Each year in Bali’s Bugbug Village, Hindus gather to take part in a three-day celebration that includes splashing holy water, atavistic wailing and role-play suicide to ward off evil spirits.
Hindus gather at Usaba Manggung to express their religious devotion and find peace. Attendees work themselves up into a state of trance until they appear to be possessed by demons. They wail and scream, as if out of their minds and on the verge of suicide. These acts serve to release all the evil within them while honoring their God.
Holy water is then splashed or poured on their heads, finally providing relief and affirmation that they have been released from vice. The rite also includes long prayer sessions, offerings, and traditional dances performed by all who attend.
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