The night before Nyepi is a big parade for all the big paper-machete statues that the little communities throughout Bali have made. Most of the statues are supposed to be burned at the end of the night, but a lot of them end up getting saved and sold or reused for another year.
The kids on our street raised money to make their own statue. They got enough money to hire an 'architect' who kind of directed them in designing it and building it.It ended up being quite a shocking statue. There are some pictures on the right here but DON'T CLICK ON THEM if you have little kids sitting around you (I made them small for a reason). The statues are supposed to be gruesome and scary in order to scare away unwanted spirits, but this one (built by kids 10-13 years old) is especially 'unique'.
We usually hang out for a little while at the parade and then go home before the parade really gets going. Jaiden was invited by her buddies (top right) to walk in the parade with them, but she politely declined. She had a good answer and good reasons :o)
