A Chicken Meets the Sea in Indonesia

Image: Thousands Of Hindus Gather For The Melasti Ceremony
A Hindu devotee throws a chicken into the sea as an offering during Melasti, a Hindi cleansing ritual, at Parangkusumo beach on Saturday in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. The ritual is held annually ahead of the Nyepi Day of Silence, a ceremony intended to cleanse and purify the souls of the Balinese Hindu participants. Balinese Hindus believe that the ocean’s water has powerful, supernatural healing and protective properties. Ulet Ifansasti / Getty Images

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A devotee throws a chicken into the sea as an offering during Melasti, a Hindi cleansing ritual, at Parangkusumo beach on Saturday in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. The ritual is held annually ahead of the Nyepi Day of Silence, a ceremony intended to cleanse and purify the souls of the Balinese Hindu participants. Balinese Hindus believe that the ocean’s water has powerful, supernatural healing and protective properties.