SAKA Museum Marks the Saka New Year with Public Programs

SAKA Museum Marks the Saka New Year with Public Programs

By Andika Devara Loeis

In the lead-up to Nyepi, Bali’s Day of Silence, SAKA Museum welcomed the public and AYANA Bali resort guests to a series of programs exploring the meaning of the season through conversation, performance, and close encounters with museum objects.

As the cultural institution behind the KASANGA exhibition, SAKA Museum continues to offer one of Bali’s most thoughtful presentations of Nyepi, not only as a day of silence, but as a living philosophy shaped by ritual, community, and artistic expression.

Nyepi: Bali Stillness, Universal Peace

On Pengrupukan Day, 18 March 2026, the day before Nyepi, Marlowe Bandem delivered the talk Nyepi: Bali Stillness, Universal Peace at the SAKA Museum Auditorium. The session invited audiences and a number of esteemed journalists to see Nyepi not simply as a distinctive Balinese observance, but as part of a larger ritual cycle shaped by purification, rebalancing, confrontation, stillness, and renewal.

To understand Nyepi, Marlowe first introduced the three calendars used in Bali. The Gregorian calendar structures everyday civil life, while the Pawukon or Wuku calendar guides many ritual and communal cycles. Nyepi, however, is determined by the Saka calendar, a lunisolar system that marks the Balinese New Year. Because of this, Nyepi does not fall on the same Gregorian date each year, but follows its own ceremonial rhythm. This year marks Saka New Year 1948, as the Saka calendar begins in 78 CE, making its year count 78 years behind the Gregorian calendar.

Bandem explained that Nyepi is often described simply as Bali’s Day of Silence, when in fact it is part of a much broader sequence of rituals. He traced this cycle through Melasti, Tawur Agung, Pengrupukan, Nyepi, and Ngembak Geni, showing how each stage guides the island from cleansing and confrontation toward introspection and renewed connection.

One of the highlights of the session was Pengrupukan, the dramatic eve of Nyepi when Bali becomes loud with sound, fire, and movement. Central to this atmosphere are the processions of ogoh-ogoh, large effigies often shaped as fearsome beings, demons, or exaggerated human figures that represent chaotic and disruptive forces. Carried through streets and public spaces, they transform these unseen energies into something visible and communal. In this way, disorder is not hidden but confronted, expressed, and symbolically released. Only after this intensity can the island enter the deep restraint of Nyepi.

Referring to ogoh-ogoh in the museum’s collection, and assisted by the SAKA Museum team, Bandem also introduced three important aspects of these figures, including agem (stance), laksana (iconography), and bhawa (facial expression). Through examples ranging from the refined posture of a baris warrior to the coarse features of a raksasa or asura, audiences were invited to look more closely at the visual language of these giant effigies.

The session concluded with a reflective listening moment through Sasi Wimba Haneng Gata, a poem in Ginanti metrum that invited the audience into a brief experience of calm. The poem forms part of the audio-visual sensory welcome that greets visitors as they enter SAKA Museum, extending the museum experience through sound, atmosphere, and reflection.

From there, guests were invited to take part in a participatory gesture through the lamak, an elongated ceremonial decoration that symbolically links the worldly and the divine. Placing their wishes upon it, they transformed reflection into an offering of hope while preparing for the evening’s ogoh-ogoh parade at AYANA Bali.

Ogoh-Ogoh Parade to SAKA Museum

Later that day, the SAKA Museum garden came alive with a Pengrupukan parade and performance, continuing a tradition at AYANA Bali that allows resort guests to experience the charged atmosphere of the eve of Nyepi. Before the island entered silence, the grounds filled with sound, movement, and communal excitement.

This year’s parade featured two ogoh-ogoh by Candra Pradipta and the team at Sigrut Artwork. Candra is already familiar to SAKA Museum and AYANA Bali, with his work The Mighty Heroine Srikandi currently on display in the museum’s ogoh-ogoh gallery.

