Barong Dance at Barong Dance Umadewi Stage, Bali.

Part 1: Flying to Bali, Indonesia, the heavenly island.
Part 2: Exploring around our hotel in Bali.
Part 3: First night in Bali.

Few of the achievements that I have set to be accomplished during my long break include blogging more frequently than previously and completing dramas I have been longing to watch. "Love Rain" is the current trend despite the number of negative comments. "Rooftop Prince" was great yet heartbreaking. "Flower Boy Ramyun Shop" was fine but I still wouldn't prefer watching something with the female character being elder than the male. "Heartstrings" was alright. It would be much appreciated to know what the other dramas that you prefer are! Trip to the Lost World of Tambun Water Theme Park in Ipoh with the Badman and that of the Moonriver Lodge in Lojing Highlands with my family are still yet to be confirmed. I'm truly hoping for a great getaway with people whom I treasure before degree course begins. I just want to have fun!

During my Bali trip, as mentioned earlier, Steven, Farah and I were late for breakfast on the second morning. We departed to Barong Dance Umadewi Stage early in the morning to watch their Barong Dance, obviously, almost immediately after we had our continental breakfast. It was hasty! Speaking of our breakfast, it consisted of 1.5 pieces of baked bread, a fried egg, butter and jam, with a choice of coffee or tea or both, as well as concentrated juices. We had these every single morning during our stay. How could it not kill our appetites?

Barong is probably the most well known dance. It is also another story telling dance, narrating the fight between good and evil. This dance is the classic example of Balinese way of acting out mythology, resulting in myth and history being blended into one reality.

The story goes that Rangda, the mother of Erlangga, the King of Bali in the tenth century, was condemned by Erlangga's father because she practiced black magic. After she became a widow, she summoned all the evil spirits in the jungle, the leaks and the demons, to come after Erlangga. A fight occurred, but she and her black magic troops were too strong that Erlangga had to ask for the help of Barong. Barong came with Erlangga's soldiers, and fight ensued. Rangda casted a spell that made Erlangga soldiers all wanted to kill themselves, pointing their poisoned keris into their own stomachs and chests. Barong casted a spell that turned their body resistant to the sharp keris. At the end, Barong won, and Rangda ran away.

Somebody can die or get seriously injured in a Barong dance. It is said that if Rangda's spell is too strong, a weak soldier may not be able to resist it, even with the help of Barong. He may end up hurting himself with his own keris.

The masks of Barong and Rangda are considered sacred items, and before they are brought out, a priest must be present to offer blessings by sprinkling them with holy water taken from Mount Agung, and offerrings must be presented.

Regularly scheduled dance performances are available throughout the year. – Source

There we were, arriving at the destination rather early when the show only started at 9.30am. It was not until prior to the beginning of the show that people started to come, but not even half of the place was filled up towards the end of the show. Jun, one of the two Koreans from my class, was literally nodding drowsily before he was hyped up, as usual.

Traditionally, as similar as what I blogged earlier, it's necessary for the locals to offer some blessings before a show starts. This lady, too, was exactly doing it.

I hereby apologize that I couldn't fully understand what Barong Dance was all about, but here are some of the photos taken by me and Taemin during the show, and I hope the introduction helped a little. I would say some parts were hilarious in some ways. Generally, however, I did not find it really interesting. Perhaps it was my personal interest that mattered.

In case if you're wondering, traditional dances were included halfway during the show. Some of you may have found one of the photos slightly, if not absolutely, disturbing and sickening. They actually had a scene where the "boner" peed or ejaculated. Unfortunately, I have missed the scene seconds before that so I couldn't tell what led to this. I just laughed.

This is a compiled video of parts of the performance. Enjoy!

As the show came to an end, a priest came out to offer blessings by sprinkling holy water with offerings presented. This step was also necessary for what the locals believe.

This was briefly how Barong Dance was. Their conversations were entirely in Indonesian and the words weren't clear although I was sitting at the front row. The day started off boringly, and the following activities weren't cheering either, except that I was looking forward to arriving at Kintamani for its cooling weather. I shall reveal my opinions and feelings towards the other activities as I blog about them later on, and I promise to be back real soon.

Stay tuned!

x.