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.At
the beginning of this scene a number of men have seated
themselves on the ground where the Barong originally
entered. These are the men who will be possessed by
the boeta-kalas, demon followers of Banaspati Raja whom
the Barong has now become. At the moment of the Barong's
apparent defeat they are filled with such rage against
Rangda that they spring up, seizing any kris that is
held out to them, and fling themselves upon her in defence
of their master.
At this point Rangda assumes her final form of Durga
Murti (incarnate) and bewitches them with her magic
cloth, so that they fall powerless to the ground. The
furious, triumphant Rangda is led off the stage, sometimes
in trance herself. Then the Barong comes to revive his
followers, snuffling round them and caressing them with
his beard. They spring up trembling and moaning, beating
the air with convulsive movements. Then follows the
'kris-dance' and the sprinkling with holy water, wiped
off by the Barong's beard. The boeta-kalas leave the
possessed, the play is over.
With the exception of a few Balinese folk-stories, the
most popular theme of Barong is Tjalonarang, or an adaptation
of it to other names, and the above play is no exception.
Rarong is sometimes doubled by Ratna Menggali, the witch's
beautiful daughter, and the Barong is unmistakably Erlangga's
minister. Why do you cry?
Why do you run away from Erlangga's patih, when you
have already worked so much harm in Kediri?' cries Rangda
to the weeping Rarong, and when she confesses her fears:
'Better you stay here with my daughter Menggali; I will
go out alone against the patih and slay him.' And it
is from Erlangga's court that she brings back the patih
(Barong) by the force of her magic prayer. He finds
Rangda on the burial ground, but fails to recognize
her because of her white cloth, and
loses
his
power
of
speech
from
sheer
fright
when
he discovers
that it is no ordinary Elemental he
has bitten.
She
challenges
him
to send
the
king,
to send a host against her; she will destroy them all.
It is then that the Barong goes sorrowfully away, Lamenting
his helplessness, and that the boeta-kalas spring to
his defence.
All the encounters between the Barong and Rangda follow
more or less the pattern given above, though there is
considerable variety of choreographic invention. It
also naturally makes a difference whether the Barong
is staged on a public road or other open space, in a
temple-court which the actors enter from the road or
at the foot of a series of ascents from one temple court
to another.
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