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Another Source of Thrill

Published 9 months, 3 weeks ago in Arts & Culture, People & Community by Sidarta Wijaya | 736 Views

Like any other people, Balinese are also thrill-seekers, enjoy watching others take great risks and live to tell the tale, although Balinese have no tradition of wire walking or high diving or other dangerous athletic pursuits. But in the realm of magic they can found abundant of thrill to satisfy thirst for dangerous excitement.

The source of this magical excitement is the Calonarang drama performance. In a scene in this performance, a performer in Rangda mask usually someone who is able to counteract the power of black magicians and other people who can turn themselves into leyak, or terrifying creatures, challenges all the local sorcerers to fight him with their magic. The performer cry in his highest voice, calling and forcing them to come forth whether they want or not. Sometimes the performer, the Rangda dancers feels so exultantly invulnerable that he strips off the mask and invites the sorcerers to attack him: ‘all you leyak, come on! Attack me altogether! ME! Attack! Attack! Attack ME!’

Calonarang performance on The Annual Bali Arts Festival 2006

At this point the member protagonists of the performance, members of the Barong’s entourage attack Rangda with their daggers, but the magical power of the Rangda mask enables the Rangda dancer to proceed unscathed. Sometimes, the Rangda dancers will challenge the audience to stab him with the dagger, in order to give more evidence on the magical power of the Rangda mask, but sometimes the local sorcerers or local spirits are able to defeat the magical power of the mask. In a Calonarang performance, at the village of Samu, in Badung regency, the Rangda dancer challenged the local spirits to attack him. After he finished his arrogant statement, a boy came out of nowhere, grabbed a dagger from one of the Barong’s entourage and stabbed the Rangda dancer on the stomach, the dagger drove deep into his stomach and created a wide wound. The mysterious boy defeated the magical power of the mask. The audience shouted with great delight for the victory of the local spirit, the boy who stabbed the Rangda dancer was nowhere to be found. This is kind of thrill that the Balinese want to see in a Calonarang performance.

Calonarang performance on The Annual Bali Arts Festival 2006

Another thrill in the Calonarang performance is given by the dusang or the fake corpse, known as bangke-bangkean in Badung regency. This man’s specialty is ‘playing dead’ in Calonarang performance. He lies inert and is stripped, washed, and wrapped like corpse while songs for dead are sung. The ceremony for someone newly deceased is then carried out before the fake corpse is carried to the cemetery and left by itself. To submit to this procedure is considered extremely dangerous, for by doing it, the person invites any nasty spirit or sorcerer, which may be in vicinity to come and devour his spirit or harm his body. Coming out of the experiences unharmed proves his magic power, but sometimes he may not confidence in his magical power and decide to abandon the feat on the way to cemetery, sometimes when the magical power of dusang is defeated by his opponent he may not just ‘playing dead’ but dead actually.

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