It is in a performance of Tjalon
Arang, the legend of Rangda, that the Balinese theatre reaches
the height of its magnificence. It combines the fine music and
delicate dancing of the legong with the elaborate staging, the
acting, singing, and comedy of the. classic plays, besides the
element of mystery and suspense.
The calon Arang is not an ordinary play, but a powerful exorcism
against leyaks, because by dramatizing Rangda's triumphs, the
Balinese aim to gain her good will. Preparations for staging the
great show start 'days before; it is essential that a male "
papaya tree, which bears no fruit, be first transplanted from
the wilds to the middle of the dancing-grounds, because such a
tree is the favourite haunt of the leyaks. A tall house on stilts
is built at one end for Rangda, reached by a high runway of bamboo,
flanked by spears, pennants, and umbrellas, all symbols of state.'The
entire dancing-space is covered by a canopy of streamers made
of palm-leaf and tissue-paper flags; as many petrol lamps as are
available in the village light the stage.
By midnight the audience is assembled, waiting patiently, listening
to the special Tjalon Arang music, perhaps the finest in Bali,
played by a full legong orchestra augmented with large bamboo
flutes. A full moon is propitious for the performance and the
company waits until the moon comes out from behind the black clouds,
silhouetting the temple roofs, the palm trees, and the long aerial
roots of the village banyan tree, a hanging black curtain of long
tentacles against the sky, the perfect setting for the magic play.
Offerings are made beforehand and consultations are held so as
not to offend Rangda and to ascertain whether it is safe to hold
the performance.
The show begins after midnight and lasts until dawn, when the
witch makes her appearance. The play approaches our dramatic literature
more nearly than anything else in Bali. It relates the episodes
of the struggle between Rangda and the great Erlangga. Dancing
interludes by six little girls, the pupils of the witch, alternate
with slapstick, the encounters of the king's subjects with leyaks,
and with dramatic songs by the prince sent to kill Rangda. She
is impersonated by an old actor gifted with such great powers.
that he is able to withstand, in his own body, the dangerous spirit
of the witch herself.
Towards dawn the atmosphere becomes surcharged with mystery as
the old actor goes into Rangda's house to enter into the trance.
Watchmen are appointed to wake all the children that have fallen
asleep lest their tender souls be harmed; a priest stands ready
to conjure Rangda, who will make her triumphal appearance at the
end of the play. A flickering lamp can be seen through the curtains
of the house ' and there is an occasional groan from the actor
as he undergoes the painful transformation. Meantime below, as
the music becomes violent, the prince advances across the dancing-space
with his kris drawn. With a yell of defiance he starts up the
bridge, just as a blood-curdling howl is heard inside the house,
the voice of Rangda. Unexpectedly, fireworks, strung on invisible
wires all over the trees, begin to explode over the beads of the
crowd. The audience is on edge as the curtains part and the frightful
form of Rangda appears, shrieking curses upon the prince, who
is put to flight as the old witch descends, bellowing, amidst
clouds of smoke, sparks, and explosions.
The climax is a critical moment, as it is never known what will
happen next. It is not unusual for Rangda to run wild and go about
the village moaning, or to disappear into the blackness of the
ricefields. The actor, who is possessed by the spirit of the real
Rangda, is bard to bring under control. I have been told of an
old actor from Tedjakula who, after impersonating Rangda, ran
amuck and went insane when. captured. He is said never to have
regained his mental balance. To the Balinese this was, once more,
the evidence of the danger of releasing uncontrolled magic powers.
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