Barong & Kris Dance

Gamelan ensemble

Balinese Hindu culture is steeped in art, ritual & religious expression.  Traditional Balinese dancing could rightfully be considered the epitome of all three.  Of the several different types of dancing, the Barong & Kris Dance is one of the oldest dance-dramas.  A classic fable depicting the epic struggle between the powers of good and evil, it is reminiscent of a morality play.  We were excited for the opportunity to attend a Barong Play with a full gamelan ensemble.  A gamelan involves mainly percussion, such as drums, xylophones, bells & gongs.  Bamboo flutes, plucked stringed instruments and occasionally some vocal elements, round out the orchestra.     

There are several options for a gamelan orchestra as far as tuning systems, which means they vary from ensemble to ensemble.  Our orchestra utilized a five note scale; resulting in an exotic eastern sound (the standard Western scale consists of seven notes repeating at the octave).  Settling in our seats for the hour-long performance, we enjoyed the ornate costumes, highly talented dancers and fascinating music.  We found the story-line itself to be challenging to follow.  This was partly due to the crudely translated outline (should I have tried the French version?) but also probably because of the vastly different cultural heritage.  Sometimes, things are just "lost in translation" but are enjoyable nonetheless.  

The Tiger "Barong"

An introduction to the characters: a Barong is a mythological animal, often portrayed as a stylized tiger, representing good.  A Rangda is a horrible monster or witch, representing evil.  A Kris is a very long dagger (and not another character, like I initially thought!)

The first portion didn't seem to have any bearing to the story.  The Tiger (representing a Barong), the Monkey (Tiger's friend) and three masked dancers take the stage.  Then, two girl-dancers appear, servants of the evil witch, Rangda.  They perform a difficult dance, reminiscent of "Legong", which gained popularity for royal entertainment in the 19th century.  With its intricate finger movements, complex footwork, expressive gestures & facial expressions, this portion of the performance was mesmerizing.  The women have been practicing from the age of 10 or 11, or possibly younger.  (Many resort hotels offer Legong dance lessons, for tourists who will learn first-hand how incredibly involved this art is.)  

The Rangda on the shoulders of her servants

The main story involves a queen, who is desperately trying to prevent her son, Sadewa, from being sacrificed to the Rangda.  She has called the prime minister to her and they are trying to determine what can be done to save him.  Meanwhile, Kalika (a student of the witch) enters the room, casting a spell on both the queen and the prime minister.  Diabolically possessed, the queen orders the prime minister to have his men bring Sadewa into the forest, where he is tied to a tree.

Unknown to the Rangda, God grants immortality to Sadewa, though he still remains tethered to the tree.  Rangda then appears, and attempts to kill & eat Sadewa, but is thwarted.   Eventually, Rangda surrenders & begs redemption from Sadewa, who agrees.  He kills the Rangda who then goes to heaven.

In the final act, Kalika, has had a change of heart and wants Sadewa to redeem her too.  When he refuses, she becomes enraged, changing herself into a boar and then a bird, and attacks Sadewa, but is defeated both times.  At last, she changes into a Rangda (yes, now there is a different Rangda) and Sadewa changes into a Barong (a good spirit).  They fight, but their powers are equally balanced, so the Barong calls on his followers to help win over the witch.

A servant-girl of Rangda, performing the "Legong" dance

Unfortunately, Rangda has cast a spell on these warriors and in a trance-like state, they turned their kris (ie: swords) against themselves, but the Barong cast a counter-spell to prevent the kris from piercing them.  At the end, a priest arrives and sprinkles holy water on the warriors to wake them from their trance.  The fight is unended and thus represents the eternal struggle between good and evil.