Cheeky Kissing
The ritual commences by dividing the youths by gender into two opposing lines, where the boys eagerly wait on the northern, and the girls timidly line up in the southern, parts of the street. A referee will signal the start the game where each group gets close to pull each other, until the boys kiss the girls on the cheek. A traditional baleganjur orchestra, with harsh but melodious sounds, will accompany the ritual to encourage the spirit of each of the participants. Other members of the crowd pour water onto the 'kissers' to make the 'war' come alive. If the kissing continues, more water is poured, supposedly to discourage them, before starting with another round. Hundreds of people as well as tourists usually watch this interesting ritual.
Originally, mèd-mèdan was a communal activity found throughout Sesetan village, but today, only exists in Banjar Kaja. It was originally held on Nyepi Day, a supposedly quiet day. In the past, each community celebrated Nyepi by coming onto the streets. Since there was not any traffic during Nyepi, people could play on the street with ease. It was easy to find people around Denpasar City, for example at Padangsambian village, where boys and girls poured onto the streets and happily played games such as a local-type of base ball (using a ball made of arranged-coconut leaves) and megoak-goak (snakes and ladders) from morning up to the late afternoon. However, around Sesetan village, the game of mèd-mèdan was the most popular.
Around the 1970's, the celebration of Nyepi was regulated according to the Hindu teachings. People were urged to stay at home and practice meditation or any form of self-introspection during Nyepi. They were not allowed to travel, let alone to play games as before. The effectiveness of this regulation varied from one place to another. Many people in Sesetan village stopped playing games on the street at Nyepi. People of Banjar Kaja, however, did not skip the mèd-mèdan activity. However, instead of doing it on the actual day of Nyepi, they decided to celebrate it on the following day.
The ritual commences by dividing the youths by gender into two opposing lines, where the boys eagerly wait on the northern, and the girls timidly line up in the southern, parts of the street. A referee will signal the start the game where each group gets close to pull each other, until the boys kiss the girls on the cheek. A traditional baleganjur orchestra, with harsh but melodious sounds, will accompany the ritual to encourage the spirit of each of the participants. Other members of the crowd pour water onto the 'kissers' to make the 'war' come alive. If the kissing continues, more water is poured, supposedly to discourage them, before starting with another round. Hundreds of people as well as tourists usually watch this interesting ritual.
Originally, mèd-mèdan was a communal activity found throughout Sesetan village, but today, only exists in Banjar Kaja. It was originally held on Nyepi Day, a supposedly quiet day. In the past, each community celebrated Nyepi by coming onto the streets. Since there was not any traffic during Nyepi, people could play on the street with ease. It was easy to find people around Denpasar City, for example at Padangsambian village, where boys and girls poured onto the streets and happily played games such as a local-type of base ball (using a ball made of arranged-coconut leaves) and megoak-goak (snakes and ladders) from morning up to the late afternoon. However, around Sesetan village, the game of mèd-mèdan was the most popular.
Around the 1970's, the celebration of Nyepi was regulated according to the Hindu teachings. People were urged to stay at home and practice meditation or any form of self-introspection during Nyepi. They were not allowed to travel, let alone to play games as before. The effectiveness of this regulation varied from one place to another. Many people in Sesetan village stopped playing games on the street at Nyepi. People of Banjar Kaja, however, did not skip the mèd-mèdan activity. However, instead of doing it on the actual day of Nyepi, they decided to celebrate it on the following day.
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