The comparison is, striking and highly convincing, and certainly does not diminish one's admiration for; the mask-maker; for the stylization of disease is incredibly brilliant. It is characteristic of the Balinese, as we see in their behavior at cremation and their treatment of graveyard or birth scenes, to turn horror into farce and to laugh at the unpleasant.
There are never as many actors as there are masks in a Topeng play. The number may even be very small; five or six at the most, sometimes only two or three. In what is perhaps the oldest form, Topeng Padjegan, one actor wears all the masks in succession. This is an extraordinary feat, and certain aspects of the performance seem to carry us back to a very remote past, and perhaps point a connection with a very old form of ancestor play

Perhaps the actor in the Topeng Padjegan was the priest who called up the ancestors, like the Dalang in the shadow-play. In this oldest form there is generally no curtain; the basket of masks is placed in front of the gamelan, with offerings beside it. Between each role the actor, usually an old man, kneels down in front of the basket, in full view of the audience, and puts on.