Three days before the Day of Absolute Silence, the most sacred relics of each temple for miles around are carried to the beach for purification and cleansing accompanied by thunderous, almost cacophonic gamelan music with some devotees  wailing in a trance state and ceremonially pressing the points of their sharp long swords into their chests. Colorful banners and parasols fill the sky and one has the impression one is in some war movie of Kurosawa.