Contexts - The Rough Guide to Bali and Lombok - page 477

same tightly bound green and gold sarongs as the Legong dancers, and dance to the haunting
backing vocals of an a cappella chorus of men and women.
In the Sanghyang Jaran (Horse Deity), one or more men are put into a trance state while
the temple floor is littered with burning coconut husks. As they enter the trance, the men grab
hold of wooden hobbyhorse sticks and then gallop frantically back and forth across the red-
hot embers as if they were on real horses. The all-male Kecak chorus fuels the drama with
excited a cappella crescendos until, finally, the exhausted hobbyhorse riders are awoken by
the priest.
Topeng: mask dances
In the Topeng or Mask Dance , the performer is possessed by the spirit of the mask . Before
every entrance, the Topeng actor sprinkles holy water on his mask and recites a mantra. Wo-
men never participate in Topeng: female roles are played by men.
Topeng storylines usually centre around popular folk tales or well-known historical epis-
odes, and the characters are immediately recognizable. One of the most popular is the Topeng
Tua , a touching solo in which an elderly retired first-minister recalls his time in the king's
service. His mask is fringed with straggly white hair and beard, and his gait is frail and waver-
ing. Another favourite tourist Topeng is the Frog Dance - performed to the evocative mu-
sic of the Balinese jew's harp or genggong - which tells how a frog turns into a prince. In
the Jauk , the soloist portrays a terrifying demon-king who leaps mischievously about the
stage as if darting from behind trees and pouncing on unsuspecting villagers. His red or white
mask has bulging eyes and a creepy smile and he flashes his long fingernails menacingly
throughout.
Wayang kulit: shadow-puppet shows
Wayang kulit or shadow-puppet shows are typically staged as entertainment following
weddings, cremations or temple odalan . The stories are often taken from the Mahabharata,
but improvisation and topical jokes keep the art alive and a skilled and witty dalang (pup-
peteer), nearly always a man, can attract huge crowds and keep them entertained into the
early hours. The performance takes place behind a white cloth screen illuminated by flaming
torches and may star as many as sixty different wayang (puppets), generally made from buf-
falo hide and mounted on a stick. Visitors can see the workshops of some well known dalang
in Sukawati .
Amazingly, the dalang not only manipulates each of his many wayang himself, but speaks
for each one of them as well, displaying an impressive memory for lines and an extraordinary
range of different voices. At the same time he also conducts the special four-piece orchestra,
the gender wayang . Unsurprisingly, dalang are greatly revered and considered to have great
spiritual power.