It's
the most popular dance for tourists. A straightforward battle between
good, the barong, and bad, the rangda. The barong is a strange creature,
half shaggy dog, half lion, propelled by two men like a circus
clown-horse. The widow-witch rangda is bad though and certainly not the
sort of thing you'd like to meet on a midnight stroll through the rice
paddies.
The Barong dance is truly a triumphant display of bright colors and
graceful
movements. Greatly appreciated by the tourists, special performances
are
staged for their benefit, generally in the morning, and last one hour.
The
villages of Batubulan as well as Tegaltamu and Singapadu, small towns
located
30 minutes from the capital, are known for putting on the best
performances.
There is, however, more to the Barong dance than the folkloristic
dimension,
It is, in fact, an integral part of the island's culture and has an
evident
sacred connotation. It isn't rare, in fact, to see the Balinese
dancing the
Barong during their religious ceremonies, regardless of the presence
of
tourists. Inspired by an episode taken from Mahabharata, an epic poem
written
in Sanskrit. the dance evolves around the character of the Barong, the
king of
the jungle. A mythical animal, not clearly identified (perhaps a
lion), he is
the symbol of virtue and good, subject to the continuous struggle
against the
evil forces that threaten life and the integrity of the forest, this
being an
element very dear to the Balinese population. In detail, the Barong
embodies
everything that can be beneficial to man, and help him defeat illness.
black
magic and any other kind of misfortune. The evil entity against which
he must
relentlessly fight is personified by Rangda, queen of death and
devourer of
children. She is characterized by a dark and gloomy mask from which a
red
tongue of fire hangs. The entire dance is centered around the struggle
between
these two rival characters. The Barong is interpreted by two dancers
whose
rhythmic movements bring to life the beautiful and elaborate cos tume
they
wear. a large animal head skillfully carved out of wood, brightly
colored in
red, white, black and gold. It is adorned with a crown extending
outwards from
the sides of the head, and by a prominent necklace which hangs from
the neck,
The final touch of the costume is a tail made out of bison leather
which is
elaborately finished and guilded. The first character to appear on the
stage
is the Barong with his swaying gait: his dance is meant to express the
joy of
living. He is followed by a group of armed supporters who stand ready
to
defend him.
When Rangda strikes
her terrible blows. It isn't at all rare for the dancers playing the Barong's
followers to become so engrossed in the sacredness of the per- formance that
they go into a real trance. A cloud of characters surround the Barong on
stage. Rangda, goddess of death, personification of evil, the young girl
servant Kalika; Dewi Kunti, queen of the kingdom of Hastina and her stepson
Sadewa who will be sacrificed in order to placate the anger of Rangda, the
minister Dewi Kunti; Patih who ex- presses sorrow for the fate of Sadewa (Rangda
will have to enter his soul in order to make him accept the sacrifice), and
then the monkey supporters of the Barong, producers of palm tree wine (nira).
A very important element in the entire dance is the large orchestra, known as
gamelan, which is essential to underscore the ritual nature of the
performance. Many are the instruments that make up the orchestra: some metal
xylophones which stand out not only because they are so numerous but because
of their power ful and imperious sound; there are also drums as well as
flutes, the rebab (a type of violin) and the gender (typical xylophones). All
together, these instruments are essential in guiding the dance and
underscoring the rhythm of well coordinated movements. These along with the
joyful colors are the most alluring elements of this remarkable perfor mance.
At the end of the dance, the masks of the Barong and of Rangda, as proof of
their sacred nature, are stowed in a special room inside the temple. They are
covered very carefully, especially Rangda's mask, because its deadly powers
are greatly feared. It's a way of saying that the ritual victory of the
Barong, that is of good, which marks the end of the dance, is only temporary:
tomorrow the eternal and unresolved conflict could begin again.
The end of the Barong dance is like an entirely separate
performance. Also known as the Kris dance, it is named after the famous Malese
dagger. The idea is based on the philosophical concept rwa bhineda. good and
bad, evil and goodness which have always been present and have always existed
together albeit in a constant and inevitably unre solved conflict. Nothing
will change in the future. While man is left free to try to develop his
positive attitudes and let them win over the negative ones, he must
nonetheless resign himself to the fact that the presence of both good and evil
is a law of nature and as such must be accepted. When the dance is performed,
Rangda is the evil spirit which enters the bodies of his victims, usually
followers of the Barong, and pushes them to the edge of suicide. The dancers
attempt to stab themselves in the chest with their krises until they are
finally stopped by the beneficial appearance of the Barong. It is he who will
save these unfortunate beings by revealing that the notion of good and evil
will always be inevitably present in the world and in everyone's life and that
they must therefore accept it.
Share This
Subscribe Here
0 komentar:
Post a Comment
-Best Regards-