INDONESIA-RELIGION-HINDU-MELASTI

INDONESIA-RELIGION-HINDU-MELASTI

Balinese people attend a Melasti prayer ceremony at Petitenget beach in Kuta on Indonesia’s resort island of Bali on March 28, 2014. Melasti is a purification festival which is held several days before “Nyepi”, a day of silence, when Hindus on the island of Bali are not allowed to work, travel or take part in any indulgence. The Indonesian holiday island of Bali shuts down for the day of silence to mark the Hindu new year on March 31. AFP PHOTO / SONNY TUMBELAKA