The Melasti Ritual, performed three days before Nyepi, is celebrated to honor the deity Acintya as the Master of Land and Sea. Villagers dressed in their finest clothes walk in a procession towards temples the sea or a nearby sacred spring. Women carry fruits, flowers, and sweets, while men carry sacred family statues.
At the end of the procession, the statues are cleansed in the sea - and sanctified by the Balinese counterpart of Neptune, the Lord Baruna.
The real fun begins on sunset the day before Nyepi - in a celebration known as Pengerupukan, villagers in Bali converge at the main crossroad of their respective villages, carrying ogoh-ogoh (monsters) symbolizing evil spirits that burden people's lives. The image above shows the wide variety of ogoh-ogoh paraded during Pengerupukan.
