Melasti

Today is the last day of Melasti, a ceremony to purify the "small world." There have been ceremonies here and there for a few days, at the beach near us yesterday - thousands and thousands of people - and flowers. Note the priest sprinkling water on people just like in Zen ceremonies from Japan. This is right before the traditional New Year, but going to the sea for purification is done at other times. A woman standing next to us yesterday watching told me that after the bombing in Kuta in 2003, that there were ceremonies at the beach the next day to purify and atone for having let that happen.