What Indonesia - Bali is all about ?

Most curious of all was anachronism which brought Rama on to the stage lamenating Sita and enlisting the help gamelan: of Sugriva, when the climax of the la was the fight of Subali with the rakshasa in the' cave (i.e. the witch's house on the Cynboo ladder), which took place long before the rape of Sita, and was, through a tragic misunderstanding, the indirect cause of the quarrel between the two monkeys.1 The dancing was magnificent, and certain there was no one to worry about anachronism. A touch of real excitement was added by the descent of the rakshasa, transformed as Rangda, on to the stage, driven out by Subali; terrifying the children and threatened in mock heroism by Sangoet and Delem. He did a magicent Rangda dance, whirling, crouching, leaping, twisting, with unearthly cries and laughter, waving his magic cloth, lolling his fiery tongue; till Subali came down like a whirlwind and drove him back.

Elaborate offerings have to be made for this Boris, which is chiefly performed at cremations. Seventeen men took part in it, dressed in the large blue and white check (poleng) after which the dance is named, with a scarf of batik which plays an important part in one of the figures of the dance. The offering were made first at the end of the dance-ground by which the dancers entered, beside the temple gateway. When they had been blessed by the priest they were spread out on the ground at the opposite end, immediately in front of the gamelan pelegongan. The dancers wore head-dresses of the usual Baris shape, with two large red hibiscus flowers above either car; but instead of the usual glittering rays of mother-of-pearl, or of painted or gilded wood, each headdress had a kind of sugar-loaf, also covered in check cloth, in front of its high triangular back. A bunch of peacock feathers hung from the point of each metal-bound lance carried by the dancers.

They both remained behind the curtain, while Sugriva below wept the supposed death of Subali. In the story Subali tells his brother to wait for him outside the cave, while he goes in to fight the giant. If red blood flows out he will know the giant is dead, and may remove the stone which shuts the mouth of the cave; if white blood flows, Subali has been killed, and he must seal up the cave. The white liquid which flowed from the brains of the giant was mistaken by Sugriva for the blood of Subali, and he sealed the cave. In the play Sugriva wept over the white collar of one of Devi Tara's small attendants, who was t6ld to loose it and throw it down. Directly the play was over the famous raja' who had played the Rangda was sitting smiling on the little platform of the witch's house, dripping from his exertions, a sweat-soaked white towel wrapped round his fat stomach. It was his invention which had triumphed over the sequence of events, rightly realiing that there is neither time nor logic in fairy-land.

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