Rangda Bali

 Rangda

 

**In the calonarang drama, this mask represents the archetypal angry widow, a fierce, bloodthirsty cannibal who delights in causing terror and strife. An expert in black magic and a symbol of fear, she is the queen of witches who rules over other practitioners. Her movements encompass all of the mannerisms that are considered rough and crude in Balinese culture: the loud, rasping voice, wild, erratic gestures, and leaping gait. The characteristic postures of Rangda include stiff, extended arms with outstreetched vibrating fingers displaying sixinch-long fingersnails and hairy knuckles. Rangda leaps when she dance, the drooping breasts of the costume bouncing, and the entrails of her victims flying about her neck in abandon. She arches back, her leather tonguelolling wildly, arms stiff, palms forward, nad fingers splayed in an attitude the Balinese call kepar. Her face, with its grotesque tusks, is framed by a blanket of hair composed of praksok fiber or horsehair. A large white handkerchief that she holds, countains magic drawing, serves as the wrapping for her mask after perfformance concludes.