Bali has long had a unique tradition called Omed-Omedon. It is called unique because it is here that Balinese people perform the mass Kissing Festival Of Bali after the Nyepi festival. This tradition is regularly performed by the people of the Sesetan village of Denpasar village in Bali.
Omed-Omedan in Bali means attraction. Omed-Omedon is held after Nyepi Day, which is the day of the Ngembak Genie, to welcome the Saka New Year.
To start the Unique Kissing Festival Of Bali, young people are divided into two groups, the boys’ group (teruna) and the girls (teruni). Before performing the rituals, all the participants have to offer prayers in the temple, Where holy water is sprinkled on them. Both the groups take a face-to-face position on the main village road.
To participate in this unusual ritual, the age of the people should be between 17-30 years and unmarried can also participate in it.
After an elder gives a signal, they face each other and pull each other up. The participants in this ceremony include 40 men and 60 women. The remaining participants are reserved for the next stage.
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During the program, the participants cut off contact with each other and started kissing. They are completely soaked in water, which makes the atmosphere even more hectic. The ceremony is performed until 17.00 local time.
Although it sounds strange, the Omed-Omedan tradition has positive connotations, such as the establishment of Asa, Asuh, and Asih among residents and the maintenance of peace in the village of Sesetan. This tradition was discontinued but was started again because people feared that something bad might happen to them.
The story behind the Unique Kissing Festival Of Bali
There is an interesting story behind the Omed-Omedon tradition. It is said that there used to be a small kingdom in the South Denpasar region. One day a boy and a girl played tug of war and made a lot of noise.
The voice aroused the wrath of the ailing king. He came out and wanted to stop the disturbance. However, instead of getting angry, the king was happy to see this and was cured of his illness.
This incident prompted the king to follow the tradition of Omed-omedan, which in Indonesian means “pull and pull”.
Source: Authentic indonesia