Multicultural Education about Nyepi in Bali

Abstract

Nyepi is a local tradition celebrating the Balinese Saka New Year, held annually around March. The Nyepi series of events begins with melasti, nyejer, tawur, sipeng, and ngembak geni. The entire multi-ethnic community living in Bali will celebrate Nyepi. The public is asked to stay indoors and not turn on the lights. The success of the Nyepi tradition in Bali is due to the multicultural values that are already integrated within it, such as shared values, mutual respect, cooperation, Tat Tvam Asi, Tri Kaya Parisudha, Tri Hita Karana, and others. This research aims to analyze that the implementation of the Nyepi holiday, which is celebrated once a year in the Balinese Hindu calendar, also has inclusive values, such as multicultural and social educational values, in building an equivalent social reality where every individual interacting socially no longer considers the social or religious background of others. Another more important aspect of research on this cultural aspect is how the celebration of Nyepi is able to provide a sense of social equilibrium that emphasizes the values of pluralism amidst the diverse realities of society. The research method used in this study is a qualitative approach, with data triangulation (observation, interviews, and document study). Nyepi in Bali embodies multicultural values that are universally accepted by everyone in Bali. This is because, multiculturally, Nyepi opens the door to tolerance and mutual respect among religions, ethnicities, and races in Bali. The multicultural traditions of Nyepi are just one example of a multicultural model of how life functions well in Bali.