The Witch and the Divine Beast of Bali, Fighting for a Thousand Years

When you go to Bali, there is a must-see dance called the Barong Dance.

There are two main characters on stage: one is the Barong, a divine beast that looks like a lion and a dog, with long hair, shaking its head; the other is Rangda, a female witch, with disheveled hair, a tongue long enough to reach her chest, nails like knives, and bulging eyes.

The story goes like this: Rangda is a widow, an evil queen, who can spread plagues, kill people, and has a group of witches under her command. Barong is the guardian of the forest, leading the villagers to fight against her.

On stage, their battle has no result: Barong cannot win, and Rangda cannot win. The villagers rush forward with short daggers, but Rangda casts a spell on them, and they begin to stab their own chests with the daggers, yet the daggers cannot pierce through, because Barong is protecting them.

In Bali, good and evil are a pair: it is not about one eliminating the other, but about maintaining a balance forever.

This dance is still a religious ritual for the locals today, not merely a performance. Every village's Barong is normally kept in the temple, covered with a white cloth, and only brought out for important festivals. Before the festival, offerings must be made and scriptures chanted. Some say that when the dance reaches its climax, some actors truly fall into a trance and collapse on the ground, only waking up after the priest sprinkles holy water.

The version tourists watch is shortened to an hour, performed specially for foreigners; there is no trance, and no one actually stabs themselves.

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