bmbali

The masks you have seen from Bali fall into two categories, those that are employed for the Topeng and those used for ritual and religious performances in which a Rangda and a Barong Ket mask are used. Besides having an entertainment value for those who watch the characters they depict in action, they also serve a practical purpose to the Balinese. Discuss some of the masks and the characters they depict and the way they are employed to serve ritual and religious purposes in Balinese society.

In the Topeng masked theatre, the mask named Sidhakarya plays a huge role both religiously and ritually in Bali. This goes back to the story of how Sidhakarya became a religious figure in Bali history and this leads to the ritual of Sidhakarya in modern day Bali. Sidhakarya is the ﬁnal mask presented in a ritual Topeng (mask dance) performance for a Balinese ceremony. (Kodi, Sedana, Foley 172)

The term “Sidhakarya” consists of two words: //Sidha// meaning ‘successful’ and //karya// meaning ‘religious work’ or ‘celebration’” (Rubin and Sedana 108). According to Rubin and Sedana, the myth (history according to the Balinese) of Sidhakarya starts with a ceremony that involves a holy sacrifice that was supposed to pacify all insects so the crops of the land would not be harmed any further. The king was in a mute yoga and could not speak, so when his relative came to see him, the prime minister who was in charge didn’t recognize him and sent him away. So the relative cursed th ceremony and plants immediately dried and withered, animals became sick, and there was no meat for the ceremony so people became sick. To remedy this, the king’s advisor found the relative and appointed him as the priest of the ceremony and he remedied the problems. He then was rewarded the title as “Brahmin Sidhakarya” and a mask was made in his image (109). The mask represents good and evil even in modern day Bali. His character is performed in many religious ritual festivals in belief that he can repel malevolent spirits and invite benevolent ones (109).

Word count: 265

Cited Sources:

Leon Rubin and I Nyoman Sedana “Performance in Bali” handout

I Ketut Kodi, I Nyoman Sedana, and Kathy Foley “Topeng Sidhakarya: A Balinese Mask Dance” article []