DANCE AND RELIGION

Dance in Bali are both secular and religious, and are divided into three types : namely, wali, bebali and balih-balihan, depending on which part of the temple they are performed. Wali dances such as Baris Gede and Sang Hyang are the most sacred and are performed in the inner sanctum of the temple. Ceremonial in nature, bebali dances take place in the middle courtyard. Bebali dances are secular and are usually performed in the outer courtyard of the temple. However, this distinction not strictly adhered to the time; place and occasion may dictate the performance of a particular dance.

In Balinese society, therefore, dance perform many function:

• As a channel for visiting gods or demonic gods, the dancer acting as a sort of living repository. These trance dance include the Sang Hyang Dedari, with little girls in trance, and Sang Hyang jaran, a fire dance ;
• As a welcome for visiting gods, such as the Pendet, Rejang and Sutri dances ;
• As a entertainment for visiting gods, such as the Topeng and the Wayang.

In some of the dance, the role of dancing is so important that it is actually the key to any meaning to be found in the ritual. In wayang performance, the puppeteer is often seen as the “priest” sanctifying the holy water.

As well as their use in religious ceremonies, dance and drama also have a strong religious content. It is often said that drama is the preferred medium through which the Balinese cultural tradition is transmitted. The episodes performed are usually related to the rites taking place, during a wedding one performs a wedding story ; at a death ritual there is a visit to “hell” by the heroes. Clowns (penasar) comment in Balinese, peppering their jokes with religious and moral comments on stories whose narrative use Kawi (Old-Javanese).