Balinese masks

mask-barong

One of the most classic souvenirs that you can bring home from a trip to Indonesia are very peculiar masks.

They are known as bali masks And although you can buy them as souvenirs and hang them on a wall in your home, they are very significant in the culture of that land. Let's see its origins, its uses and its meanings so as not to buy anything.

History of Balinese masks

balinese dances

The masks used in traditional Indonesian dances that recreate folk tales that revolve around heroes, myths, kings and more. There are dancers, actors and musicians on stage and it is believed that although the dances are ancient, the use of masks in them dates back to the XNUMXth century.

They are called mask in Indonesian and over time they have been used in both secular dances and religious rituals. Its origin dates back to the dances of the Indonesian tribes, dances that honored ancestors and gods.

bali masks

Over time those who represented the messengers of the gods began to wear masks. Today you can find masks made for tourism but there are many masks that are considered works of art and each Balinese village has its own style.

Balinese masks today

Balinese mask workshop

While it is true that each village has its own style of mask Mas is a particularly famous village in this craft of carving, shaping and decorating the masks.. It is a small place but its streets are full of shops and workshops where all styles from practically all of Indonesia are made and sold.

In these workshops more modern, more traditional, more primitive, less colorful masks are made. Of everything. In fact, there are around 30 different tools to carve the base wood of the mask. This wood can be wood of to sweat, are, hibiscus or be teak or mahogany.

balinese masks

Most of the Balinese masks are made for the rites that take place in the temples, for those striking and beautiful sacred dances that tell the epic stories of the Hindu religion, the cycles in rice cultivation, the victory of good over the sea or life itself.

balinese masks

Manufacturing is something you learn from a master and art is passed from generation to generation. The carver is known by the name of undagi cover and if that mask completes a temple, it must also be a member of the Brahman caste because only then does it know the rites involved in the making of a sacred mask.

For centuries the Balinese masks had those destinations, the temples and the secular festivals, but since In the 60s, Indonesia was in the sights of the tourism eye international things have changed. Tourists began to be more interested in the masks and they bought them to adorn their houses.

barong-dances-in-bali

There were so many styles, so many faces and so many colors available that the idea of ​​collecting them or having several hanging on an interior wall became very desirable. It was a fashion and in fact something very western since it does not occur to the Balinese to hang these masks on a wall.

For people in this part of the world, Balinese masks are sacred so it would be a sin to display them outside a temple. What's more, Whenever they are not being used, they are kept in a cotton bag inside the temple that houses them..

souvenirs-of-bali

If you go to Mas you will see that in all the stores they are sold four styles of masks: Balinese tribal masks, human masks, animal masks (cats, frogs) and gods or demons masks which in turn can be whole or partial depending on the dance in which they are used.

Speaking of dances, the masks are used mainly in the dances barong y Mask where they copy movements of Wayan kulit. The Topeng dances tell stories of noble people, of kings and queens, and can be humorous or contain some question or moral teaching, while the Barong always revolve around the fight between good and evil, Barong and Rangda.

Topeng masks

topeng masks

They are only used by men and these dancers-actors do not use just one during the entire dance but several. Sometimes it is a whole mask, if it is the representation of a nobleman or king and sometimes they use a half mask or one that is funny or with an expression of madness if they represent comic characters or clowns or if, as it happens, it is about scaring away diseases.

Thus, we can talk about the Mask Kras, the character with the most authority, the Mask Old, the funny old man whose jokes and performances aim to entertain the audience and the Mask Sweet, the undisputed hero.

bali-dances

There is a masked character who tells the story with a mask in the middle, which allows him to speak, sometimes there are two of these characters, and there are dancers, some fights and characters who speak and who do not speak. The entire universe of human feelings is represented there.

The Barong masks

As well there are several "models" but the most popular are the buffalo, pig and lion masks. They have funny expressions and even have carved ears or noses.

We have said before that the dances barong are about the fight of good against evil, of the god Barong basically against the god Rangda. Then the wearing masks rangda They represent the devil and have fangs, bulging eyes, and a huge, grotesque tongue.

dance-barong

If you find either of these two masks, well carved, they can cost a few hundred euros because they are the ones that take the longest to complete. A carver can easily spend about four months on the job, while a mask for tourism takes about two months or less.

And of course, less work time results in a lower price but their materials are also cheaper because they are hardly painted and the colors are more modern.

If you want something simple and just to give as a gift or as a simple and not very valuable souvenir, you should point to these latest masks, but if yours is art or collecting, take a good look at those details.

demon-masks

The costumes that accompany the masks also have their place and they can become expensive because the whole village participates in their production and that takes time and materials that include horse hair, buffalo or goat skin, animal teeth and also, all the dyes are of natural origin.

So, when you go to this part of the world and the dances and their masks amaze you, you just have to remember a few things so as not to bring back something very shabby: head to the village of Mas, stroll through its streets and alleys, look for a workshop that attract and which the teacher is working on, talk to him, see how many tools he uses and the style of his work.

And to enjoy the Balinese masks!


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