Created in response to the 100-year commemoration of the relocation of a temple near Batur called Pura Ulun Danu Batur (1926–2026), this year’s figures, Giri Murka and Danu Murti, drew on the eruption that reshaped both landscape and devotion. Giri Murka evokes volcanic force, greed, and destructive excess, while Danu Murti embodies water, compassion, and renewal. Together, they express a central theme of Nyepi: that balance must be restored after upheaval, and that stillness is reached through renewal.

Giri Murka began its procession from RIMBA by AYANA Bali, while Danu Murti departed from AYANA Resort Bali. Guests joined in two groups before the processions converged on the streets, accompanied by the powerful rhythms of tabuh balaganjur, a dynamic form of Balinese processional ensemble. 

Before arriving at the SAKA Museum garden, both ogoh-ogoh paused for a performance in front of Tevana Garden. Children moved excitedly with the procession, while other guests beat the kentongan, a traditional wooden slit drum used for rhythm and communal signaling, along the route, adding to the festive energy of the evening. By the time the figures reached SAKA Museum, the parade had become a lively final release before the stillness of Nyepi began.

If Objects Could Speak

The celebration continued on Ngembak Geni, 20 March 2026, with If Objects Could Speak, an intimate and interactive session led by SAKA Museum Director Dr. Judith E. Bosnak. Held as a continuation of the earlier Nyepi talk, the program reflected the spirit of Ngembak Geni as a day of reconnection, forgiveness, and renewal.

The event welcomed a cozy group of participants, and began with a warm welcome from SAKA Museum Director Dr. Judith E. Bosnak. She opened the session by explaining the deep significance of Ngembak Geni and how important it is for the Balinese people to celebrate this day. She also provided a fascinating overview of SAKA Museum and its current exhibitions, setting the perfect stage for the interactive experience ahead.

Participants were then guided to the Heritage Gallery, where they were assigned to specific artifacts. These curated objects were carefully chosen to represent the Panca Maha Bhuta, the five foundational elements of Balinese Hindu philosophy. The featured artifacts included the Kinnara representing Air, Banas Sungsang representing Fire, Gajah Mina representing Water, woven effigies of Dewi Sri representing Earth, and the Ukuran representing Ether.

Each person received a piece of paper and a simple prompt: to record their raw, personal responses to the artifacts. Without knowing the actual historical background of the items, participants were encouraged to write down their thoughts and identify anything that felt familiar to them. The results were a beautiful display of universal imagination and cross cultural connection.

A participant from Hungary resonated deeply with the woven effigies of Dewi Sri, noting a strong resemblance to the traditional corn husk dolls found in his own cultural heritage. Meanwhile, a participant from Mexico with a background in archaeology observed that the fiery Banas Sungsang shared striking visual similarities with traditional demons from Mexican folklore.

A lovely couple shared their impressions of the Kinnara, a celestial being that is half human and half bird, and the Gajah Mina, a mythical creature with the head of an elephant and the body of a fish. They perceived the Kinnara as a gentle and very nice figure, while they felt the imposing Gajah Mina appeared to be carrying a very heavy burden. Another participant examined the Ukuran, a traditional Balinese effigy representing a deceased human being. Observing this specific figure meant to represent the element of Ether, they described the object as looking very stiff, noting that it seemed as though it could not move freely.

After everyone shared their personal and imaginative interpretations, Judith stepped in to reveal the true stories behind the artifacts. Through her deeply engaging storytelling, she explained the actual Balinese background, traditional use, and profound meaning of each object.

The contrast between the initial personal impressions and the actual historical facts created a highly engaging atmosphere. The session beautifully demonstrated that museum collections are not just silent relics, but vibrant storytellers capable of sparking universal curiosity and bridging cultures together.

Through these Saka New Year programs, SAKA Museum offered audiences not only knowledge about Nyepi and Ngembak Geni, but a deeper encounter with Bali’s living traditions, where ritual, objects, and shared reflection continue to speak to the present.

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