Bali and a few smaller neighbouring islands, notably Nusa Penida, Nusa Lembongan, and Nu ...

. Melasti was meant as the ritual to cleanse the world from all the filth of sin and bad karma, through the symbolic act of acquiring the '' Tirta Amerta'', "the water of life". Melasti Culture

Melasti ceremony is held on the edge of the

beach A beach is a landform alongside a body of water which consists of loose particles. The particles composing a beach are typically made from rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles, etc., or biological sources, such as mollusc shel ...

with the aim to purify oneself of all the bad things in the past and throw it to the

ocean The ocean (also the sea or the world ocean) is the body of salt water that covers approximately 70.8% of the surface of Earth and contains 97% of Earth's water. An ocean can also refer to any of the large bodies of water into which the wo ...

. In Hindu belief, the source of water such as

lake A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much large ...

and

sea The sea, connected as the world ocean or simply the ocean, is the body of salty water that covers approximately 71% of the Earth's surface. The word sea is also used to denote second-order sections of the sea, such as the Mediterranean Sea, ...

water, are considered as the source of life''(Tirta Amrita)''. In addition to performing prayers, during Melasti ceremony, all of sacred objects which belongs to a

temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called churches), Hinduism (whose temples ...

, such as ''pralingga'' or ''pratima'' of Lord Ida Sanghyang Widi Wasa, and all of sacred equipments, are being cleaned and purified.

References

{{reflist Ceremonies in Indonesia