Pengrupukan and Ogoh-Ogoh: The Expulsion of Disorder

Exploring Bali and its culture with John Couteau

Pengrupukan and Ogoh-Ogoh: The Expulsion of Disorder is part two of a three part series based on a talk by Anthropologist and cultural expert Jean Couteau ‘Nyepi Uncovered’ at Usada Bali.

Following the cleansing of Melasti, the focus shifts.

If Melasti returns accumulated imbalance to its source, Pengrupukan addresses what remains. It is the moment when disorder is no longer cleansed, but actively driven out.

This takes place on the eve of Nyepi.

Across Bali, households begin by turning inward. Compounds are cleared, offerings are made, and attention is given to the unseen forces known as Bhuta Kala—energies associated with chaos, disruption, and imbalance. These are not abstract ideas, but active presences within Balinese cosmology.

The work then expands outward into the village.

At crossroads and shared spaces, rituals take place to reinforce this act of expulsion. The intention is not simply to remove what is negative, but to restore balance by confronting it directly.

It is within this context that the ogoh-ogoh appear.

Large, often elaborate effigies are carried through the streets, representing forms of disorder in exaggerated and expressive ways. They are paraded, accompanied by sound and movement, before being destroyed.

Today, ogoh-ogoh are one of the most visible aspects of Nyepi. Yet they are not as ancient as they may seem. Their current form developed relatively recently, evolving from earlier practices that used smaller symbolic figures.

Culture Evolving

This evolution reflects something important. While the underlying cosmology remains consistent, its expressions are not fixed. The ogoh-ogoh carry forward the function of ritual expulsion, but also respond to contemporary conditions—engaging public space, community participation, and even tourism.

What remains constant is the need to bring disorder into form, so that it can be released.

Pengrupukan is the threshold. What has been gathered and made visible is now let go, clearing the way for what follows.

This article forms part of a broader reflection on Nyepi and its full ceremonial cycle.
Read the full piece by Dian Dewi Reich