Barong and Keris Dance is a traditional Balinese dance performance that tells the story of an endless battle where the fight between Barong who represents the good character and Rangda who represents the evil character, where in this story the barong wins the battle. In addition, in this dance performance there is a trance dance attraction where the dancer will stab a dagger in his body and uniquely his body is not injured at all. A dance performance that is full of meaning and inspires our lives where we are taught to behave well to fellow human beings in order to create harmony in living this life. Barong is a character in the mythology of Bali. He is the king of the spirits, leader of the hosts of good, and enemy of Rangda in the mythological traditions of Bali. Banas Pati Rajah is the fourth brotheror spirit child that accompanies a child throughout life. Banas Pati Rajah is the spirit which animates Barong. A protector spirit, he is often represented by a lion, and traditional performances of his struggles against Rangda are popular parts of Balinese culture. The Barong Dance is often portraited with two monkeys
Here all you need to know about Barong and Keris Dance
- What is Barong?
- Types of Barong
- Barong Keket
- What is Rangda?
- Barong and Keris Dance
- Dance Story of Barong and Kris Dance
- Dance Story Reflection of Daily Life
- Location of Barong and Keris Dance
What is Barong?
Barong is a mythological character whose aim is to protect Bali from all kinds of evil disturbances that threaten the island of Bali. The barong is depicted in various forms of worshiped animal guises such as lions, tigers, wild boars, buffalo, elephants, or dogs. Barong has emerged as part of Javanese and Balinese culture since people still believe in animistic beliefs. And in Bali the shape of the barong character is like a mixed animal face with a scary but good character. Made in such a way that it can create a religious feel when you see it. Barong bali originated as a development of barong ponorogo or Reog, which King Airlangga brought when he fled to the island of Bali to save himself. Besides Barong Ponorogo, Airlangga also brought other forms of literary art, Javanese script, and religious rituals. This influence can be seen from the shape of the ponorogo barong when it appears without using a peacock crown.
Types of Barong
The types of barong in Bali are very diverse with different looks and functions, and not just any dancer is performed because it takes enough practice to be able to perform this barong dance professionally. The types of barong found in Bali are Barong Ket, Barong Bangkal, Barong Landung, Barong Macan, Barong Gajah, Barong Asu, Barong Brutuk, Barong Lembu, Barong Kedingkling, Barong Kambing and Barong Gagombrangan. The types of barong take the form of animals such as elephants, dogs, goats, oxen and others with four legs. Where the barong is performed by two people, one person holds the head and one person holds the tail, if you have ever seen the Barong Sai dance from China, then the barong dance in Bali is somewhat similar to that, the only difference is that Balinese dance is performed with a typical dance technique. Bali is more prominent without doing attractions like those in barong sai. The type of barong that we often see in Barong and Keris Dance is the type of Barong Ketket. This show is performed by dancers who have been trained and performed very well with a comedy spice, making the audience of this barong dance happy and carried away by the storyline that was delivered.
Barong Keket
Barong Ket or Barong keket which is played in this Barong and Keris Dance Performance, which takes the form of a combination of lion, tiger, cow and dragon that produces the barong face that you can see today, with a touch of traditional Balinese carvings that creates a mystical and mystical atmosphere. full of spiritual aura when he saw it. As a good character which in mythology is symbolized as Banaspati the king who is the king of all spirits. The mask of this barong keket does not arbitrarily take wood to be used as a barong mask, but rather chooses certain trees such as the Pule tree that grows in the grave area because it is believed that the Pule tree is considered easy to invite demons. And if you take material from the grave, it is believed that it will bring a mystical aura inside this barong mask. In the barong keket dance performance, two people in the front, named Juru Saluk, hold the head and dance, and those in the tail, named Juru Bapang and dancers, must be in harmony so that they can create a very beautiful movement when seen. The feathers of this barong keket are made from perasok (leaf fiber of a type of pandanus and palm fiber), and some replace the feathers with crow feathers. Barong keket as a mythological creature from the island of Bali who is good at protecting the island of Bali from all threats of negative things
What is Rangda?
Rangda is a mythological creature from Bali which has an evil character which is told with a frightening appearance and often kidnaps and eats small children and is considered to be the embodiment of Goddess Durga. The name Rangda comes from the ancient Javanese language which means "widow" and in the past the name Widow was found in the Vaisya, Kshatriya and Brahmin castes, while from the lower caste, the Sudra caste, it was not called the Widow but by the name Balu. So it can be concluded that Rangda came from a caste and most likely Rangda came from queen Mahendradatta who lived on the island of Java in the 11th century. He was exiled by the king of Dharmodayana because he was accused of committing witchcraft against the consort of the two kings. According to legend he took revenge by killing half the kingdom, which later became his and the property of Dharmodayana's son, Erlangga. Then he was replaced by a wise man. The form of Rangda is manifested in a very scary form as a woman with long disheveled hair and has long nails, a long protruding tongue, and long breasts. His face was terrifying and had long, sharp fangs.