One day after the Hindu people in Bali celebrate the Silent Day [called Nyepi], they usually hold a unique festival that you will never find in any other places in Indonesia. The festival is called ‘Omed-omedan’, Bali’s most unique culture where kisses are not a romantic thing we used to do to show love.
Omed-omedan is a big festival held only by Banjar Kaja, Sesetan in Denpasar. It comes from the word ‘omed’ which means ‘pull’ in English. People will gather in the street, men and women are separated and then they pull each other to kiss. This tradition actually existed long before the colonial times and has been inherited from generation to generation. However, Banjar Kaja, Sesetan balked at allegations that omed-omedan is identical with kissing.
Hundreds of people hooted and screamed in excitement as a young man, sitting on the shoulders of his two friends, managed to land some quick kisses on a girl's cheek as men splashed water on the two.
The girl, also sitting on the shoulders of two men, could only try to hide her blushing in vain while the sounds of a Balinese ensemble got louder and merrier.
The participants stand in two opposite groups (men on one side, women on the other) and pick their friends to be the next designated "kissers". The selected teenagers are carried on their friends' shoulders and performed the quick, ritualistic kisses. The participants then chose another pair of "kisser" until every member of the group gets their turn.
"This is a unique tradition, the only one in Bali. It's not merely a kissing activity," said the leader of the hamlet's youth group.
He said too that the ritual has been passed down from generation to generation in the hamlet as an activity intended to strengthen the social cohesion of the youth. It is held on ngembak geni (welcome the fire) day, which falls the day after Nyepi.
Head of the festival committee assured that the ritual had nothing to do with pornography. He said the hamlet once dismissed the ritual in 1980s and a strange thing happened in the hamlet which worried the residents.
"Suddenly two pigs fought each other at the community hall and the residents could hardly separate them," he said, adding that after a purification ceremony, it was decided that the omed-omedan ritual should be continued.
To add more colors to the tradition, the Sesetan sub-district this year organized a street bazaar in the morning before omed-omedan. It featured some 50 vendors, who offered various goods, including traditional food, clothes and incense, before the ritual was held in the afternoon.
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Article "Unique 'Kissing' Ritual from Bali that You Must See", translated or rewrite by Idle Channel blog from several sites. Hopefully this article can add insight and knowledge. And if you are interested in the posts above, please do not forget to include also the name of the blog Idle Channel as the source. Thank You.
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