Predating the spread of Hinduism in Indonesia during the first century C.E., the Barong dance chronicles the battle between good and evil seen in the Balinese myth of Barong. A panther-like creature, Barong is known as the king of the spirits and is responsible for saving the Bali from Rangda, a female demon, and her band of Leyaks, witches who practice black magic and consume corpses.[1] According to the legend, Rangda and her Leyaks live on Nusa Penida, an island southeast of Bali, and, one day in Sashi ke-enem (the sixth month of the Balinese calendar year), they left Nusa Penida and, with Rangda disguised as Barong, began to harass and murder the Balinese people. [2] In an effort to save his peers, a priest used kanda-empat, the four principals of white magic, to summon Barong and defeat Rangda.[3] In honor of Barong’s victory, the Balinese reenact the battle every year in a dance where participants wear elaborate costumes and carved masks that represent Barong and Rangda, with Rangda’s mask possessing bulging eyes, boar-like tusks, and a protruding tongue to emphasize her viciousness and Barong’s mask typically red with a flowing beard.[4] In fact, the Barong’s mask is usually house in the pura dalem (death temple) and, whenever disease or misfortune infiltrates the village, his beard is soaked in a bowl of clean water to help purify the community.[5]
Works Referenced
Ravina, Maria Clara,
ed. Mask, the Other Face of Humanity: Various Visions of the Role of the
Mask in Human Society. Quezon City, Rex Book Store, 2002.
Rosen, Brenda. The Mythical Creatures Bible: The Definitive Guide to Legendary Beings. New York: Sterling, 2008.
____________________
[1] Rosen, 353.
[2] Ravine, 3-4.
[3] Ravine, 3-4.
[4] Rosen, 353.
[5] Ravine, 4-5.
No comments:
Post a Comment