As the congregation sits quietly, the gamelan turns out solemn beats in keeping with the occasion, Sacrifices of animals are made including that of a buffalo head meant to maintain the balance of nature. As Nyepi is held after the rains and the beginning of the dry season, the ceremony is to purify the earth which has become soiled and return it to its state of harmony. These are all for the evil spirits or Bhuta Kala. As dusk gathers, the Ngerupuk- ceremony starts with the beating of pots and pans, loud noises to drive away the evil spirits. The noise is followed by lit torches which are taken throughout the house and compound to exorcise the evil spirits.
Children also make their own fireworks, which causes explosions like a cannon.
The torches are seen at all the Balinese houses, and the clanging of pots and pans can be quite deafening. While the women are busy with their offerings, the men are, putting the final touches to the ogoh-ogoh giant effigies made of wood or bamboo and covered with paper. Part of the Ngerupuk ceremony or exorcism, the effigies are made in the fiom of frightening creatures such as demons, and there are several supernatural animals like the naga. Each Banjar produces its own ogoh-ogob, and there is some competition as they are paraded in torchlight processions around the Puputan Badung Square in the centre of Denpasar. The square gets crowded with spectators as well as more ogoh-ogoh processions, which arrive from the various Banjars, carried on the shoulders of the young men of the villages.