Barong Dance Costume: Beard

The Barong Dance Costume is a key artifact of the Calonarang, an exorcistic and dramatic performance meant to magically restore a disturbed cosmic equilibrium and, subsequently, prevent and control epidemics.

Rangda and Barong symbolize evil and good respectively. Rangda, as a mythical "queen of witches," represents both evil and the fear of evil. Meanwhile, the Barong, as a demon king, controls any evil influences and thus acts as a savior figure in the Calonarang story.

The mask of Rangda is a receptacle for the power of the deity Durga, who protects communities from epidemics in exchange for veneration. This mask may also control leyak - sorcerers that possess the power to transform and propagate illness. Meanwhile, the Barong mask is found in various animal forms, with the most sacred being the Barong Ket which resembles the image of Kala-Boma - a symbol adorning gateways and transitional spaces. The Barong costume takes the form of a beast (lion or tiger) animated by two men. During the feast of Galungan, it is paraded in the village as a method of controlling buta kala, demons that bring about illness and calamity.

The specific portion of the Calonarang where this costume is used is the Barong and Rangda confrontation. In the beginning of the performance, both the Rangda and Barong masks are charged with power (sakti) so that they are magically unstable (tenget), and they may only be manipulated by those who are initiated. It is necessary for the dancer wearing the Rangda mask to become possessed by its inherent power, indicating that Durga is present for the event and that she will protect the community. Meanwhile, a group of followers of Barong become possessed by buta kala and attempt to attack Rangda. However, as these followers are overwhelmed by the power of Rangda, they instead, seemingly, furiously commit suicide (ngurek).

A similar purification rite is the sanghyang dedari. It involves two pre-adolescent girls falling into a trance, where they are possessed by two heavenly nymphs. The girls then dance in a non-choreographed manner accompanied by a vocalizing cak chorus.

This ritual became the basis for kecak, a more dramatic performance which borrowed musical and choreographic elements from the sanghyang dedari. By design, kecak was created for tourism purposes. This change was escalated following Indonesia's political instability of the 1960s, when travel agencies standardized kecak to be kecak ramayana, a more dramatized and elaborate performance of kecak without many of its traditional elements. In response to this irreverence, a new version of the kecak, called kecak kreasi, was formed to appeal to a primarily Balinese audience.

Belo, Jane, Bali: Rangda And Barong (2nd ed.), University of Washington Press, 1966.

Kendra Stepputat, “PERFORMING KECAK: A BALINESE DANCE TRADITION BETWEEN DAILY ROUTINE AND CREATIVE ART,” Yearbook for Traditional Music 44 (2012): 49–70.

Picard, Michel, Bali: Cultural Tourism and Touristic Culture, Singapore: Archipelago Press, 1996, 147-148.

Tafoya, Xóchitl Ysabela, RITUALIZING BARONG AND RANGDA: REPERCUSSIONS OF A COLLABORATIVE FIELD EXPERIENCE IN KERAMBITAN, BALI, University of Maryland, College Park, 2009.